China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has announced a national "One List, One Database" management system for testing institution accreditation, effective June 2026. The system standardizes China CMA accreditation system scope across 11 statutory fields and restricts CMA mark usage to accredited capabilities only, potentially affecting laboratory reports and supplier qualification processes.
China's testing and inspection accreditation system has operated with regional variations and inconsistent implementation across provinces. The China Metrology Accreditation (CMA) system, established formally in 1990 when the former State Bureau of Technical Supervision issued the unified metrology accreditation mark, has served as the foundation for legally valid testing reports in China. Under the Metrology Law of the People's Republic of China, only testing institutions that pass assessment by measurement administrative departments at or above the provincial level can affix the CMA seal on their inspection reports.
The current system encompasses various product quality supervision and inspection institutions, environmental testing stations, centers for disease prevention and control, and other laboratories that issue fair data to society. Testing reports marked with CMA can be used for product quality evaluation, achievement verification, judicial authentication, and trade transactions, holding legal effect as the basis for arbitration and judicial institutions.
SAMR's announcement, published as No. 14 of 2026 by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China, establishes a unified scope for China testing institution accreditation. The "One List" identifies 11 statutory fields within the qualification accreditation system: product quality inspection, food inspection, agricultural product quality inspection, motor vehicle emissions and safety technical inspection, medical device inspection, cosmetics inspection, judicial appraisal testing, ecological and environmental monitoring, forestry product quality inspection, forest tree seed and grass seed quality inspection, and import and export commodity inspection.
The accompanying database currently contains more than 45,000 inspection and testing-related standards, including national, industry, and international standards. This centralized database serves as the basis for accreditation capability items and provides a common national reference point for determining whether a testing capability is subject to qualification accreditation.
Further analysis of the enforcement mechanism reveals that competent authorities across multiple member states are expected to adopt a phased approach, with initial focus on high-risk product categories before extending surveillance to broader market segments. The transition period, while
Get the full enforcement breakdown including affected platforms, regulatory framework details, practical compliance actions, and regional trend analysis.