The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), on June 11, 2026 (revised on June 15, 2026), issued a clarification regarding the use of the Unique Laboratory Report (ULR) Number by accredited Testing Laboratories, Calibration Laboratories, and Reference Material Producers. The clarification aims to facilitate authentication of test reports, particularly for products uploaded on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
The clarification provides the prescribed ULR numbering formats for laboratories based on their accreditation certificate format and specifies that the ULR must be mentioned in addition to the laboratory’s report, certificate, or reference material document number for all reports issued within the accredited scope. It also clarifies that amended reports may retain the same ULR, subject to the laboratory's discretion.
Further, NABL has clarified that the ULR system is not mandatory for reports issued by in-house laboratories, reports relating to non-commodity testing (such as air, wastewater, environmental parameters, soil and rock, cell culture, veterinary, dope testing, and forensic testing), or reports containing parameters outside the scope of NABL accreditation. A transition period of six months has been provided to enable Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) to adopt the revised accreditation certificate numbering format and the corresponding ULR format.
