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Michigan Scale Certification & Weights and Measures

✓ Sources checked July 11, 2026; office details updated September 22, 2026

Michigan runs a state-managed weights and measures program — commercial scale owners deal with the state agency directly. If you operate a commercial scale in Michigan — at a warehouse, farm, recycling yard, retail store, or truck stop — here is who regulates it, what the law requires, and exactly who to contact.

Who inspects commercial scales in Michigan?

State-run: the MDARD W&M program inspects and tests commercial devices (cost-recovery fees under P.A. 283 of 1964), while MDARD-registered service agencies and persons install, repair, and legally place devices in service.

What Michigan requires of scale owners

Devices must be placed into service by an MDARD-registered serviceperson (Place-in-Service Report filed); owners are subject to MDARD inspection and testing fees.

Devices used to buy or sell by weight must comply with NIST Handbook 44 — in practice this means an NTEP-certified, legal-for-trade scale. Confirm requirements for your device class with the office listed here.

Getting a scale into service — 4 steps

  1. Buy a legal-for-trade (NTEP-certified) scale appropriate for your application and capacity.
  2. Confirm registration and licensing requirements with the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development at (517) 655-8202 before the scale enters commercial use.
  3. Arrange compliant installation and calibration. Where required, placing-in-service must be done by a licensed or registered service company.
  4. Stay compliant. Pass required inspections, keep calibration current, retain service records.

Common questions

What is NTEP certification?
NTEP (the National Type Evaluation Program, administered by the National Council on Weights and Measures) evaluates a scale model's design against NIST Handbook 44 requirements and issues a Certificate of Conformance. Nearly every state requires an NTEP-certified device for commercial (legal-for-trade) weighing; confirm the rules for your device with the office listed on this page.
Where do I find official forms and fees?
Use the licensing and forms links in the office panel, or contact the office directly — fee schedules change and some are published only in application documents.

Need calibration, repair, or installation in Michigan?

Browse companies listed as serving Michigan in the ScaleRegistry directory and contact them directly, and check the official licensing and registration information for Michigan. Listings are not ranked or endorsed, and ScaleRegistry does not route requests to any company.

Find companies in Michigan
Sources: www.michigan.gov/mdard/lab/weights-and-measures | www.michigan.gov/mdard/licensing/weights