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West Virginia Scale Certification & Weights and Measures

✓ Sources checked July 11, 2026

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

State labor inspectors from the Division of Labor's Weights & Measures Section test all commercial weighing and measuring devices statewide (grocery, industrial, livestock, vehicle and railroad scales, fuel and propane meters); there is no county/local inspection. Owners contact the W&M office in St. Albans.

What West Virginia requires of scale owners

It is unlawful to use a device that has not been tested, approved and sealed using certified traceable standards, and new or newly installed devices must have an NTEP Certificate of Conformance. After installation or repair, a state-registered service person/agency may return the device to service (notifying the state within 24 hours and affixing a registered security seal) until a state inspector re-inspects; owners do not register devices annually.

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 West Virginia Division of Labor at (304) 722-0602 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 West Virginia?

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

Find companies in West Virginia
Sources: labor.wv.gov/weights-measures | labor.wv.gov/weights-measures/weights-measures-conta… | labor.wv.gov/weights-measures/weights-measures-devic… | labor.wv.gov/weights-measures/wm-service-personagenc… | commerce.wv.gov/agencies/division-of-labor/