NISTIR 7082: Proficiency Testing Policy and Plan for State Weights and Measures Laboratories (2026 Ed.)

Published

February 24, 2026

Author(s)

Micheal Hicks, Elizabeth Koncki, Tobias Herman, Isabel Baucom, Katrice Lippa

Abstract

This publication provides the policies and plans for the Proficiency Testing (PT) Program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Office of Weights and Measures (OWM). This OWM Proficiency Testing policy and plan has been updated to ensure compliance with the latest applicable documentary standards and policies of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The PT program has been in place since the early 1980s as a core part of the support to State weights and measures laboratories through regional measurement assurance programs. Original activities were conducted as "round robin" tests in support of ongoing measurement assurance activities related to support for state laws with requirements for metrological traceability to national and international standards. The 2025 edition was updated based on feedback from users and included review and associated updates based on the latest applicable policies of the ILAC, NIST Handbook 143, Recognition Program, NIST Handbook 150, National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) Procedures and General Requirements, and the latest available documentary standards for proficiency testing, including ISO/IEC 17043:2023, Conformity Assessment — General requirements for the competence of proficiency testing providers, and ISO 13528:2022, Third Edition, 2022-08, Statistical methods for use in proficiency testing by interlaboratory comparison.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 7082e2026

Report Number

7082e2026

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.7082e2026

Local Download

Keywords

Accreditation, calibration, interlaboratory comparison, proficiency testing, recognition.

Citation

Hicks, M. , Koncki, E. , Herman, T. , Baucom, I. and Lippa, K. (2026), NISTIR 7082: Proficiency Testing Policy and Plan for State Weights and Measures Laboratories (2026 Ed.), NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.7082e2026, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=961407 (Accessed February 25, 2026)