Texas Forensic Science Commission
The 84th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill-1287, signed into law by Governor Abbott on June 20, 2015. This bill transferred the responsibility for accrediting crime laboratories from the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) to the Texas Forensic Science Commission (“Commission”) effective September 1, 2015. See Tex. S.B. 1287, 84th Leg., R.S. (2015). The Commission sent a notification letter to affected laboratories describing the change on August 21, 2015.
As part of the transitional process, Commission staff and the Texas Secretary of State transferred DPS crime laboratory accreditation rules to the Commission’s section of the Texas Administrative Code. See 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 15 (Tex. Forensic Sci. Comm., Crime Laboratory Accreditation). Over time, the Commission has made changes to these rules through a series of public rulemakings as authorized by the Commission's enabling statute. See https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CR/htm/CR.38.htm#38.01.
- Accredited Labs
- Recognized Accrediting Bodies
- Disciplines Subject to and Exempt from Commission Accreditation
- Apply for Accreditation
Please send all required crime laboratory accreditation documents to:
Texas Forensic Science Commission
ATTN: Crime Laboratory Accreditation Program
1700 North Congress Avenue, Suite 445
Austin, Texas 78701
You may also email accreditation-related inquiries to Leigh Tomlin, the Commission’s Crime Lab Accreditation Program Administrator, at Leigh@fsc.texas.gov or call directly at (512) 936-0661.