How to Verify a "PFAS-Free" Claim: Certificates, Declarations, and Lab Reports

A PFAS-free certificate, declaration, or lab report is how a brand shows the evidence behind its claim. This guide explains what each document is, what a good one includes, and how to read the numbers on a test report.

At a Glance

• A PFAS-free claim is easy to confirm when the brand shares the paperwork behind it: a certificate, a declaration, or a lab report.
• Certificates and declarations are signed statements that no PFAS were intentionally added. The strongest name the exact product and the rule it meets.
• A lab report shows what was measured. Check the lab, the sample, the test method, and the detection limit.
• Broad fluorine tests see more than targeted tests. A targeted test looks for a fixed list of PFAS; a total organic fluorine test screens for the whole family, including coatings such as PTFE.
• "Not detected" means below the lab's limit, so the limit printed next to it tells you how sensitive the test was.

What Is a PFAS-Free Certificate?

A PFAS-free certificate is a signed document in which a manufacturer or certifier states that a product contains no intentionally added PFAS and meets a named standard or legal limit. On its own it rests on the signer's records. Paired with a lab report, it is also backed by measurement.

Three Documents That Back a PFAS-Free Claim

Declaration

Issued by: the manufacturer or its supplier, often as a letter or a statement on the brand's website.
States: no PFAS were intentionally added to the product or its materials.
Strongest when: it names the product, is signed and dated, and comes with test results. The compostable-products certifier BPI, for example, requires both a signed declaration and lab testing, which our guide to PFAS in food packaging explains.

Certificate of Compliance

Issued by: the manufacturer, or an independent certifier.
States: the product meets a specific rule, such as a state PFAS limit or a certification standard.
Note: some laws require one. Since 2025, California's textile law has required manufacturers to give sellers a certificate stating their products contain no regulated PFAS. For third-party programs, see our guide to what each PFAS-free certification covers.

Lab Report

Issued by: a testing laboratory, sometimes called a certificate of analysis.
States: what the lab found in one sample, by one method, on one date.
Strongest when: the lab is independent and accredited, and the sample is the part of the product you care about, such as a pan's cooking surface.

What "Intentionally Added" Means

PFAS are so widespread that traces can turn up almost anywhere; nearly everyone in the US has measurable levels in their blood. That is why PFAS-free claims are usually framed as "no intentionally added PFAS": the brand did not use them on purpose to give the product a property such as water or grease resistance.

The Federal Trade Commission's Green Guides take the same approach. A "free-of" claim can still be appropriate when only a trace or background level is present, as long as the substance was not added intentionally and the trace does not cause the harm people associate with it. Marketers must also have competent and reliable scientific evidence for their claims.

Some state laws add a number. California counts food packaging as containing regulated PFAS if PFAS were intentionally added or if total organic fluorine reaches 100 parts per million (ppm), which is 0.01% by weight. Its textile law uses the same 100 ppm limit and lowers it to 50 ppm in 2027.

How to Read a PFAS Lab Report

A lab report answers a narrow question: what did this method find in this sample? Five details tell you how far the answer reaches.

• The lab: named, independent of the brand, and ideally accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, the international standard for testing-lab competence.
• The sample: the exact product or model, the part tested (coating, lining, or fabric), and the date.
• The method: a targeted test, a total fluorine test, or both (see below).
• The results: each value with its unit and its detection or reporting limit.
• Who asked for it: brand-commissioned tests are common and useful; the details above are what make them checkable.

Some brands publish exactly this. Caraway's report for its ceramic coating names an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited lab and includes both a targeted PFAS panel and a total organic fluorine screen, with no PFAS detected in either. Our Caraway Ceramic Fry Pan profile summarizes what it covers and what it leaves out.

Targeted Tests vs. Total Fluorine Tests

The method decides what a test can see, so it matters as much as the result.

• Targeted tests use a lab instrument (liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry) to identify and measure specific PFAS from a fixed list. EPA's Method 1633, for example, measures 40 PFAS and was designed for environmental samples such as water and soil. Targeted tests are very sensitive, but they cannot see PFAS outside the list, including fluoropolymers such as PTFE.
• Total organic fluorine (TOF) tests measure all the fluorine bound to carbon, usually by burning the sample (combustion ion chromatography) and subtracting inorganic fluoride. A low result screens for the whole family at once, polymers included. The test does not say which compounds were present, and a few fluorinated chemicals that are not PFAS also count toward it.
• Total fluorine (TF) tests count all fluorine, including inorganic fluoride, such as from minerals, which is not PFAS. A low TF result is reassuring; a high one needs a TOF or targeted follow-up before it says anything about PFAS.

A 2024 review for Nordic regulators concluded that targeted analysis alone cannot currently confirm a product meets PFAS restrictions. A PFAS-free claim is best supported by a low total organic fluorine result, ideally alongside a targeted panel.

What Does "Not Detected" Mean?

"Not detected" (ND) means the amount was below the lowest level the lab can reliably measure. EPA defines the method detection limit as the lowest concentration that can be reported with 99% confidence that it differs from a blank.

A good report prints the limit next to the result, such as "ND (<10 ppm)." That number is the test's sensitivity. Watch the units too: ppm means milligrams per kilogram, and ppb (parts per billion) is a thousand times smaller, so "ND (<10 ppb)" describes a far more sensitive test than "ND (<10 ppm)."

How to Check a PFAS-Free Claim

1. Read the wording. "PFAS-free," "made without PFAS," or "no intentionally added PFAS" cover the whole family; "PFOA-free" covers one chemical.
2. Find the document. Look on the brand's testing, FAQ, or California disclosure page, or ask customer service for the declaration and lab report.
3. Match it to the product. The report should name your model, test the part that touches food or skin, and be reasonably recent.
4. Check the method. Look for total organic fluorine, or a targeted panel with the number of PFAS listed.
5. Read the limit. A result of "ND" with its limit stated, or a value well under 100 ppm total organic fluorine, supports the claim.

The Bottom Line

Look for a PFAS-free claim backed by a signed declaration of no intentionally added PFAS and a recent lab report on the part you use, ideally a total organic fluorine test from an accredited lab. Together they are the clearest evidence a product is made without PFAS. See which nonstick pan brands publish their test results.

Sources

1. U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, 16 CFR 260.9: Free-of claims (2012).
2. U.S. Federal Trade Commission. 16 CFR 260.2: Interpretation and substantiation of environmental marketing claims (2012).
3. California Attorney General. Enforcement Advisory: AB 1200, PFAS in Cookware and Food Packaging (2023).
4. Morgan Lewis. New York and California Bans on PFAS in Textiles and Apparel Begin January 1, 2025 (2024).
5. Biodegradable Products Institute. Fluorinated Chemicals.
6. ANSI National Accreditation Board. ISO/IEC 17025 Testing Laboratory Accreditation.
7. U.S. EPA. CWA Analytical Methods for Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS): Method 1633 (2024).
8. Nordic Council of Ministers. Analysis of needs for enforcement of PFAS in articles and chemical products. TemaNord 2024:510 (2024).
9. ATSDR. PFAS: What to Know.
10. U.S. EPA. 40 CFR Part 136, Appendix B: Definition and Procedure for the Determination of the Method Detection Limit, Revision 2.
11. Light Labs. Caraway Ceramic Cookware: Comprehensive Testing Report (2026).