First explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The First, Second and Third Schedules give the physical specifications for the three tiers of standards that rules 3, 4 and 5 refer to: reference, secondary and working. Each Schedule has parts for weights and the metre bar; the Second and Third Schedules also have a part for capacity measures. The scan of the gazette is damaged, so this article describes the structure and what is readable, and does not reproduce tables.
Each Schedule sets, for each standard, its denominations, material, shape and finish, maximum permissible error, protective case and inscriptions. The errors narrow from the working tier to the secondary and the reference. Standards must carry the words naming the tier, an identification number, the maker's name, the year of manufacture and the verification mark. The numerical error tables are partly garbled in the source scan; check them in the gazette before using them.
Why the Schedules exist
Rules 3 to 5 say that every reference, secondary and working standard must conform "as regards denomination, material used in construction, and design" to the specifications in a named part of a named Schedule, and that the maximum permissible error is as in the same part. See rules 3 to 6. The Schedules are the technical half of those rules. Section 9 of the Act makes an unverified, unstamped standard invalid. If you need to work out which Schedule governs a particular item, our legal consultation service can help you read the rule and the Schedule together.
The structure
| Schedule | Applies to | Parts |
|---|---|---|
| First (see rule 3) | Reference standards | Part I weights; Part II metre bar |
| Second (see rule 4) | Secondary standards | Part I weights; Part II metre bar; Part III capacity measures |
| Third (see rule 5) | Working standards | Part I weights; Part II metre bar; Part III capacity measures |
Every part is arranged under numbered headings. For weights these are: 1 Denominations, 2 Materials, 3 Shape and finish, 4 Maximum permissible errors, 5 Protective and carrying case, 6 Inscription. The metre bar parts add graduations, an auxiliary scale, setting lines and (in the working standard) a cursor. The capacity-measure parts cover denomination, material, shape, permissible error, cases and inscriptions.
What is readable, part by part
Weights
- Denominations are in a kilogram series, a gram series and a milligram series. The scan shows the lists but the columns are damaged in places, so read them from the gazette.
- Materials vary by tier and size. The readable text names admiralty bronze, cupro-nickel, nickel-chromium alloy, austenitic stainless steel, platinum or aluminium wire or sheet for the smallest milligram weights, and limits for copper, silicon and zinc (or iron, in the working tier) as impurities in the aluminium. The reference tier's note says the material for all weights must be non-magnetic.
- Shape and finish: cylindrical with a knob for the kilogram and gram series; wire or sheet shapes for milligram weights. The larger working standard weights are cast in two parts, with the top screwed into the bottom and locked by a set screw over which the verifying authority's seal is affixed. Reference and secondary weights must show no porosity on visual inspection and have a mirror or polished surface.
- Cases: teakwood or other non-corrosive material lined with neutral velvet, chamois or soft plastic; a separate housing for each milligram weight; lifting devices; forceps for milligram weights.
- Inscriptions on the box: the words naming the tier ("Reference Standards Weights", "SECONDARY STANDARD WEIGHTS", "WORKING STANDARD WEIGHTS"), an identification number, the manufacturer, the material, the year of manufacture and the verification mark.
Metre bars
- Material: 58 per cent nickel-steel for the reference and secondary bars. The working bar may be 58 per cent nickel-steel, austenitic stainless steel, stainless steel with 13 per cent chromium, or pure nickel of a stated minimum purity.
- Form: a graduated scale in millimetres from 0 to 1000 mm, with well-defined, regular graduation marks; the reference bar has fine scales and Bessel points; the secondary bar carries an auxiliary scale of centimetre and half-centimetre marks.
- Error: expressed in each tier as a formula depending on the length measured, worked at the standard temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and rounded to the nearest integer, with the reference bar also having a fixed limit. The digits in the scan are not reliable enough to reproduce here.
- Working standard length measure: has a cursor with a scale on a transparent plate and a magnifying glass for reading errors.
- Inscription: the words naming the tier (for example "REFERENCE STANDARD METRE BAR"), an identification number, the maker, the material, the words and figure "STANDARD AT 20°C", the year and the verification mark.
- Note: the Second and Third Schedules add that existing bars may differ in minor details in regard to setting lines, inscriptions and so on.
Capacity measures (Second and Third Schedules)
- Denominations are in a litre series and a millilitre series. The scan has damaged numerals at some rows.
- Material: secondary measures are cast from admiralty bronze of the same composition as the secondary standard weight; working standard measures are pressed from deoxidised annealed copper sheet of deep-drawing quality, with a tinned interior and an oxidised dull black exterior.
- Shape: the largest measure is cylindrical, with inside diameter approximately equal to its height and two handles; smaller ones have no handles.
- Accessories: each set comes with a specially selected striking glass and is packed in velvet-lined teakwood boxes. The working tier also allows one-mark and graduated pipettes as working standard measures, with stated delivery times and errors.
- Inscription: the words naming the tier ("SECONDARY STANDARD CAPACITY MEASURES", "WORKING STANDARD CAPACITY MEASURES"), an identification number, the maker, the year and the verification mark.
The error tables: what we cannot show
Every part has a "Maximum permissible error" heading, usually followed by a table of denominations against the permitted error in milligrams or millilitres. The columns in the scan interleave with neighbouring columns, and some numerals are damaged. Even where a table looks clean, a single misread digit makes a verification wrong, so this article does not reproduce any of them. Use the gazette or the official text. For the same reason, the article does not give the formula constants for the metre bars.
The pattern that can be said safely is that the tiers narrow from working to secondary to reference: a reference standard is held to a stricter limit than a secondary standard of the same denomination, and a secondary to a stricter limit than a working standard, as the readable rows of the tables show.
Practical examples
Example 1. A laboratory keeps a set of secondary standard weights in a wooden box. The box must carry the words "SECONDARY STANDARD WEIGHTS", the identification number, the maker's name, the year and the verification mark, per paragraph 6 of Part I of the Second Schedule.
Example 2. A state verification office buys a working standard capacity measure. The Third Schedule, Part III describes a copper measure, tinned inside and engraved with its denomination, with a striking glass and a teakwood box.
Example 3. A student wants the error permitted on a 1 kg reference weight. The Schedule has a table, but the scan is too damaged to quote a figure with confidence, so the gazette text is the source.
Need help reading the standards Schedules?
The First to Third Schedules are technical and the scanned text is difficult. Our legal consultation service can help you locate the governing Schedule and check any figure against the gazette before you rely on it.
Key takeaways
- The First, Second and Third Schedules cover reference, secondary and working standards.
- Each part specifies denominations, materials, shape, error, case and inscriptions.
- Standards must carry the tier name, an identification number, the maker, the year and the verification mark.
- Reference standards are held to stricter limits than secondary, and secondary to stricter limits than working.
- The error tables and some constants are garbled in the scan and are not reproduced here.
- Read figures from the gazette; State rules are separate.
Read next
- Rules 3 to 6 of the General Rules: Reference, secondary and working standards
- Rules 7 to 10 of the General Rules: Standard balances and equipment
- Rules 1 and 2 of the General Rules: Short title and definitions
- Sections 9 and 10 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009: Standards, verification and prescribed units
Disclaimer: Based on the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011 (the source is a two-column scan with garbling, so tables and figures must be checked against the gazette) and the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 (Act 1 of 2010) as enacted, read with the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (in force) and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (in force only from the date the Central Government notifies), as on 30 September 2026. State Legal Metrology rules, later amendments and notifications change; verify the current position before acting.