If you are in a drug-tested sport -- NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, USA Track & Field, MLS, USA Swimming, or anything else operating under the WADA Code -- and you take any supplement, the only safe seal is a third-party banned-substance certification. The two main programs are Informed-Sport (run by the LGC Group in the UK) and NSF Certified for Sport (run by NSF International in the US). Both screen against the WADA Prohibited List. Both have rigorous reputations. They are not interchangeable. Here is what each one covers and which one matters in which context.
What Informed-Sport covers
Informed-Sport is the consumer side of the LGC Group. Every batch of an Informed-Sport certified product is independently tested for substances on the WADA Prohibited List before it can ship. The list includes:
- Anabolic agents (synthetic testosterone and analogues)
- Hormone analogues and growth-factor compounds
- Beta-2 agonists
- Hormone and metabolic modulators
- Diuretics and masking agents
- Stimulants on the in-competition list
The Informed-Sport program is the dominant choice for UK and EU-based athletes and the long tail of professional teams outside the US.
What NSF Certified for Sport covers
NSF Certified for Sport tests against ~280 substances that include the WADA list plus the NFL and MLB banned-substance lists. The product must also pass the underlying NSF/ANSI 173 standard (identity, potency, contaminants) and the manufacturing facility must pass an annual audit. Importantly:
- NFL -- only NSF Certified for Sport supplements may appear in team facilities.
- MLB -- same requirement for all 30 clubhouses.
- NCAA -- listed as the gold-standard recommendation; most athletic programs treat it as required.
- PGA Tour -- required for clubhouse availability.
If you are a US professional or college athlete, NSF Certified for Sport is what your sports medicine staff will tell you to look for.
Side-by-side comparison
- Banned-substance scope -- both cover WADA. NSF Certified for Sport adds the NFL and MLB lists.
- Testing cadence -- Informed-Sport batch-tests every production run. NSF Certified for Sport tests representative product samples and audits the facility annually.
- Geographic reach -- NSF dominates the US pro and college sport ecosystem. Informed-Sport dominates UK/EU + international athletics.
- Brand overlap -- the top sport-nutrition brands (Klean Athlete, Momentous, Thorne) carry both for the same product line. Mid-tier brands typically pick one.
Which one do you actually need?
- NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA, NCAA -- NSF Certified for Sport.
- USA Track & Field, USA Swimming, USA Triathlon, Olympics -- either, but NSF is more visible in the US.
- UK and EU professional sports -- Informed-Sport.
- WADA-tested international athletes -- either; both clear the WADA list.
- Drug-tested but not sure which list applies -- look for the seal your governing body explicitly names. When in doubt, NSF Certified for Sport has the broader US-specific list.
What ScanCheck shows you
When you scan a bottle with ScanCheck, we cross-reference both NSF Certified for Sport and Informed-Sport at the same time. If either lab has a public batch-level certificate for that bottle, you get a green verdict. The brand page shows which lab signed off and the most recent test date on file.
Side note: NSF Certified for Sport is distinct from plain NSF Certified Dietary (NSF/ANSI 173). NSF Dietary does NOT include the banned-substance screen. If you are in a drug-tested sport, NSF Dietary alone is not enough.