How to verify a certificate of analysis

1. Match the lot

• Read the lot number on the vial label.
• Find the same lot number on the CoA. If it is missing or different, the certificate does not cover your vial.

2. Find the lab's references

• The testing laboratory's name.
• A task, report or sample number.
• A verification key or code, if the lab issues one.

3. Check with the lab directly

• Go to the laboratory's own website by typing its address or searching for it, rather than following a link supplied by the seller.
• Use the lab's verification or report-lookup page, entering the task number and key.
• If the lab has no online lookup, email the lab with the task number and ask it to confirm the report.

4. Compare the lab's copy with the PDF

• Compound or sample name.
• Purity figure and method (normally HPLC).
• Identity result and measured mass (mass spectrometry).
• Test date.
• Any difference means the PDF you were given is not the lab's report.

5. Sense-check the content

• The test date should fit the lot's release date.
• The same report should not appear for several different lots.
• Figures should come with a method, not stand alone.

At Sable

Every lot has a CoA, emailed within 2 hours of a request. When lab PDFs are published in the CoA library, each entry carries the lab name, the task number and, where issued, the verification key, so you can follow the steps above without contacting Sable.