Georgia EPD
Georgia environmental lab accreditation, EPD approval through accreditation.
How Georgia EPD approves commercial labs through accreditation from other bodies, what each data submittal must stipulate, how drinking water certification works, and what auditors look for in your initial calibrations.
At a glance
How environmental lab approval works in Georgia.
Georgia is not a NELAP state. For commercial labs, Georgia EPD approval under Chapter 391-3-26 rests on accreditation or certification from another state, EPA, or an accreditation agency the Director accepts. Drinking water labs are certified separately.
State program (non-NELAP)
- Agency and rule
- Environmental Protection Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Rules for Commercial Environmental Laboratories, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-3-26, under O.C.G.A. 12-2-9, effective July 1, 2000.
- Who it covers
- Commercial analytical laboratories, meaning labs that analyze environmental samples or media on a fee or contract basis. The rule states that labs operated by the state, a city, county, local authority or an industrial facility are typically not considered commercial.
- Data it applies to
- Data submitted to EPD, or retained on site for EPD review, that a permit, rule, statute or order requires. Exceptions include initial Hazardous Sites Response Act notification data, in situ analyses such as pH and turbidity, and tests with no available accreditation.
- Routes to approval
- Accreditation or certification by another state acceptable to the Director, by U.S. EPA, or by an accreditation agency acceptable to the Director that has a Memorandum of Understanding with EPD, or EPD certification for drinking water tests (391-3-26-.04)
- Basis of accreditation
- Accreditation agencies must use ISO Guide 25 (as amended) as the basis for judging a lab’s competence. EPD’s drinking water page links to NELAC, A2LA, AIHA and CALA lists of accredited labs but does not say which bodies it accepts.
- Drinking water
- Certified by EPD’s Drinking Water Compliance Unit, Watershed Protection Branch, under the Rules for Safe Drinking Water, 391-3-5-.29. Out-of-state labs can apply for certification by reciprocity.
- NELAP status
- Not a NELAP accreditation body, as of October 2026. Georgia relies on accreditation issued by other bodies.
The accreditation cycle
From accreditation to accepted data.
The steps below summarize Chapter 391-3-26 for commercial labs. Drinking water labs follow EPD’s separate certification under 391-3-5-.29.
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Hold an accepted accreditation
Obtain accreditation or certification from another state acceptable to the Director, from U.S. EPA, or from an accepted accreditation agency with a Memorandum of Understanding with EPD.
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Approval follows the accreditor
Georgia approval is valid only for the period the accreditation agency sets and only for the tests within the accreditation scope (391-3-26-.04).
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Stipulate with your data
Each submitter states that the lab is approved, naming the accrediting agency, the relevant scope, the accreditation number, the date of accreditation and the expiration date, with each report or once per calendar year with the first report.
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Keep the stipulation current
A new stipulation is needed when another lab is used or the lab’s accreditation status changes. Data without the required stipulation is not accepted and is returned (391-3-26-.05).
Initial calibration
What auditors check in your initial calibrations.
Georgia’s commercial lab rule sets no calibration requirements of its own. Approval rests on your accreditation, so calibration is judged against the ISO based standard your accrediting body applies and the methods in your scope.
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.
Accreditation built on an ISO standard
391-3-26-.04(2) requires accreditation agencies to use ISO Guide 25, as amended, as the basis for judging a lab’s competence. ISO/IEC 17025 replaced Guide 25 in 1999, and a 2007 EPD explanatory document names ISO 17025 as the basis for accrediting labs, so your calibration procedures are assessed against a 17025 based standard.
Source: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-3-26-.04(2); Georgia EPD, Georgia Rules for Commercial Environmental Laboratory Accreditation (revised March 2007)
Georgia approval covers only the tests in your accreditation scope. A method missing from that scope, or a lapsed accreditation, means the data cannot be stipulated as approved.
Self-check
Are your initial calibrations ready for a Georgia 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.
Georgia specifics
In Georgia, your accreditor is your auditor.
Chapter 391-3-26 does not set up a separate EPD accreditation for commercial labs. A lab is approved when it holds accreditation or certification from another state the Director accepts, from U.S. EPA, or from an accepted accreditation agency with a Memorandum of Understanding with EPD, and approval lasts only as long as that accreditation and covers only its scope.
That puts the calibration conversation with your accrediting body. The rule requires those agencies to judge competence on ISO Guide 25 as amended, which ISO/IEC 17025 has since replaced. Data you or your client submits must be covered by a stipulation, with each report or once a year, naming the accrediting agency, scope, accreditation number, and accreditation and expiration dates, and EPD returns data that lacks one.
Drinking water is separate. EPD’s Drinking Water Compliance Unit certifies labs under 391-3-5-.29. EPD’s December 2017 certification guide sets certification or reciprocity for a maximum of three years, Water Supply PT twice per year and an on-site audit at least every three years, and reciprocity letters EPD issued in 2026 remain contingent on home state certification and acceptable semi-annual PT. We found no 2025 or 2026 amendments to Chapter 391-3-26; EPD revised its certified drinking water laboratory lists in January 2025 and added a list for lead and copper monitoring.
How WLTR helps
Calibration evidence ready for a Georgia accreditation assessment.
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 accreditation assessor.
See how your own ICAL data looks when every analyte and model is laid out for review.
Questions
Georgia accreditation FAQs
Is Georgia a NELAP state?
No. Georgia EPD is not a NELAP accreditation body as of October 2026. Under 391-3-26, commercial labs are approved through accreditation or certification issued by another state, U.S. EPA, or an accreditation agency the Director accepts.
Which labs need Georgia approval?
Commercial analytical laboratories, meaning labs that analyze environmental samples or media on a fee or contract basis, when their data is submitted to EPD or retained for EPD review under a permit, rule, statute or order. Labs run by the state, local governments or industrial facilities are typically not considered commercial under the rule.
What must accompany data submitted to EPD?
A stipulation that the lab is approved, naming the accrediting agency, the scope relevant to the data, the accreditation number, the date of accreditation and the expiration date. It can go with each report or once a year with the first report, and data without it is returned (391-3-26-.05).
Who certifies drinking water labs in Georgia?
EPD’s Drinking Water Compliance Unit in the Watershed Protection Branch, under the Rules for Safe Drinking Water, 391-3-5-.29. Out-of-state labs can apply for certification by reciprocity, which applies only to the analytes approved in the certification document.
Does Georgia have its own initial calibration rule?
Not in Chapter 391-3-26. The rule requires accreditation agencies to use ISO Guide 25 as amended, which ISO/IEC 17025 replaced, so calibration is assessed against your accreditor’s standard and the methods in your scope.
Sources
Primary sources for this page.
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-3-26, Commercial Environmental Laboratories (Georgia Secretary of State) (opens in a new tab)
- 391-3-26-.02, definitions (Justia copy) (opens in a new tab)
- 391-3-26-.04, approval (Justia copy) (opens in a new tab)
- 391-3-26-.05, procedures (Justia copy) (opens in a new tab)
- 391-3-5-.29, certified laboratories (Cornell LII copy) (opens in a new tab)
- Georgia EPD, Drinking Water (opens in a new tab)
- Georgia EPD, drinking water laboratory reciprocity application (opens in a new tab)
- TNI, NELAP accreditation bodies (opens in a new tab)
- Georgia EPD, Procedures for the Certification of Drinking Water Laboratories in Georgia (December 2017) (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 Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Spot something out of date? Tell us at admin@wltr.tech.
Before your next assessment
See your Georgia ICALs the way an assessor 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
Running environmental methods? See how WLTR works for environmental testing labs and water and wastewater utility labs.