How to check a lab report ID

Why verify at all

A COA is a PDF or an image, and both are easy to edit. The report ID is the link between the document you are holding and the record the laboratory keeps. Verifying it with the lab is the single most useful check you can make.

Step by step

• Find the report ID, lab name, and report date on the COA header.
• Find the lab's contact details yourself, through a search or the lab's own website. Do not rely on links or phone numbers printed on the COA.
• Check whether the lab offers an online verification portal. Many do. If not, contact the lab directly and ask them to confirm the report.
• Give the lab the report ID and date, and ask them to confirm the sample name, lot or batch number, and the reported results.
• Compare their answer to the document line by line. Any mismatch means the document should be treated as unverified.

Check the lab, too

Many testing labs hold ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, issued by an accreditation body such as A2LA or ANAB in the United States. Accreditation bodies publish directories, and each accreditation has a scope listing the specific tests covered. Check that the lab is listed and that the methods on the report fall within its scope.

Accreditation is a signal of quality systems, not a guarantee about any one result.

Common warning signs

• No report ID, or an ID that does not follow the lab's usual format.
• The lab cannot find the report, or its record shows a different sample or lot.
• The same report ID appears on documents for different lots or different compounds.
• Results with no method listed and no raw data attached.

M Bio documentation status

M Bio publishes original supplier references in its Lab Results library. These documents retain the issuing laboratory, original client, tested sample, and lot. They are not confirmed M Bio lot certificates. Matching reports are marked pending where no suitable reference is available. Verify each document and its scope before drawing a conclusion about a received material.