Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) is a quality system for how non-clinical safety studies are planned, run, recorded and archived. It is defined by the OECD Principles of GLP, and many regulators accept agrochemical studies only if they were done under it.
In India, labs are certified by the National GLP Compliance Monitoring Authority (NGCMA), which sits under the Department of Science and Technology. You check a lab by finding it on the authority's published list of certified test facilities.
What GLP covers
GLP does not judge whether a result is scientifically good. It ensures that the study can be reconstructed and trusted. In practice, a GLP lab must have these elements in place:
- A study director takes full responsibility for each study.
- A written study plan is approved before work starts.
- Standard operating procedures govern equipment, methods and record keeping.
- An independent quality assurance unit inspects studies and audits reports.
- Equipment is calibrated and test items are characterised.
- Archives keep raw data, samples and reports for a set period.
Why India's certification is accepted abroad
According to the Department of Science and Technology, India has been a full member of the OECD system for Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) in GLP since 3 March 2011. Under MAD, studies done in a certified facility in one adherent country are accepted by authorities in the others, without repeating the work.
This matters for agrochemical dossiers. Studies on physical chemistry, toxicology and ecotoxicology done in a certified Indian lab can support registrations in many OECD and MAD-adherent countries. Your regulator still decides what it accepts, so confirm before you order a new study.
How to check a lab
The NGCMA publishes a list of GLP-certified test facilities on the Department of Science and Technology website. As of October 2026, the most recent list we found was dated May 2026, and the list is updated several times a year. Use it in four steps.
- Find the facility by name and address, because some groups run more than one site.
- Check the areas of expertise, such as physical-chemical testing, toxicity studies or ecotoxicity studies, against the study you need.
- Check the test items covered, since certification can be limited to certain product types.
- Check the certificate's validity dates against the dates the study was actually done.
Documents to ask for
Ask the supplier for the GLP compliance statement signed by the study director and the quality assurance statement in each report. A study done before the lab was certified, or outside its certified areas, may not be accepted as GLP.
Also ask where the raw data and samples are archived and for how long. A regulator can ask to see them years after approval. If the lab has closed or lost its certification, you may struggle to defend the study.
Next step
We check that the studies in a supplier's dossier came from certified facilities within their scope and dates. To see how we work, read how it works, or book a free sourcing review.