How to Read Our COAs
A certificate of analysis (COA) records laboratory findings for a submitted sample. This guide explains how to read a certificate of analysis, match it to a product lot, and separate measured quantity from purity.
Freedom Peptides supplies research materials and publishes available reports. We are not the testing laboratory. Start with the original report in our COA Library, rather than relying on a product summary alone.
1. Match the product, form and lot
- Product and sample type: Check the compound name and whether the report describes a capsule, liquid or other material. Reports for different forms are not interchangeable.
- Batch or lot: Compare the report with the lot on your label. A matching product name alone is not enough.
- Laboratory sample ID: Keep this identifier when checking the report or asking a question.
- Dates: Review when the sample was received, tested and the report completed. A testing date is not an expiration date.
If a lot is missing or does not match, contact us before treating that report as documentation for your material.
2. Read the test, result and unit together
A number only makes sense with its measurement and unit. Read the method, specification, result and notes together.
- Identity: Look for the laboratory’s identity statement and how it was established. In the capsule example below, the report describes a retention-time comparison with a certified reference standard.
- Quantity or assay: A result such as mg/capsule describes the measured amount of the named analyte per capsule. Compare it with a specification expressed in the same unit.
- Purity: Only use a purity percentage when the laboratory actually reports one. A quantity result cannot be relabeled as a purity result. Check what the laboratory’s percentage and method represent before comparing reports.
HPLC is the method listed on our example report. The presence of “HPLC” does not, by itself, mean that every possible quality attribute was tested. Read the named analysis and its results.
3. A real example: 5-Amino-1MQ capsules
The original 5-Amino-1MQ capsule COA (PDF) lists:
- Laboratory: Ethos Analytics
- Customer: Freedom Research Group
- Sample ID: 26EA1016-022
- Sample type: Powder Capsule
- Batch/lot: 5am1026
- Method: HPLC
- Date completed: October 22, 2026
- Specification: 50 mg/capsule
- Result: 50.96 mg/capsule
50.96 mg/capsule is a quantity result, not 50.96% purity. This report does not state a purity percentage. Its identity note describes comparison with a certified reference standard. The report limits its findings to the specified sample.
See the corresponding 5-Amino-1MQ 50 mg, 60-capsule product. This example documents the stated lot and sample; it should not be assumed to cover a different lot or formulation.
4. Verify the original laboratory record
For this Ethos example, open the Ethos certificate verification portal. Enter the company name Freedom Research Group and sample ID 26EA1016-022. Compare the laboratory-issued record with the PDF, including the lot, dates and results.
Other laboratories may use different verification steps. Follow the issuing laboratory’s instructions and contact it if the record cannot be confirmed. A logo or screenshot alone is not independent verification.
5. Understand what the report does not establish
Read the laboratory’s scope and limitations. A report on a submitted sample is not a guarantee that every vial or capsule was individually tested. Do not infer sterility, endotoxin results, microbial results, stability or shelf life unless those specific tests and findings are included.
A COA also does not establish clinical safety, effectiveness, approval for human use or suitability for animal use. A visual inspection statement should not be read as a sterility or microbial test.
Find the right documentation
Browse our COA Library and compare the report with the exact product and lot. If you need help locating a report, send us the product name and lot shown on the label.
For research use only. Not for human or animal use. This guide explains laboratory documentation; it is not medical advice or instructions for use.
