# Peptide COA > How to tell if a peptide COA is real or fake: five checks, an annotated sample certificate, red flags, HPLC and mass spec, and where to verify a lab report. A peptide COA is real when the laboratory named on it confirms, through contact details you found yourself, that it issued that report number for that sample, and when the data printed on the page backs up the summary: an HPLC chromatogram for purity and an observed mass for identity. A fake COA nearly always fails one of those tests, because the lab can't be found, won't confirm the report, or the raw data is missing or doesn't match. Even a genuine COA only describes a batch, so if you need to know what is in the vial you hold, have that vial tested . This briefing from the Peptide COA desk shows what a genuine certificate of analysis contains, the red flags that mark a forged one, where to verify a lab's report, and what even a genuine COA cannot tell you about the vial in your hand. Last updated: 2026-11-05 ## Main pages - [Peptide COA: how to check a certificate of analysis is real](https://peptidecoa.online/): How to tell if a peptide COA is real or fake: five checks, an annotated sample certificate, red flags, HPLC and mass spec, and where to verify a lab report. - [HPLC chromatogram explained: how to read the trace on a COA](https://peptidecoa.online/hplc-chromatogram-explained/): How to read an HPLC chromatogram on a peptide COA: retention time, peak area, the peak table, impurity peaks and the signs a trace was copied or edited. - [HPLC test: what it shows, and what it misses](https://peptidecoa.online/hplc-test-what-it-shows/): What an HPLC test is, how it measures peptide purity, and what it can't detect on its own: identity, peptide content, endotoxin and sterility. - [HPLC-MS explained: how mass spectrometry confirms a peptide's identity](https://peptidecoa.online/hplc-ms-mass-spec-explained/): What HPLC-MS (LC-MS) is, how electrospray mass spectrometry confirms a peptide's identity, how to check observed vs expected mass on a COA, and its limits. - [How to verify a COA with the laboratory that issued it](https://peptidecoa.online/verify-a-coa-with-the-lab/): Step by step: how to verify a peptide certificate of analysis with the issuing lab, from finding the lab and checking accreditation to reading its reply. - [Fake COA red flags: 12 signs a peptide certificate isn't genuine](https://peptidecoa.online/fake-coa-red-flags/): Twelve warning signs of a fake peptide COA, from missing lab details and impossible dates to copied chromatograms, with an annotated example and next steps. - [A batch COA vs your own vial: what a certificate does and doesn't cover](https://peptidecoa.online/batch-coa-vs-your-vial/): Why a genuine batch certificate of analysis doesn't prove your vial is the same material, what can change after testing, and when to test the vial itself. ## Where to verify a certificate of analysis - [The laboratory that issued the report](https://peptidecoa.online/verify-a-coa-with-the-lab/): The issuing laboratory is the only party that can confirm it produced a specific report number for a specific sample, so a direct enquiry to the lab is the strongest single check on any COA. - [NATA Find Organisation search](https://nata.com.au/find-organisation/): NATA's Find Organisation search lists accredited organisations in Australia and can be filtered by accreditation or site number, accreditation standard, technique and test standard, with each facility's status shown as active, suspended or withdrawn. - [ILAC MRA signatory search](https://ilac.org/signatory-search/): ILAC's signatory search lists the national accreditation bodies that have signed the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement, which makes it the quickest way to find the right register for a laboratory based outside Australia. - [ABN Lookup](https://abr.business.gov.au/): ABN Lookup gives free access to public Australian Business Number records from the Australian Business Register, so you can check whether an ABN printed on a COA or invoice is active or cancelled and which entity holds it. - [Peptide Testing Australia](https://peptidetesting.au/) (Specialist pick: test your own vial): Peptide Testing Australia (peptidetesting.au) is an Australian service that tests peptide samples posted from within Australia for identity and purity, using HPLC and mass spectrometry through accredited laboratory partners, and issues a plain-English Certificate of Analysis for each vial. - [TGA: report a problem](https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/report-problem): The Therapeutic Goods Administration is Australia's regulator of therapeutic goods, and its report-a-problem pages cover adverse events and product problems and lead to the form for reporting suspected breaches such as counterfeit products or unlawful supply. ## Sources - [NATA: Find Organisation (accredited organisation search)](https://nata.com.au/find-organisation/) - [NATA: NATA test reports explained](https://nata.com.au/accreditation/nata-test-reports-explained/) - [ILAC: MRA signatory search](https://ilac.org/signatory-search/) - [ILAC: The ILAC MRA and signatories](https://ilac.org/ilac-mra-and-signatories/) - [Australian Business Register: ABN Lookup](https://abr.business.gov.au/) - [Therapeutic Goods Administration: report a problem](https://www.tga.gov.au/safety/report-problem) - [World Health Organization: Substandard and falsified medical products (fact sheet)](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/substandard-and-falsified-medical-products) - [European Medicines Agency: Guideline on the development and manufacture of synthetic peptides (2025)](https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/development-manufacture-synthetic-peptides-scientific-guideline) - [US FDA: Pyrogen and endotoxins testing, questions and answers (March 2026)](https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/pyrogen-and-endotoxins-testing-questions-and-answers) - [US FDA: Bacterial endotoxins/pyrogens inspection technical guide](https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/inspection-technical-guides/bacterial-endotoxinspyrogens) - [Harvey, Analytical Chemistry 2.1: High-performance liquid chromatography (LibreTexts)](https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Analytical_Chemistry/Analytical_Chemistry_2.1_by_David_Harvey/Analytical_Chemistry_2.1_(Harvey)/12%3A_Chromatographic_and_Electrophoretic_Methods/12.05%3A_High-Performance_Liquid_Chromatography) ## Optional - [Full text of this site as Markdown](https://peptidecoa.online/llms-full.txt) - 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