Laboratory Certification

The Drinking Water Laboratory Certification Program is managed by the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water. Laboratories analyzing drinking water compliance samples must be certified by U.S. EPA or the State. Certified laboratories must successfully analyze proficiency testing samples, use promulgated methods and successfully pass periodic on-site audits.

• You may call your State Certification Officer to get a list of certified water testing labs in your state.
• Questions may be directed to the Safe Drinking Water Hotline.

The Labcert Bulletin is published periodically by the Technical Support Center of OGWDW. It contains information of interest to drinking water laboratories and drinking water laboratory certification officers.

The Manual for Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water, Fifth Edition, January 2005, describes the implementation of the Drinking Water Laboratory Certification program, including the procedures a laboratory follows and the criteria a laboratory meets to be certified to analyze drinking water compliance samples.

Related Links:

National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) - Contains the NELAC standards, lists NELAC accrediting authorities and accredited laboratories, and has information about past and future NELAC meetings.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) - Contains a directory of NIST accredited drinking water proficiency testing (PT) laboratories. Testing is divided into four major areas: inorganic chemical analysis; organic chemical analysis; biological and microbiological testing; and radiological testing and analysis.

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