Laboratory Accreditation Under NVLAP

NVLAP accreditation applies to specified activities. Review the laboratory’s current scope and determine whether the requested test or calibration is included. A laboratory may offer both accredited and other services. Its overall accreditation status does not establish that every method appearing in its commercial catalogue falls within the accredited scope.

The program uses laboratory competence requirements, including ISO/IEC 17025 and relevant program-specific criteria. These address the laboratory’s ability to produce technically valid results within scope. Accreditation is not a finding that a particular product satisfies all regulatory requirements or that the laboratory has authority to issue every form of product certification.

Identify the test method and edition, sample identity, work location and report status. Compare these details with the scope relevant to the work. NCQM practice consideration: resolve any use of subcontractors or deviations from the requested method before relying on the result. The receiving organization needs evidence for the specific test, not simply a copy of a general accreditation certificate.

Reports can contain qualifications concerning sampling, sample condition, customer information or departures from a method. Read these alongside the reported values. A satisfactory test on a customer-supplied sample does not automatically represent all production. The organization making the acceptance decision should state the population or configuration to which it applies the evidence.

NCQM practice consideration: record the scope and accreditation status relevant to the test date and the present procurement decision. If a certificate has changed, establish whether the change affects the evidence being used. Keep the public scope reference with the review record so that a later reviewer can understand the basis on which the laboratory was selected.

Accreditation, regulatory laboratory recognition, product certification and purchaser approval can coexist but are distinct. A particular government program may specify additional recognition or method requirements. Check that program directly. Use NVLAP information to support a defined laboratory competence review rather than claiming that NIST has approved the supplied product.