Maryland Offers Online Renewals for Weights & Measures Devices

Renewal Deadline May 31, 2016

ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s online Weights & Measures Device Registration Service is now available for businesses with weighing and measuring devices to pay for the renewal and obtain the certificate online. The renewal period starts this week and all devices should be renewed by May 31, 2016.  This service accepts all major credit cards and eCheck/ACH payments and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Businesses that need to renew their devices can access the online Weights & Measures Device Registration Service through the State’s official website, www.maryland.gov or through MDA’s website, www.mda.maryland.gov.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture mailed renewal postcards to businesses with active weights and measures devices this week and is encouraging all businesses to use the online system.  Businesses that need to add new devices or any changes can contact the Department of Agriculture directly and then pay any amount due online the next business day.  Last year, nearly 65 percent of the device renewals were conducted online with the agency reporting considerable time savings and efficiencies.

Businesses renew their devices by entering their MDA account number and proceed to payment. If a business has devices in more than one location, all of their devices may be renewed in one easy transaction. The certificate for each location is displayed for printing and can also be reprinted at any time from the online system.

MDA’s Weights and Measures program ensures the fairness and equity of all commercial transactions involving determinations of quantity. This includes day-to-day activities such as the sale of food that is weighed by a scale in a supermarket, the sale of gasoline through a gasoline pump, or the sale of fuel oil through a truck mounted meter. Maryland weights and measures officials inspect and regulate devices used in determining the quantity of commodities as diverse as fuel oil, food products, livestock, grain, and precious metals.

The MDA’s Weights & Measures Device Registration Service was developed at no charge for the Maryland Department of Agriculture by NIC Maryland, through the self-funded eGovernment services contract with the State Department of Information Technology (DoIT).

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