Certified labs by state
New Jersey
About 12% of New Jerseyans rely on private wells for drinking water, and New Jersey has a state-run Private Well Testing Act program tied to certain property sales and rentals. NJDEP and NJDOH also recommend routine private-well testing outside real-estate transactions because contaminants in New Jersey vary by geology and region, including arsenic, radioactivity, mercury, nitrate, and PFAS.
Checked against official sources on October 4, 2026. Rules and links change; confirm with the office listed before you act.
- Certifies drinking water labs
- New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Science and Research, Office of Quality Assurance (OQA)
- Official certified lab list
- Official page →
- Free or low-cost testing
- NJDOH says free water testing for radioactivity, iron, and manganese is available to private well owners in eligible South Jersey municipalities, and free lead sampling is available only for randomly selected invited homeowners.
Official resources in New Jersey
NJDEP’s main homeowner page for what to test, how often to test, and what to do if your well fails.
Explains New Jersey’s legal testing requirements for private wells during certain home sales and rental situations.
Official NJDEP page for certified environmental labs, including drinking-water labs and links to real-time Data Miner reports.
NJDOH outreach page with active free-testing offers, well-owner fact sheets, and links for eligible residents.
State health-tracking page with private-well, radon, and county-level drinking-water information for residents.
Key facts for New Jersey
- NJDEP says about 12% of New Jerseyans rely on a private well for drinking water.
- NJDEP says the PWTA requires untreated groundwater testing for up to 43 parameters during certain real-estate transactions; landlords must test every five years.
- NJDOH recommends annual testing for total coliform, nitrates, and pH; every five years for PFAS, lead, VOCs, SOCs, iron, and manganese.
- NJDEP says arsenic in New Jersey well water is almost always naturally occurring; the Piedmont Province is the highest-risk area, with about 17% exceeding the state standard.
- NJDEP says southern and central New Jersey well owners should consider annual mercury testing; central and northern New Jersey well owners should consider annual uranium testing.
- NJDOH currently offers free testing for radioactivity, iron, and manganese in eligible South Jersey municipalities; invited randomly selected homeowners can also receive a free lead sample.
What to do next
- Use NJDEP’s Data Miner to choose a lab certified for the exact contaminants you want tested, not just a general drinking-water lab.
- If you are buying, selling, or leasing a home with a private well, review NJDEP’s PWTA requirements early so sampling and reporting do not delay closing or leasing.
- Check NJDOH/NJDEP private-well maps and outreach pages for your municipality, especially if you are in arsenic-risk areas of northern/central New Jersey or radioactivity-risk areas of South Jersey.
Helpful guides
- How to choose a state-certified drinking water lab
- What to test your private well water for (and how often)
- How to collect a well water sample without ruining the test
- How to read a water test report: MCLs, units and flags