National Accreditation Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences

What National Accreditation Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences does

NAACLS (National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences) is an Illinois-incorporated nonprofit founded in 1973 that accredits educational programs in the clinical laboratory sciences. It maintains a portfolio of 14 accredited program types spanning Medical Laboratory Scientist, Medical Laboratory Technician, Phlebotomy, Histotechnician/Histotechnologist, Pathologists' Assistant, Diagnostic Molecular Scientist, Cytogenetic Technologist, Biomedical Scientist, Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, and related disciplines, with 622 currently accredited programs concentrated in the United States (616) plus a small international footprint across Canada, Palestine, and Qatar (6).

The organization operates as a programmatic accreditation agency rather than a technology company. Its core product is the accreditation award itself, delivered through a multi-step process — application packets, self-study reports, site visits by volunteer peer reviewers, and committee deliberation by Programs Accreditation Review Committees (PARC, Doctoral Review Committee, RCAP) — supported by published Standards (most recently updated 2024), self-study templates, and compliance guides. Governance is shared with five professional organizations (ASCP, ASCLS, AAPA, NSH, AGT) that hold board seats; CHEA recognition provides external validation, and ASCP BOC certification eligibility for graduates creates downstream lock-in. A volunteer network of practicing educators and Discipline Lead Persons executes all peer reviews.

NAACLS generates revenue through a published tiered fee schedule: $600 initial application fee and $3,117 annual subscription fee for USA programs (escalating to $3,609 by 2028-2029), plus higher tiers for non-USA programs and pass-through site visit costs. Customers are educational institutions and hospital-based programs (10-year maximum accreditation cycle), with ~11 staff supporting operations from Rosemont, Illinois. The organization supplements direct accreditation with annual workshops (spring virtual, fall in-person), the Dr. NAACLS podcast/video series, and a publicly searchable program database.

Name

National Accreditation Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences

Legal name

National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences

Website

https://naacls.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NAACLS is a 1973-founded Illinois nonprofit that accredits 622 educational programs across 14 clinical laboratory science disciplines, enabling graduate certification eligibility via a peer-review accreditation process supported by ASCP, ASCLS, and allied professional organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Accreditation Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialized/Single-Purpose Accreditors (e.g., seminaries, arts conservatories) (EDADACAD), National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies (EDADAFAA)

Keywords

• Clinical laboratory accreditation
• Medical laboratory education
• Program accreditation services
• Health science accreditation
• Laboratory science standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Rosamond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Accreditation Fees: NAACLS generates revenue through tiered accreditation fees charged to educational programs seeking accreditation or maintaining accredited status. Fees include initial application fees, site visit preparation fees, site visit fees (actual cost), and annual accreditation fees. The fee schedule is published publicly and increases on an annual basis according to a published schedule.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NAACLS provides accreditation services for clinical laboratory science educational programs in the United States and internationally. It evaluates programs against established educational standards through a multi-step process including application review, self-study analysis, site visits, and committee review, issuing accreditation awards up to ten years. It also publishes standards documents, self-study templates, and accreditation application packets covering 14 program disciplines such as Medical Laboratory Scientist, Technician, Phlebotomy, Histotechnologist, Pathologists' Assistant, and Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Sciences (DCLS).

Product overview

NAACLS is an accreditation agency offering a portfolio of accreditation services for clinical laboratory science educational programs. The organization provides accreditation across 14 distinct program types (BMS, CG, DCLS, DMS, HT, HTL, MLA, MLBBS, MLM, MLS, MLT, Path A, PBT, PHM), with over 600 NAACLS Accredited programs in the United States and internationally. NAACLS core products include standards documents, self-study templates, accreditation application packets, and the online program search database. The accreditation process involves application submission, self-study reports, site visits, and review committee evaluation, with programs eligible for maximum awards of ten years. The organization also provides program director resources including advocacy templates, volunteer manuals, and discipline-specific guidance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NAACLS Program Accreditation
• NAACLS Standards Documents
• NAACLS Self-Study Templates
• NAACLS Accreditation Application Packet
• NAACLS Program Search
• Program Director Resources
• NAACLS Annual Workshops

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% first-time certification pass rate for graduates of NAACLS-accredited programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and moderate.

• American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASCP is a sponsoring organization of NAACLS and provides representation on the NAACLS Board of Directors. ASCP is a major professional organization in clinical laboratory science that also operates the Board of Certification (BOC) for laboratory professionals. This partnership ensures NAACLS standards align with certification requirements and provides a pathway for graduates to obtain credentials.
• American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASCLS is a sponsoring organization of NAACLS and provides representation on the NAACLS Board of Directors. ASCLS is the premier professional organization for clinical laboratory science professionals, educators, and students. This partnership provides NAACLS access to professional expertise and industry trends.
• American Association of Pathologists' Assistants (AAPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAPA is a participating organization of NAACLS and provides representation on the NAACLS Board of Directors. AAPA represents the pathologists' assistant profession and contributes expertise to NAACLS Pathologists' Assistant program standards.
• National Society for Histotechnology (NSH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSH is a participating organization of NAACLS and provides representation on the NAACLS Board of Directors. NSH represents histology professionals and contributes expertise to NAACLS histotechnician and histotechnologist program standards.
• Association of Genetic Technologists (AGT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAGT is a participating organization of NAACLS and provides representation on the NAACLS Board of Directors. AGT represents genetic technology professionals and contributes expertise to NAACLS cytogenetic technologist program standards.
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHEA recognizes NAACLS accreditation as meeting standards for quality assurance in higher education. CHEA recognition validates NAACLS's role as an accrediting agency and provides assurance to institutions and students of the value of NAACLS accreditation.
• Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerASPA is a peer organization for specialized and professional accreditors. NAACLS follows the ASPA Code of Good Practice and American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedures in its governance and accreditation processes.
• ASCP Board of Certification (BOC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAACLS collaborates with ASCP BOC to ensure accreditation standards align with certification examination requirements. Graduates of NAACLS-accredited programs are eligible to sit for ASCP certification exams. NAACLS reports a 92% first-time pass rate for graduates of accredited programs on ASCP BOC examinations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs): CAAHEP is the largest programmatic accreditor of allied health education programs, sharing NAACLS's mission of accrediting discipline-specific health-professions training. It is the most directly comparable specialized accreditor in scale and operating model.
• CAPTE (Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education): CAPTE accredits physical therapist and physical therapist assistant education programs. It is a peer programmatic accreditor operating under a similar volunteer committee structure with comparable fee schedules.
• ACPE (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education): ACPE is the national accreditor for professional pharmacy degree programs and continuing education providers. It shares NAACLS's model of programmatic accreditation tied to professional certification eligibility.
• ARC-STSA (Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting): ARC-STSA accredits surgical technology and surgical assisting programs through a peer-review committee structure. It operates under CAAHEP but functions with the same programmatic focus and volunteer model as NAACLS.
• CoARC (Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care): CoARC accredits respiratory care educational programs and operates a volunteer-driven peer review process comparable to NAACLS. It is one of the most structurally similar programmatic accreditors in the allied-health niche.
• NAACLS itself is a peer to JRCERT (Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology): JRCERT is a programmatic accreditor for radiologic technology programs, operating a peer-review model similar to NAACLS's committee-based structure. It is a direct peer among specialized health-profession programmatic accreditors.
• ABHES (Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools): ABHES is a USDE-recognized national accreditor of health education institutions and programs. It competes with NAACLS in the institutional accreditor space and serves overlapping populations of health-professions training programs.

Broad incumbents

• CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation): CHEA is the meta-recognizer of accrediting organizations, including NAACLS. While not a direct competitor, it is the umbrella body that confers recognition on NAACLS and other programmatic accreditors, making it a structurally adjacent peer.
• ASPA (Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors): ASPA is the membership association of US specialized and professional accreditors, including NAACLS itself. It is comparable as the industry-body peer that promulgates codes of good practice followed by NAACLS.

Others

• ASCP (American Society for Clinical Pathology): ASCP is a sponsoring organization of NAACLS and operates the Board of Certification that accepts NAACLS-accredited program graduates. As a partner rather than competitor, it is thematically comparable in shaping laboratory professional standards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@naacls
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-accrediting-agency-for-clinical-laboratory-science

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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