I've been seeing compounded semaglutide COAs floating around on various forums and Telegram groups, and frankly some of them look like they were made in Microsoft Word in 5 minutes. How can we actually verify that a Certificate of Analysis is legitimate and not just a fabricated document?

What should a real COA include? What are the red flags?

Former QC lab director here. A legitimate COA from a compounding pharmacy or testing lab should include:

MUST HAVE:

• Lab name, address, and contact information
• Unique report/certificate number
• Product name and description
• Batch/lot number
• Date of manufacture and date of analysis
• Tests performed with methods cited (e.g., "Potency by HPLC per USP <621>")
• Acceptance criteria (specifications) AND actual results
• Pass/fail determination for each test
• Signature of authorized personnel (QC manager or designee)
• Beyond-use date (BUD)

RED FLAGS: 🚩

• No lot number or a lot number that doesn't match your vial
• Round numbers everywhere (e.g., potency exactly "100.0%" — real HPLC results have decimal variability like 98.7% or 101.2%)
• No method references (just says "potency" without specifying HPLC, UV, etc.)
• Missing sterility or endotoxin results for injectables
• PDF metadata showing it was created in Canva or PowerPoint
• Blurry or inconsistent fonts
• No way to contact the lab to verify

Adding to the checklist above's excellent list — you can sometimes verify a COA by calling the issuing lab directly and providing the report number. Legitimate labs will confirm whether they issued a specific report. I've done this twice and caught one fabricated COA that way.

Also, cross-reference the testing lab. Is it an actual ISO 17025 accredited laboratory? You can check accreditation databases. If the "lab" on the COA doesn't exist or isn't accredited, that's game over.

Previously posted:

Round numbers everywhere (e.g., potency exactly "100.0%" — real HPLC results have decimal variability like 98.7% or 101.2%)

This is the single biggest tell. I've seen so many fake COAs from gray-market peptide vendors that list potency as exactly 99.0% or 100.0% for every single batch. Real analytical chemistry doesn't produce perfectly round numbers across multiple batches. If every batch from a vendor tests at exactly the same potency, they're copy-pasting.

Here's something most people don't know — you can request the raw HPLC chromatogram, not just the summarized COA. A chromatogram shows the actual peaks from the analysis. It's much harder to fake than a text document.

What to look for in a chromatogram:

• A clear, sharp main peak (your peptide)
• Baseline resolution from impurity peaks
• Appropriate retention time for the compound
• System suitability parameters meeting USP requirements

If a pharmacy or vendor can't produce a chromatogram, they either didn't actually test it or are hiding something.