Arizona cannabis testing requirements

Required tests

• Potency
• Pesticides
• Residual solvents
• Heavy metals
• Microbials
• Mycotoxins

ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation

Required. Labs must document ISO 17025 accreditation (A2LA, PJLA, ANAB, IAS or COLA) when applying for a lab certificate (R9-17-402(A)(9)) or testing facility license (R9-18-402(A)), must be accredited for each analyte before approval to test (R9-18-403(A)(2)(a)), and must keep it (R9-17-404(2), R9-18-405(A)(2)). No provisional period was found.

Notes

• Two lab tracks, both run by ADHS: a medical laboratory registration certificate (9 A.A.C. 17, Art. 4) and an adult-use testing facility license (9 A.A.C. 18, Art. 4). A lab with a medical certificate can get the adult-use license through a short application (R9-18-402(B)).
• Limits (Table 3.1): E. coli (10 CFU/g for edibles, 100 CFU/g otherwise); Salmonella not detected in 1 g; Aspergillus flavus, fumigatus, niger and terreus for inhaled products; aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2 and ochratoxin A at 20 ppb each; arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury; a long pesticide, fungicide and growth-regulator list; potency.
• Mycotoxins apply to products made from an extract or concentrate, except topicals. Residual solvents apply to marijuana products only; dried flower is exempt by statute (A.R.S. 36-2803(E)).
• After six straight months of passing heavy-metal results, heavy-metal testing drops to once every three months (A.R.S. 36-2803(E); R9-17-317.01(A)(3); R9-18-311(A)(3)).
• A product made from an already-compliant concentrate without heat, pressure, further concentration or non-water solvents needs only potency and microbial testing (R9-18-311(A)(2)(a)).
• Potency: the label must be within ±20% of the tested value. Since July 1, 2026 the adult-use panel is THCA, delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10 THC, CBDA and CBD, with Total THC = THCA × 0.877 + delta-8 + delta-9 + delta-10 (R9-18-408(F)(3)(b)(i); ADHS Information Update #11). The medical panel (ch. 17) still lists only THCA, delta-9 THC, CBDA and CBD.
• Sampling follows ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 (2018), General Inspection Level II. After a failed result, the operator may ask up to two other labs to retest within 7 days (R9-18-311(B)-(C)).
• Edibles must be homogenized, but there is no separate lab homogeneity test. Terpenes, water activity, moisture, foreign matter and vitamin E acetate are not required analytes.
• ADHS runs lab proficiency testing (required since January 1, 2023; A.R.S. 36-2803(I)). 2026 lab guidance: Information Updates #12 (April 21) and #13 (August 18).
• Rule text comes from ADHS-hosted copies marked 'unofficial version' (ch. 18 effective July 1, 2026; ch. 17 effective November 1, 2024); the Secretary of State's official PDFs blocked automated access.