Tap Score Lab Certifications

Laboratory certification in the water quality industry is as important as it is confusing. Here we try to disentangle the many threads of laboratory accreditation and certification so that you can understand how to check a laboratory facility’s current accreditation status.

All Tap Score water test packages are powered by SimpleLab and analyzed in laboratories accredited by various agencies and private bodies. All accreditation and certifications follow the same standard of ISO 17025 to ensure all laboratories have an acceptable quality management system in place.

ISO/IEC 17025 is the international standard for testing and calibration laboratories. It sets out requirements for the competence, impartiality, and consistent operation of laboratories, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of their testing and calibration results

Certifications can be on the national level, NELAC for example, covering a broad range of methods as well as various State agencies. All Tap Score testing methods are either Standard Methods or EPA methods approved for drinking water and similar matrices (groundwater, surface water, etc).

Laboratory Certification and Accreditation

There are two main sources of drinking water laboratory certification in the United States: the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) or state specific laboratory certification programs (often referred to as ELAP programs). Unfortunately, there is no one “single” certification program for every single state, so you have two ways to look them up.

NELAC, NELAP, and TNI

The NELAC Institute (TNI) manages the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, or NELAP. The purpose of this program is to establish and implement a program for the accreditation of environmental laboratories. There are 15 states that participate in the NELAP program.

NELAP relies on consensus standards representing the best professional practices in the industry to establish the requirements for this program, which is then implemented by state agencies recognized by TNI as Accreditation Bodies.

The TNI Standard for laboratories, Volume 1, is modeled after ISO/IEC 17025:2005 "General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories." TNI Standard Volume 2 is the Accreditation Body (AB) requirements to accredit laboratories. The AB Standard is based on ISO/IEC 17011:2004 "Conformity Assessment: General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies." Volumes 3 and 4 relate to the proficiency testing components of NELAP.

The fastest way to search for accredited environmental testing labs in the USA is to utilize the TNI LAMS Lab Search Tool.

On this page you can search for laboratories directly by matrix, method, analyte, location, lab name, and accreditation body.

When you find the lab(s) you’re looking for you can then proceed to the “View Lab” page and see more details about the lab facilities and accreditations.

If you click on “Fields of Accreditation” on any given “View Lab” you can see precisely which matrices, methods, and analytes that lab is accredited for.

State Specific Certification

For the other 35 states, you have to cross reference the state of interest and then look up the Fields of Accreditation for a specific laboratory in the same way you would for a NELAC certified lab. The EPA does have some helpful links to help you find the various agencies.

NOTE: some states have separate certification agencies for drinking water and other matrices (waste water or soil for example), So it is important to make sure you are searching the agency link related to drinking water certification.

EPA Certification

EPA Certification is a common misconception among first time users of environmental laboratory testing services. Labs are rarely ever directly accredited by the Federal EPA. The Federal EPA has given such powers (in most cases) directly to the States. Each State then decides how environmental labs must be accredited in order to perform compliance testing in their state.

Other Laboratory Certifications: ISO, A2LA, PJLA, etc.

There are a handful of other national private certification companies which a lab may hold, such as the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) or Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, Inc (PJLA). These third-parties act as both auditors of the laboratories quality systems and issuers of certifications and Fields of Testing to the ISO 17025 standard. In many cases, these third parties will also audit a laboratory on behalf of a state agency. SimpleLab laboratories also include many of these types of accredited facilities, as well. Each of these other accrediting agencies require maintaining rigorous standards and proficiency testing similar to NELAP in order to remain in good standing.