Terms & Conditions

These terms apply to analytical services requested from Certa Analytical by an individual or an organisation. They cover the request, the handling of a submitted sample and the analytical report that results from it.

Where you deal with Certa as a consumer, mandatory consumer rights under the law that applies to you are not affected by anything in this document. Where a term here conflicts with such a right, the right prevails.

Separate written agreements take precedence over these terms for the work they cover.

Submitting the quote request form is an inquiry. It does not oblige Certa to perform the analysis, and it does not by itself create a paid order.

Each request is reviewed against, among other things:

• the analysis requested
• the sample type and what it is represented to contain
• the quantity of material available
• whether the question can be answered by an available method
• applicable pricing
• any special handling or reporting requirement

A quotation or a confirmation may then be issued in response.

Certa may decline a request. Reasons include analytical feasibility, sample type, insufficient material, or a legal or safety obstacle to accepting the sample.

A quoted price applies to the analytical scope set out in that quotation. It covers the analyses named in it, on the sample described in it.

Testing requested after a quotation has been issued — additional parameters, repeat measurements at your request, or a second sample — is outside that scope and may require a separate quotation.

Tax treatment, payment terms and accepted payment methods are stated in the quotation itself. No payment is taken through this website.

When you send a sample for analysis, you are responsible for:

• describing the submitted material accurately and completely
• following the packaging and labelling instructions provided
• using the sample or reference ID issued with the accepted request
• ensuring that possessing and shipping the material is lawful for you
• meeting carrier, postal, customs and import or export requirements

Certa may refuse a sample that cannot lawfully, safely or practically be accepted for analysis, and may refuse material that arrives without a usable reference, in a damaged state, or in a condition that makes a meaningful measurement impossible.

Certa does not advise on whether you may lawfully possess or ship a given material. That assessment is yours, and where necessary you should take your own legal advice.

Analytical work is performed on the sample as received. Information you provide about what the sample is, where it came from and what it is declared to contain is recorded as supplied, and Certa may rely on it when scoping and interpreting the analysis.

A declared identity, supplier, batch or production history is not verified by the act of testing. It is verified only where the agreed method specifically addresses identity, and then only to the extent that method can establish.

Testing is performed according to the analytical scope agreed for the request. Different questions require different methods, and no single method answers every question about a sample.

Every analytical measurement carries limitations: detection and quantification thresholds, measurement uncertainty, method specificity, and the condition of the material as received. These are properties of analysis, not defects in it, and results are reported with the information needed to read them accordingly.

Certa does not commit to a particular instrument or method unless it forms part of the agreed scope. Analytical capability can differ by sample type.

Any turnaround time given is an estimate unless it has been expressly agreed otherwise in writing.

Turnaround normally starts once all of the following are true:

• the analytical request has been accepted
• any payment condition stated in the quotation has been met
• the sample has arrived in a condition that can be analysed

Shipping time to Certa or to the testing facility is not part of analytical turnaround.

Longer timelines can occur where a measurement has to be repeated, where sample preparation proves difficult, where clarification is needed about the sample or the scope, or where a technical problem arises.

An analytical report describes the sample that was actually tested. It does not establish:

• the composition of an entire production batch
• the contents of another vial, container or unit
• the quality of future material from the same source or supplier
• product authenticity beyond what the performed analysis measured
• suitability for human or animal use

Depending on the analysis, a report may contain:

• the sample identifier and the sample metadata provided
• the analytical method used
• measured results and the specification they were assessed against
• chromatographic or mass spectral data where applicable
• analytical notes and interpretation
• a report identifier and revision number

See the analytical disclaimer for how the scope of a result should be read.

Certa may make a verification service available, allowing a report to be checked using its report identifier and the verification code printed on it.

A successful verification confirms one thing: that the report presented corresponds to a report issued through the Certa reporting system, and whether it is still current.

Verification is not an endorsement. It says nothing about the manufacturer, supplier, brand, batch or product in general, and it does not extend the scope of the analysis the report documents.

Reports are not published automatically. Making a customer-submitted report publicly accessible requires the publication choice recorded for that request, or a separate authorisation.

Where a report is made public, it should identify the sample and the analysis — not the person or organisation that submitted it. Customer identity is not published unless it has been expressly agreed and is appropriate to publish.

If you believe a report contains an error, tell Certa and identify the report by its report ID. The report will be reviewed against the analytical records, the calculations, the sample metadata and the preparation of the report itself.

Where a reporting or analytical error is confirmed, a corrected report is issued as a new revision of the same report identifier. Reports are not replaced silently: each revision is numbered, and the earlier revision is superseded rather than erased.

Where a review finds no error, you receive the reasoning rather than a revised document. A disagreement about how a result should be interpreted is not in itself an error in the report.

An accepted analytical request can generally be cancelled before analytical work begins, subject to the terms of the quotation and to any costs already incurred — for example materials ordered or capacity reserved for your sample.

Once sample preparation or analytical work has started, the work already performed cannot be undone, and a cancellation or refund may not be possible for that part of the scope.

Where you qualify as a consumer, statutory withdrawal rights that apply to you remain unaffected. Detailed cancellation and withdrawal terms are stated with the quotation once the ordering and payment process applies to your request.

Analysis consumes material. Depending on the method and the quantity submitted, all or part of a sample may be used up during testing, and preparation steps can render remaining material unusable for other purposes.

Any material that remains after analysis may be retained for a limited period, returned where that has been specifically agreed in advance, or disposed of in line with the applicable laboratory process.

Certa does not undertake to return unused sample material as a matter of course.

Every result has to be read inside the boundaries of the analysis that produced it:

• the scope of the method performed
• detection and quantification limits
• measurement uncertainty
• the condition of the sample as received
• the limitations inherent to the technique

A report should not be read as saying more than the performed method measured. A parameter that was not tested is not established by a report, and a result within specification for one parameter says nothing about a parameter outside that scope.

Certa is responsible for performing the agreed analysis with reasonable professional care and for reporting what was measured.

Certa is not responsible for decisions taken on the basis of a report outside the analytical purpose it was produced for — in particular decisions about the use, sale, distribution or administration of a material, which lie with the party taking them.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. That includes liability for intent and gross negligence, liability for personal injury, and mandatory consumer protection where it applies to you.