Full-Panel COA
Also known as: Full panel certificate of analysis, Full-panel lab report
A full-panel COA is a third-party lab report that covers potency plus contaminant testing (heavy metals, pesticides, residual solvents and microbials, sometimes mycotoxins and terpenes), while a potency-only COA reports cannabinoid levels and nothing else.
A potency panel answers one question: how much CBD, THC and other cannabinoids are in the sample. A full panel adds the safety questions. Heavy metals show what the plant pulled from soil. Pesticides show what was sprayed on it. Residual solvents show what the extraction left behind. Microbials show bacteria, yeast and mold. Some labs also run mycotoxins and a terpene profile. Potency-only reports are common because testing only potency costs a manufacturer less, and some states require little more than that.
The difference matters because "third-party tested" does not mean "full panel tested." A lab can be fully independent and still have been asked to run one test. A potency number tells you nothing about contaminants. Hemp is a plant that absorbs what is in its soil, and extraction concentrates whatever it absorbed. A clean-looking potency line cannot show that the batch was safe. Only the contaminant sections can.
To check which one you were given, read the report itself. Look for the lab name and contact details, the product name, a batch number that matches your bottle, a test date, and a separate result section for each contaminant group, each with a pass or ND (not detected) result. If you only see a cannabinoid table, it is potency-only. At botanCBD we publish batch reports at /coas and can send the one for your batch. We do not have a reading of every lab's methods, so ask any brand which panels were run.
Related terms
- COA (Certificate of Analysis)A COA is a document from an accredited third-party lab certifying what is — and isn't — in a CBD product.
- Third-Party TestingThird-party testing means a CBD product was analyzed by an independent, accredited lab — not by the manufacturer themselves.
- Batch NumberA batch number identifies a specific production run of a CBD product. Batch numbers let you match a bottle to its specific COA.
- ISO 17025ISO 17025 is the international quality standard for testing and calibration laboratories. CBD COAs should come from labs accredited under this standard.
- WinterizationWinterization is a purification step that removes plant fats, waxes, and lipids from a crude hemp extract by dissolving it in ethanol and chilling it until the waxes drop out.