Research-use scope. This page explains documents and terminology. It is not for use in people or animals, contains no handling or procedural guidance, and does not replace the receiving laboratory's own acceptance criteria.
Who performed the analysis
| Third-party (independent) testing | In-house testing | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | A laboratory unaffiliated with the supplier issues the certificate under its own name and certificate number. | The supplier, or a laboratory it controls, produces the report. |
| Verification | The certificate number can be confirmed with the issuing laboratory's own verification page. | Only the supplier can vouch for the document. |
| Method statement | Stated on the certificate by the laboratory that ran it. | Stated by the supplier; may or may not follow a published procedure. |
| What it supports | An independently confirmable result for the stated sample, lot, and date. | A supplier-asserted result; useful, but not independently confirmable. |
How to tell which one you are reading
- The document names the issuing laboratory and carries that laboratory's certificate number and contact or verification route.
- The laboratory is not the supplier and is not a brand the supplier owns.
- The sample identity, lot, and date on the certificate can be looked up on the laboratory's verification page, not only on the supplier's website.
- Absence of any of these does not make a document false, but it does make it unverifiable from the outside.
Why the distinction matters for a receiving laboratory
A receiving log records what can be verified. A third-party certificate can be checked against the issuer's record and filed with the verification date; an in-house summary can only be filed as a supplier statement. Both can be kept; they should not be recorded as the same kind of evidence.
Limits that apply to both
- Either report describes one sample from one lot on one date under the stated method.
- A purity result does not establish identity, and an identity result does not establish purity (explained here).
- Attributes not listed on the report were not tested by that report.
On Arctic Lab Supply reports. Published batch reports are issued by an independent testing laboratory, listed in the batch COA library with the certificate number and a direct link to the laboratory's verification page, and never reused across products, strengths, or lots. How the library is maintained is described in how batch documentation is published.
Related documentation
Published COA libraryEvery currently published report, with verification links.How to read a certificate of analysisWhat each section of an analytical report means.Research materials catalogCurrent listings with batch-documentation status and availability.BPC-157 5mgLyophilized research material with a published batch record.Reading third-party test documentationA checklist for reviewing analytical reports.