About OWM

The Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) is the oldest office at NIST, predating even the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and the Department of Commerce. Our function, to “fix the standard of weights and measures,” is explicitly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 5).

NIST OWM Products and Services include technical guidance related to weights and measures applications, legal metrology documentary standards, promotion of the metric system, SI use and traceability, and training for industry, state laboratory metrologists, and weights and measures officials.

Our OWM Staff  work with a range of industry sectors -- such as the retail sales, petroleum and chemical products, and transportation, including emerging commercial market sectors such as charging of electric vehicles and e-commerce.  We also work closely with international and national standards development organizations, federal agencies, state laboratory and regulatory officials, and metric program educators. See a full list of our Customers and Stakeholders.

Learn more here:

• A Brief History of OWM

• Our Responsibilities and Authorities

• Our Vision, Mission, and Strategic Plan