New Jersey NJDEP
New Jersey environmental lab certification, NJDEP and N.J.A.C. 7:18.
How the Office of Quality Assurance certifies labs, the difference between the state and NELAP tracks, how out-of-state labs qualify, and the calibration rules written into New Jersey’s code.
At a glance
How environmental lab certification works in New Jersey.
New Jersey is a NELAP accreditation body, but it runs two tracks under one rule. A lab can hold state certification (NJ-ELCP) or NELAP accreditation (NJ-NELAP), not both at once.
NELAP accreditation body
- Program
- Office of Quality Assurance (OQA), New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
- Legal basis
- N.J.A.C. 7:18, Regulations Governing the Certification of Laboratories and Environmental Measurements, readopted effective April 21, 2020
- Two tracks
- The New Jersey Environmental Laboratory Certification Program (NJ-ELCP) and NJ-NELAP (N.J.A.C. 7:18-1.4). A lab may not hold both at the same time.
- Standard
- NJ-NELAP accredits to the 2016 TNI standard, as listed in TNI’s directory and stated on current NJDEP certificates. The rule text itself incorporates the 2009 TNI Standards with amendments and supplements.
- Who needs it
- Any lab analyzing samples to establish compliance with a New Jersey regulatory program. Results from an uncertified lab do not establish compliance, and labs may only report parameters on a valid Annual Certified Parameter List.
- Programs and matrices
- Drinking water, water pollution, radon, solid and hazardous waste, CERCLA (CLP) and clean air, across drinking water, non-potable water, biological tissue, solid and chemical materials, CLP, and air and emissions categories
- Out-of-state labs
- Secondary NELAP accreditation by cross-referencing each parameter, method and matrix to the lab’s current primary NELAP scope
The accreditation cycle
The New Jersey certification year.
New Jersey certifies on a fixed annual cycle. The steps below summarize N.J.A.C. 7:18; your Annual Certified Parameter List governs what your lab may report.
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Choose a track
Apply for NJ-ELCP or NJ-NELAP certification for the regulatory programs, categories and parameters your lab reports.
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Annual certification
The certification year runs from July 1 to the following June 30 (N.J.A.C. 7:18-2.3).
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Proficiency testing
At least one PT study per matrix each year, from a provider accredited to TNI requirements (N.J.A.C. 7:18-2.13).
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Audits
Scheduled and unscheduled audits by OQA or its designee (N.J.A.C. 7:18-2.14).
Initial calibration
What auditors check in your initial calibrations.
New Jersey is unusual: its certification rule adds calibration checks of its own on top of the quality control in the method.
A range that brackets what you report
The lowest standard should sit at or below your reporting limit and the highest at or above the top concentration you report. Results outside the calibrated range need to be qualified.
Error at the low end, not r² alone
A correlation coefficient of 0.999 can still hide a low standard that back-calculates 30 percent off. Auditors look at relative error, especially at the lowest levels.
Records that rebuild the curve
Raw responses, the model and weighting used, any excluded points with the reason, and the verification that followed. An auditor should be able to reconstruct every initial calibration from the record.
Calibration checks written into the rule
For spectrophotometric and ion-selective electrode analysis of inorganic parameters, N.J.A.C. 7:18-5.5(c)4 requires a reagent blank and at least five standards, a calibration coefficient greater than 0.995, and verification “with the calibration check standard daily or after every 20 samples,” whichever is more frequent.
Source: N.J.A.C. 7:18-5.5(c)4i and 4ii
N.J.A.C. 7:18-5.4 adds that purchased standards may not be used without a lot-specific certificate of analysis. Expect auditors to trace your calibration standards back to that paperwork.
Self-check
Are your initial calibrations ready for a New Jersey assessment?
Tick what your lab could show an auditor today. Nothing you select is saved or sent anywhere.
6Checks to work through
Select each item your lab could show an auditor today.
A self-assessment to help you prepare, not a compliance determination.
New Jersey specifics
Site remediation data has to be of known quality.
For site remediation, N.J.A.C. 7:26E requires labs to hold all applicable certifications under N.J.A.C. 7:18, and NJDEP’s Data of Known Quality Protocols describe the QA and QC procedures behind defensible data. Labs that follow the protocols document conformance through a Data of Known Quality Conformance/Non-Conformance Summary.
NJDEP’s data usability guidance is plain about the starting point: the analytical system must be calibrated and the calibration verified before samples are analyzed. A data usability evaluation that finds a weak initial calibration can downgrade every result that depends on it.
NJDEP is also moving its program information. OQA’s certified laboratory reports now sit on the dep.nj.gov site, including a list of labs certified for PFOA, and current certificates for the year ending June 30, 2027 state compliance with the 2016 TNI standard.
How WLTR helps
Calibration evidence ready for an NJDEP audit or a data usability review.
WLTR independently reviews the calibration your instrument software produced. Your analyst still makes the final call. What changes is that the evidence is complete, consistent across analysts, and ready before the auditor asks for it.
- Each analyte reviewed one at a time in the instrument software.
- The model and weighting are whatever the batch was processed with.
- r² is the number most people look at, even though it does not measure error at the low end.
- QA signs off without an independent check on the curve.
- Every analyte and every candidate model side by side in the Calibration Intelligence dashboard.
- Diagnostics run automatically and the best fit curve is identified, with the reasons recorded.
- Relative error at every level, including the lowest standard, shown on one screen.
- A traceable record your QA manager can review, sign and hand to an NJDEP auditor.
See how your curves look against every candidate model, and where the low end stands, before an auditor or data reviewer asks.
Questions
New Jersey accreditation FAQs
Is New Jersey a NELAP state?
Yes. NJDEP is a NELAP-recognized accreditation body. It also runs a separate state certification track, NJ-ELCP, and a lab may hold one or the other, not both.
Which TNI standard does New Jersey use?
TNI’s directory and current NJDEP certificates state compliance with the 2016 TNI standard for NJ-NELAP. The text of N.J.A.C. 7:18 incorporates the 2009 TNI Standards with amendments and supplements.
Who needs NJDEP certification?
Any lab analyzing samples to establish compliance with a New Jersey regulatory program. Results from an uncertified lab do not establish compliance.
What does New Jersey require for calibration verification?
For spectrophotometric and ion-selective electrode analysis of inorganic parameters, N.J.A.C. 7:18-5.5(c)4 requires a calibration coefficient greater than 0.995 and a calibration check standard daily or after every 20 samples, whichever is more frequent. These checks apply in addition to the method’s own quality control.
Can an out-of-state NELAP lab get New Jersey certification?
Yes, through secondary NELAP accreditation. Each parameter, method and matrix must be cross-referenced to the lab’s current primary NELAP scope.
Sources
Primary sources for this page.
- NJDEP Office of Quality Assurance, certified laboratories (opens in a new tab)
- N.J.A.C. 7:18, certification of laboratories (opens in a new tab)
- N.J.A.C. 7:18-5.5, calibration requirements (opens in a new tab)
- N.J.A.C. 7:26E-2.1, site remediation laboratory requirements (opens in a new tab)
- NJDEP SRP, Analytical Laboratory Data Generation, Assessment and Usability guidance (opens in a new tab)
- NJDEP SRP, Data Quality Assessment and Data Usability Evaluation guidance (opens in a new tab)
- TNI list of NELAP accreditation bodies (opens in a new tab)
This page summarizes public program information to help labs prepare. Requirements change, and the agency’s current rules and guidance always take precedence. WLTR is not affiliated with or endorsed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Spot something out of date? Tell us at admin@wltr.tech.
Before your next assessment
See your New Jersey ICALs the way an auditor will.
Bring a recent initial calibration. We will walk you through every analyte and candidate model in the Calibration Intelligence dashboard, the best fit, and the record your QA manager would sign.
Request a demoHow the methodology works
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