NIST Handbook 44: Specifications, Tolerances and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices (2026 Ed.)

Published

January 5, 2026

Author(s)

Loren Minnich, Gloria Lee, Juana Williams, Isabel Baucom, Jan Konijnenburg, John McGuire, Katrice Lippa

Abstract

NIST Handbook 44 includes specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements for weighing and measuring devices. These requirements are intended to encourage the design, installation, testing, and use of weighing and measuring devices that provide for accurate, repeatable measurements; facilitate clear and transparent transactions for buyer and seller; and do not facilitate fraud. NIST Handbook 44 is adopted by many state, local, and some federal weights and measures authorities to apply to commercial weighing and measuring equipment and associated equipment and for use in applications for law enforcement and the collection of statistical information by government agencies. NIST has a statutory responsibility for "cooperation with the states in securing uniformity of weights and measures laws and methods of inspection" and publishes this and other NIST Handbooks in partial fulfillment of this responsibility. NIST Handbook 44 was first published in 1949, having been preceded by similar handbooks of various designations and in several forms, beginning in 1918; the handbook is now typically published on an annual basis. This 2026 edition includes amendments made through the Committee on Specifications and Tolerances of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) with technical guidance from the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and input from weights and measures officials and industry representatives. These amendments were adopted by the NCWM at its 110th Annual Meeting in July 2025.

Citation

Handbook (NIST HB) - 44

Report Number

44

NIST Pub Series

Handbook (NIST HB)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.HB.44-2026

Local Download

Keywords

devices, dry measures, electric vehicle fueling systems, grain analyzers, grain moisture meters, hydrogen gas-measuring devices, liquid-measuring devices, LPG and anhydrous ammonia liquid-measuring, mass flow meters, measure-containers, measuring, measuring systems, meters, multiple dimension measuring devices, odometers, scales, taximeters, timing devices, transportation network measuring systems, vehicle tanks, weighing, weighing systems

Citation

Minnich, L. , Lee, G. , Williams, J. , Baucom, I. , Konijnenburg, J. , McGuire, J. and Lippa, K. (2026), NIST Handbook 44: Specifications, Tolerances and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices (2026 Ed.), Handbook (NIST HB), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.HB.44-2026, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=961198 (Accessed January 7, 2026)