A deli counter, a candy shop, a bulk-foods aisle or a farm stand that sells by the pound is doing what weights-and-measures law calls a commercial transaction, and the scale is a regulated device. The POS is part of that chain: if it lets a cashier type a weight, forget to clear a tare, or round a price the wrong way, a compliant scale does not save the sale. This page reads the state rule, the standards body's requirements as the vendors describe them, and each POS vendor's documentation, all on October 27, 2026. We have not tested the hardware.
For whom: a US store or food business that prices items by weight. Not for: businesses that only weigh for shipping or inventory, or cannabis sellers, whose state programs add their own rules.
What "legal for trade" means
| Element | What it is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| NIST Handbook 44 | The technical requirements for commercial weighing devices, adopted into state law | New York, for example, adopts Handbook 44 |
| NTEP Certificate of Conformance | Evidence that a device type meets Handbook 44; New York accepts devices bearing an NTEP certificate number as approved | New York Department of Agriculture and Markets |
| Approval before use | In New York, all commercially used weighing devices must be approved before use; the National Conference on Weights and Measures says many states require an NTEP certificate before a device is installed in commercial use | New York Department of Agriculture and Markets; NCWM |
| Inspection and seal | Toast's FAQ describes a commercial scale being inspected by a state inspector or placed in service by a registered service company, then sealed; procedures differ by state | Toast's certification FAQ (vendor guidance, not a state rule) |
An NTEP certificate covers a device type; whether and how your installed scale is inspected, registered or sealed is your state's (or city's) rule, so check with your weights and measures office.
What each POS does with the scale
| Square | Toast | |
|---|---|---|
| Rules followed | Changed scale handling to meet NCWM rules from January 27, 2026 (retail mode) and February 17, 2026 (standard mode) | Publishes which scales it considers NTEP-compliant with Toast POS |
| Tare | Must be cleared between items; tare printed on receipts | Toast counts CAS scales as compliant with Toast POS only with two built-in displays, one facing the guest, and no tare button or a disabled tare function; single-display CAS scales are excluded |
| Weight entry | Weights can no longer be typed in while a scale is connected | Not stated |
| Rounding | Banker's rounding (round half to even) on weighed-item prices | Not stated |
| Scales named | Brecknell scales need a configuration update | Zebra MP7xxx and Datalogic Magellan 8xxx and 9xxx listed as compliant; Brecknell and Detecto listed as not compliant with Toast POS |
Our pick
Square, for a retail counter selling by weight. Square describes its January 2026 changes as meeting NCWM rules at the register: no typed weights, tare cleared and printed, a stated rounding rule. That is Square's statement, not an inspection; pair it with a scale model that carries an NTEP certificate and follow your state's placement and inspection process before the first sale.
- Pick Toast instead for a restaurant, deli or food hall already on Toast: it names the scanner-scales it treats as compliant, which saves guessing at hardware, and it is explicit that each business must get its scale certified.
- Who should skip an integrated scale: a business with occasional weighed items, where a standalone legal-for-trade price-computing scale and a fixed-price item in the POS is simpler.
Neither vendor certifies your installation; the state does. For the rest of a food-retail setup, see POS for convenience stores.
A grocery that weighs food usually also takes SNAP; see POS systems that accept EBT.
Traceable evidence
Sources for this decision
- regulatorNew York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, device approvalNew York State Department of Agriculture and Markets · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: New York Department of Agriculture and Markets page stating that all commercially used weighing and measuring devices must be approved before use in New York, that the State adopts NIST Handbook 44 and accepts devices bearing an NTEP Certificate of Conformance number as approved; it does not describe municipal inspection or other states' rules.Open source ↗
- standardsNCWM, NTEP frequently asked questionsNational Conference on Weights and Measures · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: NCWM's NTEP FAQ stating that many states require a device to have an NTEP Certificate of Conformance before installation in a commercial application, with limited exceptions for type evaluation, and describing NTEP as an evaluation of device types; it does not set any state's inspection or registration procedure.Open source ↗
- vendorSquare official product siteSquare · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small merchants evaluating an integrated POS, payment, hardware, and business-software ecosystem. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorToast official product siteToast · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Restaurants evaluating a restaurant-centered POS and operating stack. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorSquare help, NCWM regulation standards for integrated scalesSquare · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Square help article stating that Square changed its scale handling to meet NCWM rules from January 27, 2026 in retail mode and February 17, 2026 in standard mode: tare must be cleared between items, weighed-item prices use banker's rounding, tare appears on receipts, weights can no longer be entered manually when a scale is connected, and Brecknell scales need a configuration update; it disclaims legal advice and does not certify any device.Open source ↗
- vendorToast, scale seals and certifications FAQToast · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Toast's scale seals and certifications FAQ (updated October 27, 2026): an NTEP Certificate of Conformance means a device meets Handbook 44, a commercial scale must be inspected and approved by a state inspector or placed in service by a registered service company and then sealed, businesses selling by weight need an approved legal-for-trade device, and Toast lists which scales it considers NTEP-compliant with Toast POS (Zebra MP7xxx and Datalogic Magellan 8xxx and 9xxx; not Brecknell or Detecto; CAS only with two built-in displays, one facing the guest, and tare absent or disabled, single-display CAS excluded); it does not certify a merchant's installation.Open source ↗