How to show an accredited test report on a website.
An accredited test report is shown on a website in full, together with the laboratory’s name and accreditation number, the report number, the date, the sample and the test method. Accreditation marks stay on the report and are not carried over to the product or to the site as a whole. If you want to give a summary table on the page, ask the laboratory’s permission first.
What does “tested in an accredited laboratory” mean?
It means that an accreditation body has confirmed the competence of the laboratory that ran the test to perform that test by that method. Accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories is based on ISO/IEC 17025; according to ISO’s introduction page, accredited results can be accepted across countries without retesting. For a buyer, this is exactly where the value of an accredited report lies.
The fine distinction is this: the laboratory is accredited, but not every one of its tests may be within the scope of accreditation. According to TÜRKAK’s guidance on test reports, tests outside the scope of accreditation are marked in the report. The sentence “tested in an accredited laboratory” is therefore incomplete; the correct version also says whether the result you show on the site is within the accredited scope in the report.
There is one more distinction: a test report and a calibration certificate are not the same thing. A test report measures a property of your product; a calibration certificate shows that your measuring device measures correctly. TÜRKAK’s guidance covers both together, but on the site they prove different claims: a calibration certificate is evidence not of product quality but of your own measurement system, and it belongs next to the description of quality control.
Which details should a test report carry on the site?
The details already in the report itself. TÜRKAK’s R20.18 guidance lists the minimum information in an accredited laboratory’s report: the name of the accreditation body, the laboratory’s name and address, the TÜRKAK mark assigned to the laboratory, the report number on every page, the number of pages, the customer’s name and address, and the sample information. The record on the site carries those of these details the buyer needs for screening.
A warning: the report carries the customer’s name and address. If you had the report made not in your own name but in the name of one of your buyers, publishing the report also means publishing that buyer’s name. In that case, either get your buyer’s permission or use a report issued in your own name.
| Field | In the report | In the record on the site |
|---|---|---|
| Laboratory | Name and address | Name; with the accreditation number |
| Accreditation body | Name and the mark assigned to the laboratory | Name (the mark stays on the report) |
| Report | Report number on every page, number of pages | Report number and date |
| Sample | Sample information | Which product or batch |
| Test method | The standard the test is based on | The standard’s name and year |
| Scope | Tests outside the scope marked | Whether the result is within the accredited scope |
| Document | The whole report | The original PDF, in full |
From the test report to the record on the site
- AThe accredited laboratory’s report
- BThe record on the site
- MAccreditation mark: stays on the report
- 01Laboratory
- 02Accreditation body
- 03Report
- 04Sample
- 05Test method
- 06Scope
- 07Document
How is a laboratory’s accreditation verified?
For a laboratory in Turkey, with the accredited body search in TÜRKAK’s ASİST system: the laboratory’s accreditation and the tests it is accredited for are looked up there. Comparing the test method on the report with that list shows whether the result is within scope. For calibration certificates, the TBDS verification QR code is printed only on certificates within the accredited scope.
The way to make verification easy on the site is simple: write the accreditation number next to the laboratory’s name and say where the number can be looked up. The same route for certificates is in the certificate verification guide.
Where do reports belong on the site?
In two places. On the product page, the link to the report that proves that product’s claim sits right next to the claim. In the certificate record, under a “Test reports” heading separate from “Certificates”, each report is one line: laboratory and accreditation number, report number and date, sample, method, result, and the report itself. Putting reports in the same list as certificates presents a product test to the buyer as if it were the same thing as a management system certificate.
Can ILAC and TÜRKAK marks be used outside the report?
The marks belong to the accredited body, not the customer. Under ILAC’s R7 rule, the accredited body uses the ILAC MRA mark with the accreditation body’s permission and together with its own accreditation symbol; the right of use cannot be transferred, and the permitted uses include reports, certificates and websites. Under ILAC P8, only accredited bodies use the accreditation symbol, and the symbol is not placed on the product assessed.
Our reading of this: as the laboratory’s customer, you cannot put the ILAC or TÜRKAK mark across your own site, on product images or on packaging; you can, however, show the marked report. A customer’s use of the TÜRKAK mark outside the report is a matter not for R20.18 but for TÜRKAK’s mark conditions (R10-06), and those conditions close the logos of international recognition organizations to certified companies.
- Wrong: “Our products are accredited.” Products are not accredited; the correct version says which property was measured in which laboratory, by which method, with the report number.
- Wrong: “TÜRKAK-approved product.” TÜRKAK’s mark conditions prohibit giving the impression that TÜRKAK has approved the product.
- Wrong: an ILAC or TÜRKAK logo in the site’s footer. The mark stays on the report.
How is a measurable quality commitment written?
With a number, a method and a verification route. Karcem’s home page gives the color tolerance as ΔE*ab ≤ 1 and says that every batch is verified in an accredited laboratory. Fersan’s home page gives the value ΔE ≤ 1.0 for shipment together with the measurement formula (CIEDE2000). In both, the commitment is built so that a laboratory report can test it.
The sentence can be built on this pattern: “property and value; the standard it was measured against; the laboratory’s name and accreditation number; report number and date”. Each of these fields is already in the report. If one is left empty, the commitment has not been measured yet and should be written on the site not as a commitment but as a target.
In advertising aimed at consumers, this is not a preference but a rule of proof: the Commercial Advertising Regulation holds the advertiser responsible for proving every claim and requires verifiable facts to be proven, where necessary, with documents from accredited or independent testing bodies; the same route is written for certificates and approvals in environmental claims. Even though this regulation does not apply directly to sales to companies, the evidence the buyer expects is the same.
The report, or a summary?
The report first, in full. The sample report statement in R20.18 is clear: it says the report may not be partially copied or reproduced without the laboratory’s written permission. Publishing only one page or a cropped table on the site contradicts this statement. Put the original PDF up in full; if you want a summary table on the page for the buyer to read quickly, our reading is that the table may count as a partial copy of the report, so ask the laboratory’s permission and keep a record of it.
How to test it: ask three questions next to every test result on your site. Is the report number written? Is the laboratory’s accreditation number written? Is the report there in full? If one answer is “no”, the record is incomplete.
The information here is not legal advice; confirm the use of marks and reports against the current rules of your laboratory and the accreditation body.
Let’s place your test reports on the site in a form the buyer can verify, and decide together which report goes up in full and which can be summarized with permission.
For a site that shows your certificates as a record buyers can verify, B2B website builds and measures the certificate page, the product scope and the path to a quote together.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I publish only the results page of a test report?
TÜRKAK’s sample report statement says the report may not be partially copied without the laboratory’s written permission. Publish the report in full, or get written permission from the laboratory for partial use.
Can I put the ILAC logo on product packaging?
No. Under ILAC’s rules, only accredited bodies use the accreditation symbol, and the symbol is not placed on the product assessed.
My report is from a laboratory abroad; how does the buyer verify it?
From the list of the accreditation body in the laboratory’s own country; the accreditation number in the report is looked up there. Accredited results can be accepted across countries without retesting, but the precondition is an accreditation that can be verified.