NABL Full Form and Meaning: How to Check a NABL Certificate

NABL stands for National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories. It is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India (QCI) that assesses laboratories against international standards such as ISO/IEC 17025 and accredits them for a defined list of tests or calibrations at a specific address. “NABL accredited” therefore means competent for the tests in the laboratory’s scope, not for everything it does. You can check any NABL certificate number on nabl-india.org.

If you need test reports that buyers, tenders or regulators will accept, see our NABL accredited testing service.

NABL at a glance

The details above come from NABL’s About Us page, its FAQs and its home page. NABL is the laboratory counterpart of NABCB, the QCI board that accredits inspection and certification bodies. Aaditech holds NABCB accreditation as a Type A inspection body; we are not NABL, and we are not a NABL accredited laboratory ourselves.

For a deeper look at ISO/IEC 17025, scopes and report checks, read what NABL accreditation is and how to verify a NABL report.

What NABL accredits

NABL accredits six types of conformity assessment body (CAB). Each gets a certificate number with its own prefix, as set out in NABL’s policy document NABL 133.

So a certificate number tells you at a glance whether you are looking at a testing, calibration or medical laboratory. A calibration accreditation (CC-) does not cover product testing, and a product testing accreditation (TC-) does not cover pathology.

If you searched “NABL accredited” for a diagnostic or pathology lab, the relevant accreditation is the medical one, ISO 15189, with an MC- certificate number. The rest of this guide applies in the same way: check the certificate, the location and the scope.

What “NABL accredited” means, and what it does not

It means that:

• NABL assessed the laboratory against the relevant standard and found it competent for the tests, calibrations or activities listed in its scope of accreditation;
• the accreditation applies at the location named on the certificate;
• the laboratory is monitored through surveillance, a mid-cycle assessment and possible unannounced assessments, and NABL can suspend or withdraw accreditation.

It does not mean that:

• every test the lab does is accredited. NABL 133 says a laboratory may not claim accreditation for a test method not in its scope, a value outside its accredited range, or an uncertainty smaller than its accredited capability.
• every branch of the lab is accredited. NABL states that accreditation is location specific. A group with several sites may be accredited at one and not another.
• the product is approved or certified. NABL accredits laboratories, not products. NABL 133 also says the symbol must not be used in a way that implies NABL accepts responsibility for the laboratory’s work.
• the lab is recognised by BIS. BIS has its own laboratory recognition for its certification schemes. See NABL accredited vs BIS-recognised lab.
• it is ISO 9001 certification. ISO 9001 certifies a management system. NABL accreditation is a finding of technical competence for specific tests.
• the accreditation is still valid. Laboratories can be suspended, withdrawn or let accreditation expire. NABL publishes lists of labs under adverse action.

The NABL symbol and the combined ILAC MRA mark

NABL 133, Policy for Use of NABL Symbol and / or Claim of Accreditation by Accredited CABs & NABL Accredited CAB Combined ILAC MRA Mark (Issue 09, Amendment 03 of 3 September 2024), sets the rules. It is available from the NABL documents page.

The NABL logo is reserved for NABL itself. Laboratories use the NABL symbol, which always appears with their accreditation certificate number (TC-XXXX, CC-XXXX and so on).

Key rules for the NABL symbol:

• It is mandatory on reports and certificates for tests covered by the accredited scope. A narrative statement such as “accredited by NABL” cannot replace it on a report.
• Non-accredited parameters should go on a separate report, or be clearly segregated. The symbol must not appear on pages or parts of a report where non-accredited parameters occur, and asterisks or other marks are not an acceptable way of flagging them.
• It must not be combined with another accreditation body’s symbol.
• It may be used only by the accredited laboratory, under its accredited name and address, while accreditation is valid. Customers and subcontractors may not use it.
• It must not be placed on products the laboratory tested or calibrated. The exception is a calibration label on calibrated equipment, which must name the laboratory, identify the instrument, give the calibration date and refer to the certificate.
• It is reproduced in black and white only, in its original proportions.

Key rules for the NABL Accredited CAB Combined ILAC MRA Mark, which joins the ILAC MRA mark with the NABL symbol:

• Its use is voluntary and needs written permission from NABL.
• It may appear only on a report or certificate that contains only accredited scope.
• It may be used only on reports and certificates, never on products or other items.

Where a laboratory is found misusing the symbol or mark, NABL 133 says adverse action is taken under NABL 216, and misuse of the combined mark leads to withdrawal of accreditation.

ILAC, APAC and Global ACI

For years NABL reports have been described as recognised abroad through the ILAC and APAC mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs). NABL’s international recognition page still lists its ILAC scopes (ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 15189, ISO/IEC 17043 and ISO 17034) and its APAC scope for testing and calibration laboratories.

From 1 January 2026, Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI) took over the roles of ILAC and IAF. According to Global ACI’s Q&As, bodies that were ILAC MRA signatories on 31 December 2025 and joined became Global ACI MRA signatories for the same scopes. The Q&As also say that once the new Global ACI MRA mark is legally available in an economy and notified, the old combined marks may no longer be used on new reports. Expect the combined mark on NABL reports to change in due course. Until NABL updates NABL 133, follow its current text.

MRA recognition supports acceptance of reports abroad, but the importing country’s own rules still decide what it accepts.

How to check a NABL certificate

Step 1: Get the certificate number

Find the certificate number next to the NABL symbol on the report, or ask the laboratory. It should start with TC, CC, MC, PC or RC.

Step 2: Verify it on nabl-india.org

On the NABL website, use Verify Certificate and enter the certificate number or CAB ID. Or open Find an NABL accredited Lab, where you can search by CAB name, certificate number or pincode and filter by field (testing, calibration, medical, PTP, RMP, biobank), discipline, state and city. Results show the laboratory name, address, certificate number, validity and status.

Step 3: Match the details

Check that:

• the laboratory name and address match the report, since accreditation is location specific;
• the field matches what you need (TC- for product testing, CC- for calibration, MC- for medical);
• the status is valid, and the accreditation was valid on the date of testing;
• the scope includes your product, the test and the method or standard you need. NABL says valid status and scopes can be verified through the certificate links.

Step 4: Check the adverse action lists

NABL’s website publishes PDFs of suspended laboratories, withdrawn laboratories and laboratories under action for misuse of the NABL symbol. If a lab you are relying on appears there, stop and ask questions.

Step 5: Check the report itself

A valid lab can still issue a report you cannot use: wrong standard edition, a test outside scope, a sample that does not match your product. Our NABL report verification checklist covers what to look for on the report.

NABL vs BIS-recognised laboratory

For tenders, PSUs, utilities and most private buyers, a NABL accredited report is usually what is asked for. For an ISI mark licence or CRS registration, BIS accepts reports only from laboratories it has recognised for that Indian Standard, and NABL accreditation alone is not enough. We explain the difference with examples in NABL accredited vs BIS-recognised lab. For the BIS side, see BIS full form and meaning and CRS full form.

Energy performance testing for BEE star labels follows BEE’s own laboratory rules; see BEE full form and star rating meaning.

How Aaditech can help

Aaditech arranges NABL accredited testing for electrical and electronic products: more than 3,800 tests across 55 Indian Standards and many IEC, BS, UL and defence standards, with BIS-recognised testing available for 20 Indian Standards. The tests are performed in NABL accredited laboratories. Before testing, we confirm what the receiving party will accept and check that each test is within scope. Browse the accredited tests on our NABL testing pages or see our NABL accredited testing service.