TITLE XL
AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

CHAPTER 438
STANDARDS FOR WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Section 438:1

    438:1 Definitions. –
In this chapter:
I. "Person" shall be construed to mean both the plural and singular, as the case demands, and shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations, companies, societies, and associations.
II. "Weight(s) and (or) measure(s)" means all weights and measures of every kind, instruments and devices for weighing and measuring, and any appliances and accessories associated with any or all such instruments and devices, except that the term shall not be construed to include meters for the measurement of electricity, gas (natural or manufactured), or water when the same are operated in a public utility system. Such electricity, gas, and water meters are hereby specifically excluded from the purview of this chapter, and none of the provisions of this chapter shall be construed to apply to such meters or to any appliances or accessories associated therewith.
III. "Sell" and "sale" means barter and exchange.
IV. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture, markets, and food.
V. "Inspector" means a state inspector of weights and measures.
VI. "Sealer" means a sealer of weights and measures of a city.
VII. "Intrastate commerce" means any and all commerce or trade that is begun, carried on, and completed wholly within the limits of the state of New Hampshire, and the phrase "introduced into intrastate commerce" shall be construed to define the time and place at which the first sale and delivery of a commodity is made within the state, the delivery being made either directly to the purchaser or to a common carrier for shipment to the purchaser.
VIII. "Commodity in package form" means a commodity put up or packaged in any manner in advance of sale in units suitable for either wholesale or retail sale, exclusive, however, of any auxiliary shipping container enclosing packages that individually conform to the requirements of this chapter. An individual item or lot of any commodity not in package form as defined in this section, but on which there is marked a selling price based on an established price per unit of weight or of measure, shall be construed to be a commodity in package form.
IX. A "consumer package" or "package of consumer commodity" means a commodity in package form that is customarily produced or distributed for sale through retail sales agencies or instrumentalities for consumption by individuals or use by individuals for the purposes of personal care or in the performance of services ordinarily rendered in or about the household or in connection with personal possessions.
X. A "nonconsumer package" or "package of nonconsumer commodity" means any commodity in package form other than a consumer package, and particularly a package designed solely for industrial or institutional use or for wholesale distribution only.
XI. "Bureau" means the bureau of weights and measures in the department of agriculture, markets, and food.
XII. "Commercial use" means weights and measures used or employed in establishing the size, quantity, extent, area, or measurement of quantities, things, commodities, or articles for distribution or consumption, purchased, offered, or submitted for sale, hire, or award, or in computing any basic charge or payment for services rendered on the basis of weight, measure, or count. Devices used in a determination upon which a charge or service is based include, but are not limited to, taxi meters, odometers, timing devices, and shipping scales. "Commercial use" does not include the determination of the weight, measure, or count of any commodity or thing which is performed within a plant or business as a part of the manufacturing, processing, or preparing for market of that commodity or thing.
XIII. "Registered service technician" means an individual who holds a valid certificate of registration from the department of agriculture, markets, and food who, for hire, installs, services, repairs, reconditions, tests, seals, or calibrates a commercial weighing or measuring device.
XIV. "Precision scales" means any legal-for-trade scales with a accuracy class designation of Class II or Class III that have a division size less than or equal to 2 grams in metric and less than 0.005 pounds in avoirdupois.
XV. "Legal-for-trade scale" means a scale which meets the requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook 44 and is approved by the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP).

Source. 1985, 72:1. 1989, 324:1. 1994, 100:1. 1995, 130:4, 5, eff. July 23, 1995. 2010, 358:1, eff. Sept. 18, 2010. 2011, 202:2, eff. July 1, 2011. 2022, 111:3, eff. July 1, 2022.