Understanding COAs

You're listening to HempDash Academy — practical compliance education for hemp retailers. Today's lesson: Understanding COAs. What a Certificate of Analysis actually says, the 12 things Texas requires on it, and the red flags that should stop a product at the door. In this lesson, you will learn: Explain what a COA is and why every product needs one. Know the 12 items Texas rules require on a COA. Match a COA to the physical product in front of you. Spot the red flags that mean 'don't shelve this'. What a COA is. A Certificate of Analysis is the lab report for a specific batch of product. It says what an accredited laboratory found when it tested that batch: cannabinoid content (including THC), and typically contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and microbials. The key word is batch. A COA is not a certificate for a product line — it belongs to one lot. If you're selling lot 2026-0412 and the COA on file is for lot 2025-1101, you effectively have no COA for what's on your shelf. The 12 things Texas requires on a COA. Under the amended rules, 25 TAC §300.301(d) spells out what a COA must include: Laboratory name, address, and contact information. The hemp cultivator/processor/manufacturer's name and address. Who collected the sample (sampler identification). Sample identifying information, including matrix type (flower, edible, tincture, etc.). The lot identification number of the sample. Date the sample was received, dates of analyses, and results. Units of measure. Analytical methods, instrumentation, and limits of detection/quantification. An expiration date. A QR code verifying authenticity at an accredited lab. Measurement-of-uncertainty analysis parameters. Results of all requested analyses performed for the sample — including % delta-9 THC, total delta-9 THC, and total THC per container. How to actually check one. You don't need a chemistry degree. A practical review is four matches and one date: does the product name match, does the lot number on the package match the lot on the COA, does the manufacturer match, does the QR code resolve to the same document at the lab — and is the COA unexpired? Then look at the THC results with 2026 eyes. For the 0.3% hemp threshold, the number that matters is total delta-9 THC — which includes THCA through the rule’s conversion — not delta-9 alone. The COA must separately report delta-9 THC, total delta-9 THC, and total THC. A COA that reports only delta-9 and leaves the totals blank is a problem in itself. Red flags. Any of these should stop a product before it reaches a shelf: No lot number, or the lot on the COA doesn't match the package. Expired COA, or no expiration date at all. No QR code, or a QR code that goes to a marketing page instead of the lab. Total THC missing, or numbers that only work under old delta-9-only math. A 'full panel' claim with no contaminant results attached. COA issued by a lab you can't find or verify as accredited. Here is a real-world example. A distributor sends a retailer a gummy line with a clean-looking COA. The store checks the lot number: the package says LOT-3341, the COA says LOT-2907. The distributor's answer — 'it's the same recipe' — is exactly the answer that doesn't matter. Testing is per batch because contamination and potency drift are per batch. The store asked for the LOT-3341 COA. It didn't exist yet. That's not paperwork pedantry; that's the system working. Key takeaways. A COA belongs to one lot — match the lot number on the package to the COA, every time. Texas requires 12 specific items on a COA under §300.301(d), including a QR code and an expiration date. For the 0.3% threshold, read total delta-9 THC (THCA-inclusive) — not delta-9 alone. The COA must also report total THC. No matching, current, verifiable COA = the product doesn't go on the shelf. And finally, the checklist: COA intake checklist. Product name on COA matches the physical product. Lot number on package matches lot number on COA. Manufacturer name and address match. QR code resolves to the same COA at the lab. COA is unexpired. Delta-9 THC, total delta-9 THC, and total THC are all reported; total delta-9 THC is within the 0.3% threshold. Contaminant panels (residual solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, and harmful pathogens) are present and passing. COA filed where you can retrieve it by lot number. You've completed this HempDash Academy lesson. Test what you learned below, or see how HempDash can help put it into practice. This recording is educational information, not legal advice — rules change, so verify current requirements with DSHS and your attorney.