Before You Buy
- Identify a legitimate need for a dietary supplement and evaluate whether the benefits of using the supplement are worth the risks inherent with all dietary supplements.
- Visit the registration databases or mobile apps of the recommended third-party certification programs to identify a certified product that meets your dietary needs.
- If purchasing online: Follow the purchasing instructions on the third-party certification site (if provided) or contact the company directly to purchase a certified lot.
- If purchasing in store: Look for one of the recommended program seals on the product label. Use the app or database provided by the third-party certifier to confirm the lot is certified.
Third-Party Certification FAQ
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What is third-party certification of dietary supplements?
Third-party certification of dietary supplements is when an independent organization (not the supplement company itself) evaluates a dietary supplement and vouches for its quality. A dietary supplement company pays the third-party certifier to have one or more products certified. The third-party certification company will have an evaluation process that the supplement company and their products go through. Once a product is certified, the third-party certification company will have a process to ensure ongoing compliance with their certification program. Certified products will usually have a seal or certification stamp on the product label, and the certified lots will be listed in a database or registry run by the third-party certifier.
What ISN'T third-party certification?
Third-party certification is NOT:
- FDA approval (the FDA does not evaluate or approve dietary supplements before they are sold)
- USADA approval (USADA does not approve or endorse any dietary supplement)
- WADA approval (WADA does not approve or endorse any dietary supplement)
- A guarantee that the supplement is safe or effective
Third-party certification is a risk-reduction step to give athletes assurances that the supplement company and certified products have been reviewed and have passed the requirements of an independent certification program. Using a third-party certified product reduces, but does not eliminate, the risks of a positive test or adverse health effect.
Why is third-party certification of dietary supplements important?
Dietary supplements are regulated in a post-market fashion, which means that no regulatory body approves the accuracy of the label or safety of the contents before they are sold to consumers. For athletes subject to anti-doping rules, it’s important to know if a supplement is high quality and free from prohibited substances BEFORE use. A thorough third-party certification program that tests for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) is an important risk-reduction step for athletes.
Some third-party programs certify things that are not dietary supplements, like creams or lotions, over the counter or prescription products. Is that normal?
Over the last several years, athletes have expressed concern about testing positive from other products. Several third-party certification programs do certify products in the following categories:
- topical creams and rubs
- masks/hair and scalp products
- massage oils
- hemp creams/sticks
- cleansers
- homeopathic preparations
- over the counter compounded pain creams
- herbal sprays
- Prescription products available from a physician:
- prescription compounded topical creams containing medications (ketoprofen)
- injectable vitamins (can only be prescribed and administered by a doctor in a medical facility).
As with any product, athletes should confirm that the lot used is a certified lot listed on the third-party program database or app. USADA does not recommend or endorse any individual product.
Why is USADA recommending specific third-party certification companies but not others?
If athletes choose to use supplements despite the risks, USADA has always recommended that athletes use only dietary supplements that have been certified by a third-party program that tests for substances prohibited in sport. However, it can be challenging to identify a suitable third-party certification program because:
- Some supplement companies put a generic “third-party certified” logo on their label as an advertising ploy even though the product may not have been evaluated or tested at all.
- There are legitimate third-party certification programs that don’t conduct banned substance testing. Such programs may be adequate quality assurance programs for the general consumer, but for drug-tested athletes, testing for prohibited substances is a critical part of reducing risk.
- There are some country-specific third-party certification programs that USADA has not yet fully evaluated for U.S. athletes, but USADA will evaluate those programs in 2027 as we work to support athletes traveling and training overseas. In the meantime, athletes traveling abroad should bring certified supplements with them, or look for the recommended seals abroad. Therefore, USADA is specifically recommending certification programs that evaluate dietary supplements for overall quality, as well as test for substances prohibited in sport. Most, if not all, of the recommended programs do certify products sold in other countries.
All of the recommended third-party certification programs offer multiple certification services. How do I know which ones are best for athletes subject to anti-doping testing?
Athletes need to carefully identify products and lots that are certified under the banned substance testing program of any of the certifiers. Look closely at the logos and make sure to search the database of the correct program to identify the safest products. Take special care to identify the terms in bold below:
- Banned Substance Control Group DRUG FREE
- Eurofins CLEAN SPORT
- Informed SPORT (but not Informed Choice)
- NSF Certified for Sport
- TruShield Certified
Why did USADA recently update its recommendation on third-party certification programs?
USADA is broadening its third-party recommendation based on several observations:
- Athlete surveys reveal that athletes want and need expanded access to additional certified products.
- American athletes regularly live, train, and compete around the world and have asked for greater access to globally available certified products.
- No athlete has ever tested positive from a product certified by the recommended programs, confirming the effectiveness of such programs in reducing risk for athletes.
- The recommended third-party certification programs have vouched that they have experience with, and maintain appropriate records and samples for, supporting anti-doping investigations.
- Among the recommended programs, athletes have access to certified versions of other personal care products besides dietary supplements (e.g., creams, massage oils)
- The programs have (at a minimum) a database, but all have or are developing a mobile app for certified products to help athletes verify their supplements are certified.
What is different about the current recommendation from USADA's previous recommendation?
In 2018, USADA, in collaboration with the Uniformed Services University (under the Department of Defense), UFC, Major League Baseball (MLB), and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), put forth a consensus paper published by the American College for Sports Medicine on the essential criteria of third-party certification programs for drug tested athletes. At that time, USADA recommended athletes use NSF Certified for Sport products because that program came the closest to meeting the criteria.
In 2026, USADA conducted another comprehensive review of third-party certification programs with the goal of increasing athletes’ access to products certified as free from banned substances. USADA continues to recognize NSF Certified for Sport and has added four additional programs to the list of recommended programs to reduce athletes’ risk of testing positive from substances prohibited in sport.
According to the criteria in the original consensus statement, a third-party program should use accredited labs, use standards to guide their certification activities, be free from conflicts of interest, and must conduct testing for substances prohibited in sport. All of the currently recommended certification programs meet the core intent of the criteria set forth in the original 2018 consensus statement, although each program addresses the criteria in different ways.
In the new evaluation, USADA also required the following criteria be met:
- No certified product ever caused a positive test in an athlete
- The third-party certifier had experience in, and retains appropriate records and samples, to support anti-doping investigations. For example, if a certified supplement was implicated in a positive test, the third-party certifier would have records and samples to evaluate whether the certified supplement could have been the source of the positive test.
- Every lot of a certified product is tested (preferred) or at a minimum, that certified lots are clearly identified so athletes can verify for themselves whether they have product from a certified lot
- The third-party program also certifies (or would consider certifying) other consumer products, like massage oils, creams, or other self-care products
USADA recommends that athletes who choose to use supplements despite the risks reduce that risk by using supplements that are certified by one of the recommended programs. All the recommended programs reduce the risk of testing positive, but none eliminate the risk entirely.
Are athletes banned from using uncertified supplements?
No, athletes can use whatever supplements they want. However, if there has been no independent evaluation of a supplement, athletes only have the supplement company’s own advertising to rely on for decision making. Therefore, it’s not possible to know for sure what is in the product. Use of any dietary supplement is at the athlete’s own risk.
What can a supplement company say about a product certified by one of the certification programs recommended by USADA?
Athletes should always scrutinize advertising claims made by supplement companies. Products that are truly certified by a recommended third-party certification company might have a logo, be listed on the third-party certifier’s website, and the supplement company might point out that the product is certified by a third-party program highlighted on USADA’s Reduce Your Risk page of the Supplement Connect website.
But it would be false advertising to claim that any product is USADA or WADA approved or recommended.
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