New York ELAP
New York environmental lab certification, ELAP and the Wadsworth Center.
Who must use an ELAP-certified lab in New York, how the approval year and assessments run, how out-of-state labs qualify, and what assessors look for in your initial calibrations.
At a glance
How environmental lab certification works in New York.
The New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center runs the Environmental Laboratory Approval Program, established in 1984. ELAP is a NELAP accreditation body, and New York law requires environmental testing on New York samples to be performed in a certified lab.
NELAP accreditation body
- Program
- Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP), Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health
- Legal basis
- Public Health Law section 502; 10 NYCRR Part 55, Subpart 55-2, Approval of Laboratories Performing Environmental Analysis
- Standard
- NELAP-recognized. TNI’s directory lists ELAP as assessing proficiency testing to the 2016 TNI standard and the other modules to the 2009 standard at present.
- Who needs it
- All environmental testing on New York State samples, public or private, where certification is offered. Program rules for drinking water, SPDES, air and solid waste also require it.
- Matrices
- Drinking water; non-potable water; solid and chemical materials, hazardous waste and soils; air and emissions. Accreditation is granted by matrix, method and analyte.
- Out-of-state labs
- Secondary accreditation for labs accredited by another NELAP body, based on the quality manual and the primary body’s most recent assessment report and corrective action response
- Certificates
- NELAP certificates carry the TNI logo. NY-ELAP only certificates cover fields outside TNI scope and interim accreditation.
The accreditation cycle
The New York approval cycle.
The cycle below comes from ELAP’s certification manual items. Out-of-state labs pay the assessors’ travel costs.
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Apply by matrix and method
Apply for each matrix, method and analyte your lab reports, with your quality manual and supporting records.
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Annual approval
Approval runs for one year, April 1 through March 31 (ELAP Item 130).
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Proficiency testing
PT twice per year per field, with closing dates no more than seven months apart (ELAP Item 300).
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On-site assessment
Biennial assessments of every lab, with unannounced assessments also permitted (ELAP Item 200).
Initial calibration
What auditors check in your initial calibrations.
ELAP assessors work from the TNI standard, your methods and ELAP’s certification manual. The manual is specific about the equipment that every calibration depends on.
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.
The equipment under every curve
ELAP’s equipment item requires that “top-loading or pan balances must be checked daily or with each use using NIST-traceable weights,” with annual service for analytical balances.
Source: ELAP Certification Manual Item 231, Equipment
Calibration standards are only as good as the balances and volumetric devices used to prepare them. ELAP Item 231 also requires mechanical volumetric dispensing devices to be calibrated quarterly.
Self-check
Are your initial calibrations ready for a New York 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.
What changed
New York labs now buy their chemistry PT elsewhere.
Effective December 31, 2025, the Wadsworth Center’s own proficiency testing program stopped offering everything except asbestos PT. Chemistry and bacteriology labs now source PT from external TNI-accredited providers, and the twice-a-year schedule still applies.
ELAP also revised its method lists through 2025 and 2026, with updates across the major matrix categories and new methods added. Check the current Item 180 lists before you request a new method.
With biennial on-site assessments and annual approval, a New York lab is never far from its next review. A calibration record that is complete every time, not only before an assessment, is what keeps that review short.
How WLTR helps
Calibration evidence ready for an ELAP 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 ELAP assessor.
See how your own ICAL data looks when every analyte and model is laid out for review.
Questions
New York accreditation FAQs
Is New York a NELAP state?
Yes. The New York State Department of Health’s ELAP is a NELAP-recognized accreditation body.
Who needs ELAP certification in New York?
New York law requires environmental testing on New York State samples to be performed in a certified lab wherever certification is offered, in both the public and private sectors.
How often are New York labs assessed?
ELAP performs biennial on-site assessments and may also make unannounced visits. PT is required twice a year per field, and approval is renewed each year from April 1 to March 31.
Can an out-of-state lab get ELAP certification?
Yes. Labs accredited by another NELAP body can receive secondary accreditation by submitting their quality manual and their primary body’s most recent assessment report and corrective action response. Other labs apply for primary accreditation.
Does Wadsworth still provide PT samples?
Only for asbestos. Effective December 31, 2025, the Wadsworth PT program stopped offering other PT, so labs use external TNI-accredited PT providers.
Sources
Primary sources for this page.
- Wadsworth Center, Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (opens in a new tab)
- ELAP certification requirements and manual items (opens in a new tab)
- 10 NYCRR Subpart 55-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ELAP Item 130, approval period (opens in a new tab)
- ELAP Item 200, on-site assessments (opens in a new tab)
- ELAP Item 300, proficiency testing (opens in a new tab)
- Wadsworth Center proficiency testing program (opens in a new tab)
- ELAP Item 231, equipment (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 York State Department of Health. Spot something out of date? Tell us at admin@wltr.tech.
Before your next assessment
See your New York 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.