CHAPTER 215
INSPECTION OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

  
     
215.1  Definitions.
  As used in this chapter:
  1.  “Commercial weighing and measuring device” means a weight or measure or weighing or measuring device used to establish size, quantity, area or other quantitative measurement of a commodity sold by weight or measurement, or where the price to be paid for producing the commodity is based upon the weight or measurement of the commodity. The term includes an accessory attached to or used in connection with a commercial weighing or measuring device when the accessory is so designed or installed that its operation may affect the accuracy of the device. “Commercial weighing and measuring device” includes a public scale or a commercial scanner.
  2.  “Department” means the department of agriculture and land stewardship.
  3.  “Liquefied petroleum gas” means liquids that do not remain in a liquid state at atmospheric pressures and temperatures composed predominantly of any of the following hydrocarbons, or mixtures of hydrocarbons:  propane, propylene, butanes including normal butane or isobutane, and butylenes.
  4.  “Packer” means a person engaged in the business of any of the following:
  a.  Buying livestock in commerce for purposes of slaughter;
  b.  Manufacturing or preparing meats or meat food products for sale or shipment in commerce;
  c.  Marketing meats, meat food products, or livestock products in an unmanufactured form acting as a wholesale broker, dealer, or distributor in commerce.
  5.  “Service agency” means an individual, firm, or corporation which holds itself out to the public as having servicers available to install, service, or repair a weighing or measuring device for hire.
  6.  “Servicer” means an individual employed by a service agency who installs, services, or repairs a commercial weighing or measuring device for hire, commission, or salary.
[C81, §215.26]
90 Acts, ch 1084, §10, 11; 2007 Acts, ch 126, §43; 2012 Acts, ch 1095, §143, 144
; 2019 Acts, ch 128, §8
C2020, §215.1
2024 Acts, ch 1043, §64
Referred to in §214.1
Former §215.1 transferred to §215.1A pursuant to directive; 
2019 Acts, ch 128, §8

  
     
215.1A  Inspections.
  The department shall regularly inspect all commercial weighing and measuring devices, and when a complaint is made to the department that any false or incorrect weights or measures are being made, the department shall inspect the commercial weighing and measuring devices which caused the complaint. The department may inspect prepackaged goods to determine the accuracy of their recorded weights.
[S13, §3009-o; SS15, §3009-n; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3266; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.1]
2012 Acts, ch 1095, §138
; 2019 Acts, ch 128, §8
C2020, §215.1A
Department required to inspect charging stations dispensing electric fuel; §452A.41

  
     
215.2  Special inspection tests — request — fees.
  1.  The owner or servicer of a commercial weighing and measuring device may request the department conduct a special inspection test of the device to determine its accuracy and correctness.
  2.  The fee for conducting a special inspection test of a commercial weighing and measuring device shall be paid by the owner or servicer requesting the special inspection test in accordance with the following schedule:
  a.  Class S, scales, seventy-five dollars per hour.
  b.  Class M, meters, fifty-two dollars and fifty cents per hour.
[SS15, §3009-n; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3267; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.2]
88 Acts, ch 1272, §22; 90 Acts, ch 1084, §5; 92 Acts, ch 1239, §38; 2023 Acts, ch 154, §24
License fees; §214.3

215.3  Payment by party complaining.  Repealed by 2021 Acts, ch 149, §21.

  
     
215.4  Tag for inaccurate or incorrect device — reinspection — license fee.
  A commercial weighing and measuring device found to be inaccurate or incorrect upon inspection by the department shall be rejected or tagged “condemned until repaired” and the inspection sticker shall be removed. If notice is received by the department that the device has been repaired and upon reinspection the device is found to be accurate or correct, a license fee may be charged for the reinspection. However, a second license fee shall be charged if upon reinspection the device is found to be inaccurate. The device shall be tagged “condemned” and removed from service if a third reinspection fails.
[SS15, §3009-n; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3269; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.4]
90 Acts, ch 1084, §7; 2012 Acts, ch 1095, §139; 2021 Acts, ch 149, §18

     
215.5  Confiscation of scales.
  The department may seize without warrant and confiscate any incorrect scales, weights, or measures, or any weighing apparatus or part thereof which do not conform to the state standards or upon which the license fee has not been paid. If any weighing or measuring apparatus or part thereof be found out of order the same may be tagged by the department “condemned until repaired”, which tag shall not be altered or removed until said apparatus is properly repaired.
[S13, §3009-q; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3270; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.5]

     
215.6  False weights or measures.
  If any person engaged in the purchase or sale of any commodity by weight or measurement, or in the employment of labor where the price thereof is to be determined by weight or measurement of the articles upon which such labor is bestowed, has in the person’s possession any inaccurate scales, weights, or measures, or other apparatus for determining the quantity of any commodity, which do not conform to the standard weights and measures, the person shall be punished as provided in chapter 189.
[SS15, §3009-p; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3271; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.6]

  
     
215.7  Transactions by false weights or measures.
  1.  A person shall be deemed to have violated the provisions of this chapter if the person does any of the following :
  a.  Sells, trades, delivers, charges for, or claims to have delivered to a purchaser an amount of any commodity which is less in weight or measure than that which is asked for, agreed upon, claimed to have been delivered, or noted on the delivery ticket.
  b.  Makes a settlement for or enters a credit, based upon any false weight or measurement, for any commodity purchased.
  c.  Makes a settlement for or enters a credit, based upon any false weight or measurement, for any labor where the price of producing or mining is determined by weight or measure.
  d.  Records a false weight or measurement upon the weight ticket or book.
  2.  The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A that allow for reasonable variations and exceptions for small packages.
  3.  A person who violates this section is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
[SS15, §3009-j; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3272; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.7]
2012 Acts, ch 1095, §140; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §41; 2021 Acts, ch 149, §19

  
     
215.8  Reasonable variations.  Repealed by 2021 Acts, ch 149, §21. See §215.7(2).

     
215.9  Power of political subdivision limited.
  A commodity weighed upon any scale bearing a sticker issued by the department shall not be required to be reweighed as required by ordinance of any political subdivision including but not limited to a city, nor shall a commodity’s sale, at the weights so ascertained, and because thereof, be, by such ordinance, prohibited or restricted.
[SS15, §3009-m; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3274; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.9]
2012 Acts, ch 1095, §141

     
215.10  Installation of new scales.
  It shall be unlawful to install a scale, used for commercial purposes in this state, unless the scale is so installed that it is easily accessible for inspection and testing by equipment of the department and with due regard to the scale’s size and capacity. Every scale manufacturer or dealer shall, upon selling a scale of the above types in Iowa, submit to the department upon forms provided by the department, the make, capacity of the scale, the date of sale, and the date and location of its installation.
[C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.10]

     
215.11  Dial visible to public.
  The weight indicating dial or beams on counter scales used to weigh articles sold at retail shall be so located that the reading dial indicating the weight shall at all times be visible to the public.
[C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.11]

     
215.12  Bond of scale repairers.  Repealed by 2023 Acts, ch 154, §25.

     
215.13  Graduations on beam.
  All new weigh beams or dials on what is known as livestock scales used for determining the weight in buying or selling livestock shall be in not over five-pound graduations.
[C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.13]

     
215.14  Approval by department.
  A commercial weighing and measuring device shall not be installed in this state unless approved by the department.
  1.  A pit type scale or any other scale installed in a pit, regardless of capacity, that is installed on or after July 1, 1990, shall have a clearance of not less than four feet from the finished floor line of the scale to the bottom of the “I” beam of the scale bridge. Livestock shall not be weighed on any scale other than a livestock scale or pit type scale.
  2.  An electronic pitless scale shall be placed on concrete footings with concrete floor. The concrete floor shall allow for adequate drainage away from the scale as required by the department. There shall be a clearance of not less than eight inches between the weigh bridge and the concrete floor to facilitate inspection and cleaning.
  3.  Before approval by the department, the specifications for a commercial weighing and measuring device shall be furnished to the purchaser of the device by the manufacturer. The approval shall be based upon the recommendation of the United States national institute of standards and technology.
[C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.14]
90 Acts, ch 1045, §1
; 2003 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 2, §16, 209
; 2012 Acts, ch 1095, §142

     
215.15  Scale pit.
  Scale pit shall have proper room for inspector or service person to repair or inspect scale. Scale pit shall remain dry at all times and adequate drainage shall be provided for the purpose of inspecting and cleaning.
[C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.15]

     
215.16  Weighing beyond capacity.
  It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to use such a scale for weighing commodities the gross weight of which is greater than the factory rated scale capacity. The capacity of the scale shall be stamped by the manufacturer on each weigh beam or dial. The capacity of the scale shall be posted so as to be visible to the public.
[C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.16]

  
     
215.17  Test weights to be used.
  1.  A person engaged in scale repair work for hire shall use only test weights sealed by a laboratory approved by the department in determining the effectiveness of repair work and the test weights shall be sealed as to their accuracy once each year. However, a person shall not claim to be an official scale inspector and shall not use the test weights except to determine the accuracy of scale repair work done by the person and the person shall not be entitled to a fee for their use. 
  2.  Calibration shall not be required of a tank which is not used for the purpose of measuring, or which is equipped with a meter, and vehicle tanks loaded from meters and carrying a printed ticket showing gallonage shall not be required to be calibrated.
[C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.17]
92 Acts, ch 1239, §39; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §41; 2015 Acts, ch 103, §22, 23

  
     
215.18  Specifications and tolerances.
  The specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements for commercial, law enforcement, data gathering, and other weighing and measuring devices, as adopted by the national conference on weights and measures and published in the national institute of standards and technology, handbook 44, “Specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements for weighing and measuring devices”, shall apply to weighing and measuring devices in this state, except insofar as modified or rejected by rule and shall be observed in all inspections and tests.
[C50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.18]
90 Acts, ch 1084, §8
Referred to in §215A.3

  
     
215.19  Automatic recorders on scales.
  Except for scales used by packers slaughtering fewer than one hundred twenty head of livestock per day, all scales with a capacity over five hundred pounds, which are used for commercial purposes in this state, and installed after January 1, 1981, shall be equipped with a type-registering weigh beam, a dial with a mechanical ticket printer, an automatic weight recorder, or some similar device which shall be used for printing or stamping the weight values on scale tickets. A scale equipped with a malfunctioning automatic weight recorder may be used for not more than seven days if the device is unable to print or stamp the ticket so long as a repair to the automatic recorder is immediately initiated and the user dates, signs, and accurately handwrites the required information on the ticket until the device is operational.
[C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.19]
2017 Acts, ch 159, §52
Referred to in §327D.130

     
215.20  Liquid petroleum gas measurement.
  1.  All liquefied petroleum gas, including but not limited to propane, butane, and mixtures of them, shall be kept, offered, exposed for sale, or sold by the pound, metered cubic foot of vapor, defined as one cubic foot at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, or by the gallon, defined as two hundred thirty-one cubic inches at 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2.  All metered sales exceeding one hundred gallons shall be corrected to a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit through use of an approved meter with a sealed automatic compensation mechanism. All sale tickets for sales exceeding one hundred gallons shall show the stamped delivered gallons and shall state that the temperature correction was automatically made.
  3.  A reasonable tolerance within a maximum of plus or minus one percent shall be allowed on liquid petroleum gas meters licensed for commercial use in this state.
[C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §215.20]
88 Acts, ch 1272, §23; 90 Acts, ch 1084, §9; 2014 Acts, ch 1026, §44

     
215.21  Individual carcass weights.
  With payment for each purchase of livestock except poultry bought on a carcass weight or grade and yield basis, each packer shall provide the seller with one statement displaying the individual carcass weights of all the animals sold.
[C81, §215.21]

     
215.22  Packer-monorail scale.
  The speed of a monorail scale operation used by a packer shall not exceed the manufacturer’s recommendation or specifications for accurate weighing under normal, in-use operating conditions. The operational speed shall be permanently marked on the indicating element. Adequate measures shall be provided whereby testing and inspections can be conducted under normal in-use conditions. Tare weights for trolleys or gambrels shall be registered with the department. The registered tare adjustment on the indicating element shall be sealed or pinned.
[C81, §215.22]

  
     
215.23  Servicer’s license — fee and term.
  1.  The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A setting forth qualification requirements for persons applying for a servicer’s license, including an examination.
  2.  In determining a servicer’s qualifications, the department may consider the specifications of the United States national institute of standards and technology, handbook 44, “Specifications, Tolerances, and Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices”, or the current successor or equivalent specifications adopted by the United States national institute of standards and technology.
  3.  The department may require the payment of a license fee for an amount established by rule for each license issued under this section.
  4.  A license shall expire two years from its date of issuance.
[C81, §215.23]
90 Acts, ch 1045, §2; 2015 Acts, ch 30, §69; 2021 Acts, ch 149, §20
Referred to in §214.11

     
215.24  Rules.
  The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A as necessary to promptly and effectively enforce the provisions of this chapter.
[C81, §215.24]
2015 Acts, ch 30, §70

     
215.25  Railroad track scales.
  The department shall inspect the railroad track scales referred to in section 327D.127. The department may adopt rules establishing standards for the scales. The rules may include but are not limited to safety standards, accuracy and the style and content of forms and certificates to be used for weighing.
[C81, §215.25]

  
     
215.26  Definitions.  Transferred to §215.1; 
2019 Acts, ch 128, §8
.