NJ Civil Service Navigator

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES INSPECTOR 1

Code: 33081 State Competitive Range: FA17 (FY2027)

Career Family: WEIGHTS AND MEASURES INSPECTOR

Salary: $71,668.13 - $115,491.9/year FY2027 schedule (last updated 2026-05-08)

Weights and Measures Inspector 1 sits in the competitive class of New Jersey's state civil service, so reaching it runs through testing and an eligible list instead of a straight hire.

This is where the Weights and Measures Inspector ladder starts, one grade under Weights and Measures Inspector 2, whose band tops out about $17,762 higher. The requirements come down to 3 years of relevant experience and a professional license. Pay on the FY2027 schedule runs $71,668 to $115,492, and state payroll currently lists 7 people in the title, most of them at Law and Public Safety.

How to apply

  • Exam

    This is an application to sit an exam and be placed on an eligible list for this title, not an application for a specific job. A $35 application fee applies to Non-Public-Safety announcements issued on or after 2026-02-01. There may be no current vacancy behind it, and the list it produces may not be certified for months or years.

  • Exam

    Open to permanent employees in the competitive division who hold a qualifying lower title in the same unit. A $35 application fee applies to Non-Public-Safety announcements issued on or after 2026-02-01. Like the open competitive exam, this places you on a list; it is not itself a job offer.

  • Agency posting

    Department of Law & Public Safety posts its own vacancies directly, often before (or instead of) any civil service exam announcement. Provisional appointment against a posted vacancy is how most people are actually hired into this kind of title.

Pay ladder: Weights and Measures Inspector series

  1. Weights and Measures Inspector 1 — $71,668 – $115,492 (this title)
  2. Weights and Measures Inspector 2 — $82,547 – $133,254
  3. Weights and Measures Inspector 3 — $90,447 – $144,398

Promoting to Weights and Measures Inspector 2 raises the top of the band by about $17,762. Its top salary lands around the 63rd percentile of all NJ civil service titles that publish a range.

Rungs are ordered by FY2027 pay. NJ level numbers are not always sequential, so ordering follows salary rather than the title number.

Who employs this title

State payroll records show 7 people working under this title. The median actual salary is $97,812. The agencies employing the most are:

  • Law and Public Safety (7)

Counts from NJ YourMoney agency payroll. See statewide workforce analytics.

Official job specification

The text below is the official specification published by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. The plain-language summary and analysis above are derived from it by NJ Civil Service Navigator.

Definition

Under the limited supervision of a Weights and Measures Inspector 3 or other supervisory official in the Department of Law and Public Safety, performs routine office and metrology laboratory work and field investigations involving the enforcement of weights and measures statutes and regulations; does other related duties as required.

Examples of work

  • Investigates alleged violations of weights and measures statutes.
  • Patrols areas in which vehicles are stopped in transit to inspect weighing and measuring devices and/or to have weighed sand, grain, or other commodities.
  • Performs calibrations to verify and certify both official and primary industrial standards of weights and measures.
  • Tests and inspects laboratory and scientific weighing and measuring devices.
  • Tests and inspects equipment used for packing commodities in manufacturing plants; assists in re-weighing, re-measuring, and re-counting packaged commodities being shipped, stored in warehouses, and/or otherwise being delivered, sold, or exposed for sale.
  • Tests, inspects and calibrates gasoline dispensers, bulk rack and truck meters, which includes the entire metering system (wholesale/retail) at refineries and distribution terminals; liquid petroleum (LPG) meters (liquid/vapor); road oil distributer vehicles and tank truck compartments; large capacity weighing systems (mechanical/electronic); odometers on rental vehicles; speedometers of certain law enforcement vehicles; slow-flow retail petroleum meters; linear devices including steel surveying/engineering tapes; farm milk holding tanks; and various types of auxiliaries and printout devices.
  • Operates a heavy-duty scale testing unit and auxiliary equipment, volumetric meter provers, pharmaceutical and other specialized testing equipment, and makes inspections/tests of heavy duty scales, volumetric measuring devices, apothecaries' weights and measures, and other devices.
  • Assists in carrying out provisions of licensing laws covering fuels, fuel dealers, weighmasters, equipment dealers, mechanics, poultry dealers and agents, lumber dealers, and soil amendment dealers.
  • Inspects lumber and lumber products for compliance with grading, measuring, and labeling requirements.
  • Tests electronic weighing and measuring systems, which may include both intra-state and inter-state billing systems, wholesale, and retail.
  • Coordinates and cooperates with the investigations of other criminal investigative agencies.
  • Assists in examining applicants for weighing and measuring equipment repairman licenses.
  • Provides explanations and interprets laws and regulations pertaining to weights and measures activities.
  • Assists in compiling evidence of weights and measures violations; appears in court as an expert or technical witness on weights and measures investigations and in the verification of devices used by other enforcement agencies in the enforcement of their respective statutes.
  • Operates two-way police mobile radios as required.
  • Prepares reports and correspondence.
  • Maintains records and files.
  • Will be required to learn how to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.

Experience

Three (3) years of experience in the repair, design, calibration, testing, or operating of complex weighing or measuring devices and auxiliaries or in the inspection of weighing and measuring devices and auxiliaries.

License

Appointees will be required to possess a valid New Jersey driver's license.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

  • Knowledge of New Jersey laws and regulations, standards, policies, procedures, and specifications concerning weights and measure devices.
  • Knowledge of calibration procedures recognized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including mathematical and statistical processes required to determine actual value of standards verified, and of the procedures, tables, and charts provided by the Institute for this purpose.
  • Knowledge of the design, construction, use, care, adjustment, testing, and inspection of weighing and measuring devices including scales, meters, equipment, tanks and compartments, and all accessory systems.
  • Knowledge of the Universal Product Code or similar system.
  • Knowledge of quantity control methods used in the various industries to comply with weights and measures packaging requirements.
  • Knowledge of fraudulent practices used in weighing and measuring commodities being packaged, shipped, stored, delivered, or sold.
  • Ability to interpret and apply the laws, rules, standards, policies, procedures, and specifications governing weights and measures and ethical standards.
  • Ability to organize fieldwork, analyze weights and measures enforcement activities, and develop work methods.
  • Ability to inspect the installation and to test the accuracy of heavy-duty scales involving the handling of weights up to one thousand pounds or more.
  • Ability to collect information and compile evidence to be used in cases of alleged violations of New Jersey weights and measures statutes, and to appear in court or divisional hearings as a complainant or expert technical witness.
  • Ability to make required field tests and inspections of packaged commodities.
  • Ability to distinguish lumber grade marks and interpret lumber grading rules recognized by the State Superintendent.
  • Ability to drive and operate a heavy-duty scale testing truck, volumetric meter proving equipment, and other weighing equipment.
  • Ability to prepare reports and correspondence on weights and measures containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
  • Ability to operate a two-way police mobile radio.
  • Ability to maintain records and files.
  • Ability to learn how to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
  • Ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.
  • Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible if they can perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.

Note

The examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed.

College level study in the field of engineering, physics, electronics, or mathematics may be substituted for the indicated experience on a year-for-year basis with thirty (30) semester hour credits being equal to one (1) year of experience.

Applicants must have successfully completed the Weights and Measures training program conducted by the State Office of Weights and Measures, Department of Law and Public Safety.

The responsibility for ensuring that employees possess the required motor vehicle license, commensurate with the class and type of vehicle they operate, rests with the Appointing Authority.