Office of Weights and Measures

Unit Pricing: National Legal Metrology Working Group

What We Do

NIST OWM has established a National Legal Metrology Working Group on Unit Pricing to review and update the 2014 version of the NIST SP 1181 Unit Pricing Guide, “A Best Practice Approach to Unit Pricing." The working group will also consider the documentary standard language in NIST Handbook 130 Section IV. Uniform Regulations C. Uniform Unit Price Regulations and ensure that both documents are revised, harmonized, and ready for use and/or adoption by state regulators and industry. If required, the working group may submit an NCWM Form 15: Proposal to Amend NIST Handbooks for any changes to revise the unit price laws and regulations (anticipated by July 2025).

Unit Pricing Guidance — Clear, legible, and prominent unit price labels enhance the customer shopping experience. Retailers may use the NIST Special Publication (SP) 1181 for best practices.

The working group members include representatives from industry, trade associations, academia, weights and measures regulatory officials, consumer groups, consumer advocates, and NIST OWM. Areas currently identified for review and consideration include electronic shelf labels, uniform e-commerce regulations, and any necessary updates to the language related to units of measure.

In addition to the main goal of revising the NIST SP 1181 Unit Pricing Guide, the further objectives of the working group include:

Provide guidance on e-commerce unit pricing and unit pricing when using electronic shelf labels.
Minimize variation in unit price information presented by retailers in the current marketplace.
Improve the usability of unit price information practices in the current marketplace by making it easy to identify, read, understand, and use.
Review, refine, and revise existing best practice standards that will improve the accuracy and uniformity of unit price information available to consumers, and that will be supported by the industry in its adoption and use.

If you are interested in participating in the working group or would like more information, please feel free to contact John McGuire, OWM Weights and Measures Coordinator, at john.t.mcguire [at] nist.gov (john[dot]t[dot]mcguire[at]nist[dot]gov).