Calibration certificate template for Excel
A certificate of calibration in Excel for small and mid-size shops and labs that calibrate their own instruments. The fields follow the reporting requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 clauses 7.8.2 and 7.8.4. Type the nominal value, the tolerance and each reading. The sheet works out the error and marks each point pass or fail, as found and as left.
Axiospec records each calibration and can generate the certificate from the approved record.
What's inside the workbook
Instructions
How to fill in each field and how Pass and Fail are worked out. It also says when to leave the due date blank.
Blank certificate
One printable page with yellow cells for the lab, the customer, the item, the dates and the method. It has rows for three reference standards and ten test points.
Filled example
An in-house check of a 0 to 150 mm digital caliper on gage blocks. At 150 mm it read 150.04 mm as found, so that point fails. After adjustment every point passes.
What a calibration certificate must contain
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 sets the content in clause 7.8.2 for every report and adds clause 7.8.4 for calibration certificates. In short, a certificate carries:
- A title and a unique number, with each page identified and a clear end (7.8.2.1 a, d).
- The lab's name and address, and the place of calibration if it was not the lab (7.8.2.1 b, c).
- The customer's name and contact (7.8.2.1 e). For in-house work, that is the department that owns the instrument.
- The item: description, manufacturer, model and serial number or asset ID, and its condition when that matters (7.8.2.1 g).
- The dates of calibration and of issue, and the date received where it matters (7.8.2.1 h to j).
- The method used, with any deviation from it (7.8.2.1 f, n).
- The results with their units, before and after any adjustment or repair (7.8.2.1 m, 7.8.4.1 d).
- The measurement uncertainty, in the unit of the result or relative to it (7.8.4.1 a).
- The conditions, such as temperature, that affect the results (7.8.4.1 b).
- How the measurements are metrologically traceable, usually through the reference standards used (7.8.4.1 c).
- When it states conformity, the decision rule applied (7.8.4.1 e, 7.8.6).
- Identification of the person who authorizes it (7.8.2.1 o), usually by name, function and signature. A statement that the results relate only to the item calibrated (7.8.2.1 l).
The clause references follow the NIST SOP 1 certificate review checklist. The template has a place for each item listed above. Sampling and opinions do not apply to an in-house gage calibration. Results from an outside provider go in Remarks.
How to fill in the template
- Give the certificate its own number, then fill in the lab, the customer and the item. The title and the number repeat at the top of each printed page.
- Enter the dates, the procedure you followed and any deviation from it. Add the temperature and humidity when they affect the result.
- List each reference standard with its ID, its own certificate number and its due date. Then write one sentence on how the results are traceable.
- Enter the units. For each test point, type the nominal value, the tolerance and the reading as found. The sheet works out the error and marks the point Pass or Fail.
- If you adjusted the instrument, describe what you did and enter the readings as left. Leave those columns blank when nothing was adjusted.
- Enter the expanded uncertainty for each point and the coverage factor k. Write the statement of conformity and the decision rule behind it, then sign.
An example row
Point 5 of the filled example: a digital caliper checked at 150 mm on gage blocks, with a tolerance of ±0.03 mm. Values in mm.
| Nominal | Tolerance (±) | As found | As left | U (k = 2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Error | Result | Reading | Error | Result | |||
| 150.00 | 0.03 | 150.04 | +0.04 | Fail | 150.01 | +0.01 | Pass | 0.013 |
The error is the reading minus the nominal value. As found, 150.04 - 150.00 = +0.04 mm. That is outside ±0.03 mm, so the point fails, and the parts measured with this caliper since its last calibration need a review. After adjustment the error is +0.01 mm and the point passes. The last column holds the expanded uncertainty.
Pass, fail and the decision rule
The Result columns compare the size of each error with the tolerance and leave the uncertainty out. This is simple acceptance. When a certificate states conformity, ISO/IEC 17025 clause 7.8.6 asks the lab to document its decision rule and to name it in the statement, unless the specification already sets one. Write yours in the Decision rule field. A red line shows on the sheet until you do. If you use a guard band, judge against the narrower limits and say so.
Where the uncertainty comes from
The template records the expanded uncertainty but does not work it out. That comes from your own uncertainty budget for each point, built from contributions such as the reference standard, the resolution of the instrument, repeatability and temperature. With a coverage factor of k = 2 the coverage probability is about 95%.
Common questions
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Is this template ISO/IEC 17025 compliant?
A template can carry the fields clause 7.8 asks for. This one has a place for each item listed on this page. Sampling and opinions do not apply to an in-house gage calibration. Results from an outside provider go in Remarks. Compliance is a different question. It depends on the competence of the people who calibrate and on the lab's management system, including valid methods, traceable standards and a sound uncertainty evaluation. Accredited certificates are issued by an accredited lab under its accreditation. No template or software makes a certificate compliant or accredited.
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What is the format of a calibration certificate?
ISO/IEC 17025 sets the content, not a layout. Most certificates fit on one or two pages. A header with the number and the lab comes first, then the item and the dates. The method and the reference standards follow, then a results table and a signature block. This template keeps that order.
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Can we issue our own calibration certificates?
Yes, for the instruments you calibrate in-house. Your quality system decides which instruments you calibrate yourself and which go to an outside lab, and a customer or contract may require accredited calibration for some of them. A certificate you issue is not an accredited certificate unless your lab holds an accreditation that covers that calibration.
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Should a calibration certificate show a due date?
ISO/IEC 17025 clause 7.8.4.3 says a calibration certificate must not recommend a calibration interval unless this was agreed with the customer. For in-house work you set your own interval, so the template has an optional Next due field. Leave it blank on a certificate for an outside customer who has not asked for one.
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Do I need to sign up to download it?
No. The download needs no email address or account, and there is nothing to pay. It is a plain .xlsx file with no macros.
The template helps you record a calibration with the fields of ISO/IEC 17025 clause 7.8. It does not replace the standard, your own procedures or an accredited calibration where one is required.
Generate certificates from your calibration records
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