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Oregon Scale Certification & Weights and Measures

✓ Sources checked July 11, 2026; office details updated October 9, 2026

Oregon runs a state-managed weights and measures program — commercial scale owners deal with the state agency directly. If you operate a commercial scale in Oregon — 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 Oregon?

State-run: ODA Weights and Measures administers, regulates and enforces weights and measures requirements statewide under ORS 618, with routine field testing of commercial equipment; an ODA W&M investigator inspects and tests newly installed devices. Owners deal directly with the ODA Weights and Measures Program in Salem.

What Oregon requires of scale owners

Commercial scales (any scale used to buy/sell/trade or value product, including shipping scales and mass-flow meters) and commercial fuel meters must be licensed annually by ODA (license year July 1-June 30). Devices need a valid NTEP Certificate of Conformance and proper installation per NIST Handbook 44; a Placed-in-Service Report plus application and fee are submitted to ODA, after which an ODA investigator tests the device; service companies may install/repair and assist with licensing.

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 Oregon Department of Agriculture at 503-986-4550 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 Oregon?

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

Find companies in Oregon
Sources: www.oregon.gov/oda/agriculture-services/weights-meas… | www.oregon.gov/oda/agriculture-services/weights-meas…