Digital calibration certificates gather momentum

The digital calibration certificate (DCC) — a machine-readable, cryptographically signed XML format pioneered by PTB and partners — continues to spread through national metrology institutes and larger commercial laboratories.

The promise: calibration data that flows straight into quality systems without retyping, with schema-validated structure for measurement results and uncertainties, and signatures that survive forwarding.

For laboratories, the sensible preparation is less about XML tooling and more about data hygiene: structured measurement results, uncertainties stored as data rather than PDF text, and unambiguous instrument identification — all prerequisites the DCC format assumes.