Explainer

How do I verify a peptide COA?

Short answer · as of 2026-10-05

Verification confirms that the named laboratory issued this report with these results. Find the lab's contact details yourself rather than from the document or the seller, ask it to confirm the report number, sample, lot and results, and check any accreditation claim in an accreditation body's directory. A verified report is genuine, but that does not show it fits your product or covers the tests you care about.

By Peptide Industry Gossip · Published · General explanation, not legal or medical advice. Disclaimer.

Three separate questions

  • Is it authentic: did the named lab issue this document with these results?
  • Is it relevant: does it identify the product and lot you are evaluating?
  • Is it sufficient: do the tests listed answer the question you have?

Steps to check authenticity

  • Copy the lab name, address and report number from the document.
  • Find the lab through its own website or a directory you reached independently. Do not use a link, QR code, phone number or email printed on the document or supplied by the seller.
  • Ask the lab to confirm the report number, sample and lot identifiers, test dates and key results. How a lab handles such requests is its own policy, and some may decline.
  • If the document claims ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, look the lab up in an accreditation body's directory, such as ANAB's or A2LA's, and check that its scope covers the tests on the report. ANAB's FAQ explains that a scope lists the specific capabilities an accreditation covers.

Steps to check relevance

  • Compare the lot number on the report with the lot on the product's label.
  • Check that the sample date follows the manufacture date and that the product name matches.
  • Ask who submitted the sample. A report on a sample the seller chose says what that sample contained.
  • For a repackager or reseller, WHO guidance expects the original manufacturer's COA to be provided.

What verification cannot tell you

  • An accredited lab can issue a report outside its accredited scope, and accreditation does not vouch for any single report. Check the scope.
  • A genuine report does not establish that the product is safe, legal to sell, or suitable for human use.
  • Verification does not replace the lab confirming the sample's chain of custody, which the report may not describe.

Sources

Quotes are from the FDA documents above, retrieved Oct. 5, 2026. FDA can revise those pages. See something wrong? Request a correction.

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