The legal verification of scales is a mandatory process carried out by an accredited body designated by the Public Administration on a specific weighing instrument. Its purpose, among other things, is to protect consumers by ensuring that these instruments provide reliable and traceable data, while also offering the owner a guarantee of the correct operation of the instruments used in their activity. Failure by the owner of the scale to comply with this obligation may result in fines, non-conformities, failed audits and, above all, claims that damage an organization’s reputation.
In addition, in an industrial and commercial environment where every gram counts, precision becomes a strategic value. From a pharmaceutical laboratory to a supermarket, scales are critical equipment that directly influence product quality, customer transparency and regulatory compliance.
Legal verification of scales is also an official metrological control carried out exclusively by duly designated bodies. It determines whether a scale complies with the Maximum Permissible Errors (MPE), which are established by current metrological regulations, mainly European directives and national regulations governing weighing instruments. It is a regulated procedure, mandatory for many sectors and essential to guarantee weighing quality.
The verification frequency is biennial, that is, every two years. Verification is also required whenever the equipment is repaired or when a metrological seal is broken. Such repairs must be carried out by an authorized repairer, who must reseal the scale.
As the owner of the instrument, you are obliged to verify your scale, and as a user you may require its verification, for example, in any of the following situations:
A scale may be calibrated but not compliant, and vice versa. This is why both services are complementary.
In Spain, the current regulation on legal metrology for certain measuring instruments, including non-automatic scales and balances, is set out in Order ICT/155/2020 of 7 February, which regulates the State metrological control of certain measuring instruments and establishes the applicable phases of State metrological control: conformity assessment, periodic verification and verification after repair or modification.
This order has recently been amended by Order ITU/1475/2024, which updates its content.
Module F / F1/ G
Class II
Capacity: m ≤ 3000 kg
Class III and IIII
Capacity: m ≤ 150000 kg
Module F
Class I
Capacity: 1 mg ≤ m ≤ 5 kg (n ≤ 500.000)
Class II
Capacity: 5 kg < m ≤ 10 kg (n ≤ 100.000)
Class III
Capacity: 10 kg < m ≤ 200 kg (n =10.000)
Class III and IIII
Capacity: 200 kg < m ≤ 60 t (n = 3.000)
m: maximum capacity
n: number of verification scale intervals
Periodic verifications or after repair:
Class I
Capacity: 1 mg ≤ m ≤ 5 kg
Number of verification scale intervals: n ≤ 1.000.000
Capacity: m ≤ 30 kg
Number of verification scale intervals: n ≤ 500.000
Class II
Capacity: 5 kg < m ≤ 10 kg (n ≤ 100.000)
m≤ 3000 kg
Class III
Capacity: 10 kg < m ≤ 200 kg (n =10.000)
Class III and IIII
Capacity: 200 kg < m ≤ 60 t (n = 3.000)
60000kg<m ≤ 150 t
Module F/F1 and periodic verifications or after repair
Automatic checkweighers
Class XI – Y(I): m ≤ 20 kg, (n ≤ 100.000)
Class XII – Y(II): m ≤ 300 kg
Class XIII – Y(a): m ≤ 6.000 kg
Class XIIII – Y(b): m ≤ 80.000 kg
Gravimetric filling instruments
Class 0.5: m ≤ 50.000 kg, (n ≤ 6.000)
Class 1 and 2: m ≤ 50.000 kg
Discontinuous totalizers
Class 0,5: m ≤ 50.000 kg, (n ≤ 6.000)
Class 1 and 2: m ≤ 50.000 kg
Class 0.5, 1 and 2: m ≤ 600 kg (n ≤ 6000)
Continuous totalizers
Class 0.5: m ≤ 25.000 t/h, n ≤ 5.000 (dt ≥ 1 kg)
Class 1 and 2: m ≤ 25.000 t/h
Railway scales and railway weighbridges
Class 0.5; 1 and 2
Maximum capacity: m ≤ 150.000 kg
Conformity assessment – Module F / F1 / G: Applicable according to Directive 2014/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, Royal Decree 244/2016 and 249/2025 for non-automatic weighing instruments, and Directive 2014/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council for automatic weighing instruments.
Periodic verification and after repair: In accordance with Order ICT/155/2020, as amended by Order ITU/1475/2024.
Frequency: every two years and mandatory after each repair.
We work with companies and professionals from different sectors that use weighing instruments in their daily activity.
Retail and small businesses
Pharmacies, laboratories, jewelry stores, greengrocers, butcher shops, self-service stores and retail businesses that use scales for direct sales to the public and manual packaging.
Light industry and quality control
Mechanical workshops, courier and parcel companies, agri-food industry and food manufacturers that use scales in production processes and internal control.
Logistics, transport and distribution
Warehouses, logistics centers, transport operators, distribution companies and agri-food and meat industries dedicated to weighing packages and goods.
Applus+ Laboratories, as an Accredited Metrological Verification Body, can perform these verifications by deploying a work team with the corresponding standards to carry out:
The scale is identified with a verification label indicating pass or fail status and, in the case of a successful verification, includes the validity period.
At Applus+ Laboratories, we are leaders in metrology in Spain. We have a wide network of laboratories and branches that support a proximity strategy, providing full nationwide coverage.
As an Accredited Metrological Verification Body (OAVM), our verification guarantees the necessary legal compliance. As a recognized leader in the sector, our service offers advantages that directly impact trust, productivity and reputation: confidence in every measurement, audit security, reduction of hidden costs and guaranteed traceability.
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