Enforcing weights and measures legislation

The Office for Product Safety and Standards has policy responsibility for the regulation of measuring instruments. It has statutory duty to carry out market surveillance activities. This is to ensure instruments that do not comply with legal and technical requirements are neither placed on the market nor put into use.

Measuring instruments

The UK regulates the following types of measuring instruments, including: 

• water meters
• gas meters
• active electrical energy meters
• fuel dispensers
• road tankers
• automatic catchweighers
• automatic gravimetric filling instruments
• automatic discontinuous totalisers
• automatic rail weighbridges
• beltweighers
• taximeters (responsibility of the Department for Transport)
• material measures of length, capacity serving measures
• exhaust gas analysers (responsibility of the Department for Transport)

Non-automatic weighing instruments

A non-automatic weighing instrument requires an operator to be involved in the weighing process. The Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations covers a wide range of applications, for example:

• scales used in a greengrocers
• weighbridges
• airport baggage weighers
• baby-weighers

Local weights and measures enforcement

It is the responsibility of the Trading Standards Service of Northern Ireland to ensure that businesses comply with weights and measures legislation. The Office for Product Safety and Standards works closely with them to promote consistency and best practice.

Assessing weights and measurements instruments

All measuring instruments used for trade purposes require a Declaration of Conformity. This legal document confirms that production samples of the design meet all essential regulatory and technical requirements.

Conformity assessment for measuring instruments used in Northern Ireland can be carried out by a UK Approved Body or an EU Notified Body.

Where the conformity assessment has been conducted by a UK Approved Body, a 'UKNI CE' mark will be affixed to the instrument. 

Where the conformity assessment has been conducted by an EU Notified Body, a 'CE' mark will be affixed to the instrument.

Self-verification 

Manufacturers, installers and repairers of weighing and measuring equipment approved by the Office for Product Safety & Standards can test, pass and verify their own work. They can also place their products on the market or return them to the market after a repair.
Approved verifiers are subject to regular audits. They are approved for a limited time and this can be taken away if the approved verifier breaks approval conditions.

Identify an approved verifier.

Manufacturers, installers and repairers who want to apply for approved verification status must provide documentation to prove they have an acceptable quality management system.

Enforcement resources

The Office for Product Safety & Standards carries out projects and produces reports and information to help local weights and measures trading standards departments enforce the legislation in the UK.

The weights and measures bulletins contain guidance for inspectors of weights and measures, approved verifiers and notified bodies on the interpretation of weights and measures legislation.

Stamp identification numbers are given to local weights and measures authorities and approved verifiers so that it is possible to identify which party approved a piece of weighing or measuring equipment. 

EEC stamp numbers are allocated to European weights and measures authorities to identify who has approved a piece of weighing or measuring equipment. They are the European equivalent of national stamp numbers.