Laboratory accreditation is a procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition of technical competence for specific test(s) based on third party assessment and following international Standard .

Government of India has authorised National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) as the sole accreditation body for Testing and Calibration laboratories.NABL is an autonomous body under the aegis of  Department of Science & Technology.

NABL accreditation is a formal recognition of the technical competenceof a  medical laboratory for a specific task following ISO 15189:2007 Standards. WTO recognizes non-acceptance of test results andmeasurement data as Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT). Accreditation is considered to be the first essential step towards removing such technical barriers. NABL has gone a step further and achieved the status of APLAC (Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) MRA (Mutual Recognition Arrangement) partner and signatory to ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) Arrangement based on peer evaluation by a multi-disciplinary team from APLAC. This is a major step towards mutual acceptance of test results and measurement data amongst 52 accreditation bodies representing 45 countries. NABL accredited laboratories have therefore emerged as a member of global family of accredited laboratories.