Drinking water results you can actually trust.
DWLCA certifies drinking water testing laboratories to a standard stricter than federal minimums — with a mandatory onsite audit every year, direct oversight of how samples are collected and handled, and a public registry where anyone can verify a certificate in seconds.
A lab result is only as good as everything that happened before the instrument.
Most certification programs audit a laboratory once every three years and look almost entirely at what happens inside the building. But a bad sample bottle, a warm cooler, a broken chain of custody, or a technician who never took the training produces a clean-looking report that is simply wrong. DWLCA was built to close that gap.
Onsite audit every year
Not every three years. A DWLCA assessor walks your bench, your sample-receiving area, and your records every 12 months. No self-attestation.
Collection is part of the audit
We certify the sample's journey, not just the analysis: bottles, preservation, holding times, temperature logs, and the people who collect in the field.
Blind proficiency samples
Certified labs receive unannounced proficiency samples through normal customer channels. If the number is wrong, the scope is suspended until it's fixed.
Public, live verification
Every certificate carries a random 8-digit number and a QR seal that resolves to this registry. Suspended or revoked labs show as such the same day.
Complaint-driven investigation
Anyone — a homeowner, an inspector, a competitor — can report a concern. Substantiated complaints trigger an unscheduled audit.
Private and non-governmental
DWLCA is not a regulator. Certification rests on proficiency demonstrated with EPA-approved methods — not on holding a government certificate — for labs that want to prove they're better than required.
Stricter than the EPA minimum — by design.
The EPA's laboratory certification manual sets a floor that every compliance lab must meet. DWLCA starts there and adds the requirements the floor leaves out. Read the full Standard →
| Requirement | EPA / State Certification | DWLCA |
|---|---|---|
| Onsite audit frequency | Every 3 years (typical) | Every 12 months |
| Field sample collection audited | Generally not | Required |
| Blind (unannounced) proficiency samples | Announced PT studies only | Twice yearly, unannounced |
| Chain-of-custody review | Records check | Records + live sample tracing |
| Public verification of status | State lists, often outdated | Live registry, same-day updates |
| Complaint investigation process | Varies by state | Defined, with unscheduled audits |
Verify a laboratory
Enter the 8-digit certificate number printed on the report.
Prove you're better than the minimum.
DWLCA certification tells your customers — homeowners, inspectors, realtors, engineers, utilities — that a third-party body walks your lab every year and stands behind your numbers. Certification starts at $3,500 per year, including the onsite audit.
Why certify →Know who tested your water.
If a report carries the DWLCA seal, scan the QR code or type the number on this site. You'll see the lab's status, what it's certified to test, and when it was last audited. If it doesn't check out, tell us.
Learn more →