State accreditation guides
Every state’s lab accreditation guide, A to Z.
Fifty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Find your state, see who accredits or certifies environmental labs there and under which standard, and open the guide. Each guide covers the agency, the rules, reciprocity for out-of-state labs and what auditors check in your initial calibrations.
4 guides
AlabamaDrinking water lab certificationAlabama Department of Environmental ManagementADEM laboratory certificationAlaskaState program (non-NELAP)Alaska Department of Environmental ConservationDrinking Water lab certification; Contaminated Sites lab approvalArizonaState program (non-NELAP)Arizona Department of Health ServicesEnvironmental laboratory licensureArkansasState program (non-NELAP)Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality (non-drinking water); Arkansas Department of Health (drinking water)ADEQ environmental laboratory certification; ADH drinking water lab certification
3 guides
CaliforniaState program (non-NELAP)State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking WaterEnvironmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP)ColoradoDrinking water lab certificationColorado Department of Public Health and EnvironmentDrinking water laboratory certificationConnecticutState program (non-NELAP)Connecticut Department of Public HealthEnvironmental Laboratory Certification Program (ELCP)
2 guides
DelawareDrinking water lab certificationDelaware Health and Social Services, Office of Drinking WaterDrinking water laboratory certificationDistrict of ColumbiaEPA region certifiesU.S. EPA Region 3 (Laboratory Services and Applied Science Division)EPA Region 3 drinking water laboratory certification
4 guides
IdahoDrinking water lab certificationIdaho Department of Health and Welfare, Bureau of LaboratoriesDrinking water laboratory certificationIllinoisNELAP accreditation bodyIllinois Environmental Protection AgencyNELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)IndianaDrinking water lab certificationIndiana Department of HealthDrinking water laboratory certificationIowaState program (non-NELAP)Iowa Department of Natural ResourcesLaboratory certification
2 guides
KansasNELAP accreditation bodyKansas Department of Health and EnvironmentNELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)KentuckyState program (non-NELAP)Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Department for Environmental Protection, Division of WaterKentucky Drinking Water Laboratory Certification Program (KDWLCP) and Kentucky Wastewater Laboratory Certification Program (KWLCP)
8 guides
MaineState program (non-NELAP)Maine Department of Health and Human ServicesMaine laboratory certificationMarylandDrinking water lab certificationMaryland Department of the EnvironmentWater quality laboratory certificationMassachusettsState program (non-NELAP)Massachusetts Department of Environmental ProtectionLaboratory certification programMichiganDrinking water lab certificationMichigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)Drinking water laboratory certificationMinnesotaNELAP accreditation bodyMinnesota Department of HealthNELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)MississippiDrinking water lab certificationMississippi State Department of Health, Public Health LaboratoryDrinking water laboratory certificationMissouriDrinking water lab certificationMissouri Department of Natural ResourcesDrinking water laboratory certificationMontanaDrinking water lab certificationMontana Department of Public Health and Human ServicesDrinking water laboratory certification
8 guides
NebraskaDrinking water lab certificationNebraska Department of Health and Human ServicesDrinking water laboratory certification (Title 179)NevadaState program (non-NELAP)Nevada Division of Environmental ProtectionLaboratory Certification ProgramNew HampshireNELAP accreditation bodyNew Hampshire Department of Environmental ServicesNELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)New JerseyNELAP accreditation bodyNew Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Quality AssuranceNJ-NELAP (TNI standard) and the state NJ-ELCP programNew MexicoDrinking water lab certificationNew Mexico Environment Department, Drinking Water BureauDrinking Water Laboratory Certification Program (DWLCP)New YorkNELAP accreditation bodyNew York State Department of Health (Wadsworth Center ELAP)NELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)North CarolinaState program (non-NELAP)NC Department of Health and Human Services, State Laboratory of Public Health (drinking water); NC Department of Environmental Quality (wastewater/other)Drinking water lab certification; DEQ laboratory certificationNorth DakotaState program (non-NELAP)North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (chemistry); Department of Health and Human Services (microbiology)North Dakota Environmental Laboratory Certification Program
3 guides
OhioDrinking water lab certificationOhio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Drinking and Ground WatersDrinking water laboratory certification (OAC 3745-89)OklahomaNELAP accreditation bodyOklahoma Department of Environmental QualityNELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)OregonNELAP accreditation bodyOregon Health Authority (ORELAP)NELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)
2 guides
PennsylvaniaNELAP accreditation bodyPennsylvania Department of Environmental ProtectionNELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)Puerto RicoDrinking water lab certificationPuerto Rico Department of HealthLaboratory certification program
2 guides
South CarolinaState program (non-NELAP)South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (formerly SCDHEC)Laboratory certification programSouth DakotaDrinking water lab certificationSouth Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources / State Health LaboratoryDrinking water laboratory certification
2 guides
TennesseeDrinking water lab certificationTennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water ResourcesDrinking water laboratory certificationTexasNELAP accreditation bodyTexas Commission on Environmental QualityNELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)
2 guides
VermontDrinking water lab certificationVermont Department of HealthDrinking water laboratory certificationVirginiaNELAP accreditation bodyVirginia Department of General Services, Division of Consolidated Laboratory ServicesNELAP-recognized environmental laboratory accreditation program (TNI standard)
4 guides
WashingtonState program (non-NELAP)Washington State Department of EcologyEnvironmental Laboratory Accreditation ProgramWest VirginiaState program (non-NELAP)West Virginia Department of Health, Office of Laboratory Services (drinking water); West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (environmental)Drinking water lab certification; WVDEP laboratory certificationWisconsinState program (non-NELAP)Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (chemistry); Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (microbiology)Laboratory certification and registration program (NR 149)WyomingEPA region certifiesU.S. EPA Region 8EPA Region 8 drinking water laboratory certification
Beyond the state programs
Accreditation does not stop at the state line.
Most regulated labs answer to more than one program. These are the federal, national and industry bodies that set calibration expectations alongside the state programs above, and the WLTR page that covers each one.
Environmental
TNI and NELAP
The NELAC Institute publishes the TNI Standard, the quality system most environmental programs assess against. NELAP accreditation bodies are the state agencies TNI recognizes to accredit labs to it; the directory above marks each one.
Initial calibration, calibration verification and the acceptance limits sit in Volume 1 of the standard, by method.
Environmental accreditation guidelinesThe NELAC Institute (opens in a new tab)
Defense and energy
DoD and DOE ELAP
Labs supporting Department of Defense and Department of Energy environmental work are accredited to the DoD and DOE Quality Systems Manual (QSM) by the accreditation bodies DoD ELAP recognizes: A2LA, ANAB and PJLA. QSM version 6.0 is the current edition.
QSM carries its own calibration acceptance criteria on top of the TNI Standard, method by method.
QSM 6.0 in the accreditation updatesDoD Environmental Data Quality Workgroup (opens in a new tab)
Federal
EPA
EPA sets the method and quality control rules behind the state programs: the drinking water laboratory certification manual that state certification programs adopt, direct certification where EPA keeps primacy (the District of Columbia and Wyoming), and the wastewater methods in 40 CFR Part 136.
40 CFR 136.7 lists the quality control elements, calibration included, that apply wherever a method lacks its own.
Water and wastewater labsEPA drinking water laboratory certification (opens in a new tab)
Pharma and bioanalytical
FDA
FDA does not accredit labs; it regulates them. Bioanalytical, pharmaceutical QC and food labs work under 21 CFR Part 58 (GLP), Part 211 (cGMP), Part 11 (electronic records and signatures), ICH M10 and ICH Q2(R2). FDA auditors read the calibration record, not the summary.
Every excluded standard, every refit and every model change needs an attributable reason in the record.
Accreditation bodies
ISO/IEC 17025
A2LA, ANAB, PJLA and IAS accredit testing labs to ISO/IEC 17025, the baseline for cannabis, food, forensic and many state programs. Several state environmental programs accept it with TNI supplements.
Clause 7 requires validated methods and traceable calibration; the acceptance limits come from the method or the regulator.
Cannabis
Cannabis control boards
Each state’s cannabis regulator licenses or certifies testing labs, usually on top of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, with state rules for potency, pesticides, residual solvents and heavy metals. The regulators labs deal with most often:
- California Department of Cannabis Control (opens in a new tab)
- Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (opens in a new tab)
- Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (opens in a new tab)
- Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (opens in a new tab)
- Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (opens in a new tab)
- Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (opens in a new tab)
- Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (opens in a new tab)
- Arizona Department of Health Services (opens in a new tab)
- New York Office of Cannabis Management (opens in a new tab)
- Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (opens in a new tab)
- Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use (opens in a new tab)
Potency and pesticide calibrations are where state auditors look first; the reporting limit sits at the low end of the curve.
Forensic
Forensic toxicology
Forensic labs are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by ANAB or A2LA with forensic supplemental requirements. ANSI/ASB Standard 036 sets the calibration requirements for quantitative toxicology.
Standard 036 expects a documented calibration model choice and acceptance at every level, with the result defensible in court.
Food and supplements
FDA LAAF and 21 CFR Part 111
FDA’s Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods program requires LAAF-accredited labs for certain food testing, on the basis of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation by an FDA-recognized body. Dietary supplement labs work under 21 CFR Part 111.
Pesticide, mycotoxin and contaminant calibrations are judged at the maximum residue limit, so the low end of the curve decides the result.
ISO/IEC 17025 and LAAFDietary supplement labsFDA LAAF program (opens in a new tab)
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