How do I look up my CLIA certificate expiration date?

Step by step: look it up on QCOR

1. Open CMS’s QCOR CLIA laboratory search. CMS links to it from its CLIA page as the place to check your lab’s certification status for free, anytime (CMS CLIA page).
2. Enter your CLIA Identification Number. You can also search by facility name, lab director, state, city or ZIP code (QCOR).
3. Leave “Active CLIA Labs” selected and search. You can filter by certification type: Compliance, Waiver, Accreditation or Microscopy (PPMP) (QCOR).
4. Open your lab’s record. The “CLIA Laboratory Details” page lists the CLIA Identification Number, facility name, lab director, address, phone number, Certificate Type, Certificate Effective Date, Certificate Expiration Date, facility type and a Certificate URL that opens the certificate PDF (QCOR lab detail page, viewed October 2026).

Two caveats from QCOR itself: the list “is updated weekly and represents the information in the system at the time of update,” and on the detail page, “the most up to date information may not appear on the linked certificate” (QCOR). If the dates look wrong, contact your State Agency (State Agency contacts).

Other places to find the date

• Your CLIA certificate. It shows the effective date and the expiration date, and states that it “shall be valid until the expiration date above” (CMS Quick Start Guide, sample certificate). CMS now emails certificates instead of mailing them, and you can view, print and reprint your certificate online through QCOR (CMS CLIA page; CMS, Apply for a CLIA Certificate).
• Your State Agency. CMS directs labs to their State Agency for certificate status questions (CMS CLIA page). Accredited labs should contact their accreditation organization for guidance (same source).
• CMS data files, for many labs at once. CMS’s Provider of Services File for clinical laboratories is published quarterly on data.cms.gov (CMS Provider of Services File: Clinical Laboratories). CMS’s record layout for that file describes its “Termination or Expiration Date” field as the date a CLIA certificate was terminated or “the expiration date of the current CLIA certificate.” Because it is quarterly, QCOR is the better check for a single lab.

Know your CLIA number

A CLIA number has 10 characters. Positions 1 and 2 identify the state where the lab was located when it first applied, position 3 is the letter “D,” and positions 4 through 10 are the lab’s unique number. A lab that relocates to another state keeps its original number (SOM Ch. 6, §6008).

If your lab doesn’t show up

• QCOR’s search covers active CLIA laboratories only (QCOR). If your certificate may have lapsed, read what happens if your CLIA certificate expires.
• Washington State has a full exemption from CLIA, and New York State has a partial exemption, so some labs there are licensed through the state program instead (QCOR; CMS CLIA Certification brochure).
• Check the third character: it is the letter D, not a zero.

Turn the date into a renewal plan

The expiration date is not the date you need to act. CMS bills for renewal about 6 months before expiration for Waiver, PPM and Accreditation certificates, and about 1 year before for the Compliance survey fee (CMS paperless FAQ). See when to submit your CLIA renewal, and how Compliance and Accreditation certificates differ.

The Deadline Desk is an independent service, not CMS, HHS, a State Agency or an accreditation organization. This page summarizes public sources and is not legal or regulatory advice. Your State Agency or accreditation organization has the final word for your lab.