About OWM

As the oldest office at NIST, established in 1836, the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) holds a unique position, predating the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Our original function, to “fix the standard of weights and measures,” is explicitly mentioned in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 5), in addition to our other Responsibilities and Authorities. 

With a rich history spanning over 185 years, the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) continues to play a pivotal role in supporting NIST's position as the U.S. National Metrology Institute and within the U.S. Weights and Measures community. Our expertise is demonstrated through our technical guidance service and products, metrology-based training programs, and collaborative work with the U.S. and International legal metrology communities to develop documentary standards. For a more detailed account of our history, see A Brief History of OWM. 

OWM Staff and Technical Experts operate within four main Program Areas and work with a range of industry sectors – such as retail sales, petroleum and chemical products, and transportation, including emerging commercial market sectors such as charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and e-commerce. We also work closely with international and national standards development organizations, federal agencies, state and local metrology and weights and measures programs, and metric program educators. See a full list of our Customers and Stakeholders.

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 Vision, Mission, and Strategic Plan is intended to guide the future growth of our programs and inform how best to support the needs of our customers and stakeholders.