The weighing procedures may vary from locale to locale, but in every case, they should have the following minimum compulsory steps.
- The scale will be certified for business in that state or county and routinely calibrated for accuracy.
- The person weighing will be trained in the operation of the scale and/or certified by the state or county as a certified weighmaster.
- The vehicle or vehicle trailer combination will be the same for both weights; tare and gross.
- The vehicle will be positioned on the scale with no part of it touching the paved area around the scale thus corrupting the weight. If the scale is too long to fit, a split weight may be obtained by weighting the power unit axles on one ticket, the truck repositioned, and the trailer axles on another.
- Preferably, the fuel tanks should be full, but if that is impractical, they must have equivalent amounts of fuel for each weight; tare and gross.
- Preferably, the driver and crew should be off the vehicle, but if that is impractical, the driver and crew must be consistently on or off for both weights; tare and gross.
- All permanent equipment associated with the truck or truck/trailer should be present for both weights.
- No extraneous items should be added to or deleted from the vehicle between weights.
- If snow, rain water, or ice is present on the scale, it should be zeroed out before any weight is obtained.
- The weight ticket should have all of the pertinent ID information for the scale and weighmaster.
- The customer has the right to view the weighting procedure and the carrier has to make reasonable accommodations so the customer can attend/witness the weight.