The Standard: ISO/IEC 17025:2017
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 is the international standard that specifies the general requirements for the competence, impartiality, and consistent operation of testing and calibration laboratories. Accreditation under this standard means an independent accreditation body has assessed the laboratory's personnel, equipment, methods, and quality management system, and found them to meet defined criteria. The "2017" revision added requirements for risk-based thinking and impartiality, making it harder to maintain accreditation while cutting corners.
What Accreditation Requires
To achieve and maintain ISO 17025 accreditation, a laboratory must: use validated analytical methods, calibrate all measurement equipment against national/international standards, participate in proficiency testing (inter-laboratory comparison), maintain complete records of all tests, have qualified personnel with documented training, and undergo regular on-site assessment by accreditors. The last point is critical — a lab cannot fabricate results for accredited tests without risking detection during audits.
US Accreditation Bodies
In the United States, the primary accreditation bodies for ISO 17025 are A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation) and NVLAP (National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program, administered by NIST). Both are signatories to the ILAC MRA (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement), which means their accreditations are recognized in 90+ countries. You can verify a lab's current accreditation status on the A2LA or NVLAP public directory.
Why Domestic US Testing Matters
Many peptide vendors test with overseas laboratories in countries with lower regulatory oversight. The risks: (1) Lab results may not be verifiable against publicly accessible accreditation databases. (2) Chain of custody — confirmation that the sample tested was the sample from your batch — is harder to audit across international logistics. (3) Legal recourse is limited if results are fabricated. (4) Overseas labs may not apply the same method validation standards. Domestic US ISO 17025-accredited testing is verifiable by anyone with an internet connection.
How to Verify a Lab
Go to the A2LA public directory (a2la.org) or the NVLAP directory (nvlap.nist.gov). Search the laboratory name or certificate number shown on the COA. The listing will show: accreditation status (active or suspended), scope of accreditation (which test methods are covered), and the certificate expiration date. If the lab is not in either database — or if the scope does not include peptide HPLC analysis — the accreditation claim on the COA should not be trusted.