All You Need to Know About Legal Metrology

As a business owner, it's essential to know that you should double-check that all of your products are up to date with government regulations and standards before opening your doors to customers. To help ensure the safety and legality of your goods, government agencies created a standardized platform for accreditation. 

Most regulatory jurisdictions will require your company to meet the legal requirements and objective measurement criteria for you to be able to choose whether it would be best for you or not to register as a manufacturing, import or packaging company (metrology) in formal terms.

The appropriate legal organization to empower your product is called Legal Metrology. To be granted permission to manufacture, import or package weights and measurements instruments in your company, you must have a specific and duly generated certificate under their jurisdiction.

Before dealing with the overall approvals standards, let us know what it means. 

What is it?

Legal metrology is that branch of law that deals with units of weights and measures in trade and commerce and goods sold or distributed by weight, bars, or numbers.

• It monitors the accuracy of weights and measurements and ensures that compliance is met in line with a set of standards for size on the national level.
• The Department is responsible for implementing: the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, the Legal Metrology (Enforcement) Rules, 2011, the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011, and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.

How can I get an LMPC certificate for import?

While some states like Nevada facilitate the online LMPC registration process, in other states, you have to visit your local Legal Metrology Department and submit your application in person. 

If you cannot physically register in person, hiring a lawyer or third-party consultant is always an option. It may cost extra but at least gives you peace of mind - especially if there are any loopholes in the system that need filling. You can find such a consultant via Google search and, most importantly, will need to include the following details in your application:

• Your (distributor's) name
• Complete address of premises where that you want to import commodity 
• and Common or generic name/title of the commodity

Legal specifications regarding the compliance of packaging are pretty complex, and this can apply to labelling and branding, which is incredibly challenging when manufacturing and marketing your product. Having a platform to check all the legal labelling requirements existing in your state/country would save you a lot of time and effort. So it is best to consult a company specializing in testing products and certifications to help you get your Legal metrology approvals efficiently!