Written by Acorn Sales Company, manufacturing stamps and seals since 1964 · Product figures checked against the 23 published Acorn Public Weighmaster listings on 22 September 2026 · Licensing research fetched from primary sources on 22 September 2026, none of it taken from the catalog · Not legal advice. · Updated 25 September 2026
Sources: NIST Handbook 130 (2026), III.B Uniform Weighmaster Law, https://www.nist.gov/document/2026-hb-130-section-iii-b · NIST Handbook 130 (2026), I. Introduction, https://www.nist.gov/document/2026-hb-130-introduction · Arizona Revised Statutes 3-3453, https://www.azleg.gov/ars/3/03453.htm · Arizona Administrative Code Title 3, Chapter 7, rules R3-7-505 and R3-7-506, https://apps.azsos.gov/public_services/Title_03/3-07.pdf · CDFA Division of Measurement Standards, Weighmaster Enforcement Program, https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/dms/programs/wm/wm.html · California Business and Professions Code, Division 5, Chapter 7, Weighmasters, https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/dms/programs/general/BPC2015Chapter7_Weighmasters_12700-12737A.pdf · San Diego County Agriculture, Weights and Measures, Weighmaster, https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/awm/WM_New/weighmaster.html · Colorado Department of Agriculture, Certified Weighers, https://ag.colorado.gov/ics/measurement-standards/certified-weighers · Maine Revised Statutes Title 10, section 2501, https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/10/title10sec2501.html · Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, bonded weighmaster application, https://agnet.mdac.ms.gov/agManage/uploads/1479.pdf · Nevada Department of Agriculture, Public Weighmaster Program, https://agri.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/agri.nv.gov/Content/Consumer_Protection/Weights_and_Measures/CE-PWM-PublicWeighmasterInformation.pdf · Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 582, https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nac/nac-582.html · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Office of Weights and Measures, Application for Appointment as Certified Weighmaster, https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/OWM/Applications/Application-for-Appointment-as-Certified-Weighmaster.pdf · New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Weighmaster Licensing, https://agriculture.ny.gov/weights-and-measures/weighmaster-licensing · North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Standards Division, Public Weighmaster, https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/standards/licenses/public-weighmaster-license/standards-public-weighmaster · Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Public Weighmaster, https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/consumer-protection/weights-measures/public-weighmaster · Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Weighmaster License Application, https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/pda/documents/consumer_protection/weights_measures/documents/Weighmaster%20License%20Application.pdf · Texas Department of Agriculture, Public Weigher, https://texasagriculture.gov/Regulatory-Programs/Weights-and-Measures/Public-Weigher · Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Public Weighmaster Law and Application, https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pdf/applicationpublicweighmaster.pdf · Code of Virginia, Title 3.2, Chapter 58, Public Weighmasters, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title3.2/chapter58/ · Revised Code of Washington Chapter 15.80, Weighmasters, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=15.80&full=true · RCW 15.80.520, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=15.80.520.
Acorn publishes 23 Public Weighmaster products, from $20.00 for the electronic seal image to $2,095.00 for the Heavy Duty Long Reach electric embosser, with a median of $46.95. Dies are cut at 1-5/8″ to 2″ in diameter depending on the state, so price buys frame, reach and volume rather than a different impression. The regulatory half is the part nobody writes down. A public weighmaster is licensed by a state weights and measures authority, in most states a unit inside the department of agriculture, and the document the license lets you issue is a certificate of weight that works as evidence in a commercial transaction. Whether a seal belongs on that certificate is decided state by state, and the model law the states work from does not mention a seal at all. We confirmed 13 state programs from primary sources. This page is research, not legal advice.What these are for
Licensing research, not catalog copy. Public weighing means weighing something you are not yourself buying or selling. The model definition in NIST Handbook 130 is the weighing, measuring or counting, upon request, of vehicles, property, produce, commodities or articles other than those the weigher or the weigher's employer is buying or selling. That neutrality is the point of the license: the weight is certified by somebody with no stake in the trade. San Diego County Agriculture, Weights and Measures lists concrete, sand and gravel, asphalt, bulk metal dealers and recyclers, bulk water, fruit and vegetable packers, moving companies and bulk feed dealers among businesses needing a California weighmaster license. New York names coal, coke, feed for domestic animals, fertilizer and lime as commodities whose buyers must get a certified weight ticket, and makes transporters of those, or of household goods shipped by weight, carry a certified ticket on the highway. Scrap yards, aggregate pits, grain elevators and freight terminals are the working world here.
The ranges we stock
Who issues the license, and how many states run a program
Licensing research, not catalog copy. In every program we confirmed but one, the licensing body sits inside the state department of agriculture: the Arizona Weights and Measures Services Division, the California Division of Measurement Standards, Colorado Measurement Standards, the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, the Nevada Division of Consumer Equitability, the New York Bureau of Weights and Measures, the North Carolina Standards Division, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards, the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Virginia Office of Weights and Measures, and in Washington the Director of the Department of Agriculture. Maine licenses through the State Sealer. The exception is New Jersey, where certified weighmasters are appointed by the Office of Weights and Measures inside the Division of Consumer Affairs, under the Attorney General. That is 13 states, and the count means one thing: we opened that state's own agency page or its statute and read the program there. It is not a 50-state survey, so the real number is higher.
What the model law says, and what it leaves to the states
Licensing research, not catalog copy. There is no federal weighmaster license. What exists is a model. The National Conference on Weights and Measures publishes a Uniform Weighmaster Law in NIST Handbook 130, first proposed by the 35th NCWM in 1950, adopted and recommended to the states in 1951, renamed in 1983 and revised in 1989. Handbook 130 is explicit about its own status: the uniform laws in it are recommended by NCWM for adoption by states when they review or amend their own laws. A state may take it whole, take part, or write something else. Here is the fact that matters most: in the text we read, the Uniform Weighmaster Law never mentions a seal, a stamp or an imprint. Every seal requirement below is a state addition on top of the model.
The certificate of weight and why it is a legal document
Licensing research, not catalog copy. The certificate is the product of the license. Under the model law it carries the name and license number of the public weighmaster, the commodity, the owner, agent or consignee, the date, a consecutive certificate number, identification of the vehicle or carrier, the gross, tare and resultant net weight, and the signature. Section 10(a) makes it prima facie evidence of the accuracy of the measurements shown, and Virginia carries the same rule for a certificate properly signed and sealed. North Carolina states plainly that the certificate of weight is a legal document and the weighmaster is responsible for what is on it. Several states also forbid presealing, meaning sealing a blank ticket before the weighing: Washington bans it by rule and Virginia devotes a section to it.
Which states tie a seal or a stamp to the certificate
Licensing research, not catalog copy. Of the 13 programs we confirmed, 8 attach a seal or stamp to the weighmaster or the certificate and 5 do not. Virginia requires each licensed public weighmaster to provide an impression seal at his own expense. Maine requires one, and so does New Jersey, also at the weighmaster's expense. Mississippi requires an impression seal or an electronic impression. Arizona works through a numbered Seal of Authority approved by the Division. North Carolina requires an official stamp on the certificate. Texas states that the official certificate includes the department seal. Washington allows certification either by signature with the scale's assigned seal number or by impression seal. The certificate contents we read for California, Colorado, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania name no seal, which is a finding about those pages rather than a ruling that those states forbid one.
What a state actually puts on the face of the seal
Licensing research, not catalog copy. Where a state writes the inscription into law, the pattern is consistent, and it is not the pattern used by the design professions. Virginia: the weighmaster's name and the words Commonwealth of Virginia around the outer margin, and licensed public weighmaster in the center. Maine: the same layout with the word Maine, and for a corporate license the business name with licensed corporate public weighmaster and an identifying number. New Jersey: the name and the words New Jersey on the margin with public weigher in the center, and the state's bulletin adds the official number and the letters S.F. for solid fuels. Mississippi ties the impression to the weigher's name and license number. The recurring elements are a name, a state, a number and a title, and three of these four put a different title in the center.
Pocket and handheld embossers
Product facts from the Acorn catalog. The Public Weighmaster Handheld Seal Embosser is $46.95 and the listing calls it the most economical choice for a public weighmaster embossing seal, with a sliding lock mechanism and a reach of about 1-1/2″ into the sheet. The Soft Seal Embosser is $44.95, the same tool with rubber on the handle to make it easier to hold and squeeze, and the same body is stocked in red, pink and blue at $44.95 each. The Hybrid Seal Embosser and the Pink Hybrid Handheld Embosser are both $42.95, a pocket sized body with the action of a desk model and an audible click.
Desk and gift embossers
Product facts from the Acorn catalog. The Public Weighmaster Desk Seal Embosser is $44.95, with a sturdy metal base the listing credits with impressions at minimal effort and the same 1-1/2″ reach. Above it sit the gift finishes at $129.95: the Chrome, Gold and Black Gift Seal Embossers, each with a felt base to stop the unit sliding. The Pink Gift Embosser is $99.95. Nothing suggests the gift models emboss a different image from the $44.95 desk model. The Cast Iron Desk Seal Embosser at $329.95 is the outlier, the old fashioned type, with a reach of 1-1/2″ to 2-1/2″.
Long reach and electric embossers
Product facts from the Acorn catalog. Reach is why these exist. The Long Reach Desk Seal Embosser is $129.95 and reaches about 2-1/2″. The Extended Long Reach at $169.95 reaches 4-1/2″ from the edge to the center of the seal, which the listing says lets you emboss the center of an 8-1/2″ wide page, and it adds an adjustable paper guide. The PerfectSeal Heavy Duty Standard Reach Embosser is $1,795.00, embosses at the touch of a button about 2-3/8″ from the paper edge, uses a solid brass die with an alloy counter die and weighs 12 pounds. The Heavy Duty Long Reach Embosser is $2,095.00, reaches almost five inches and weighs 18 pounds.
Rubber stamps and pre-inked stamps
Product facts from the Acorn catalog. Where the page needs ink rather than a raised impression, five stamps carry the same seal artwork. The Regular Rubber Stamp of Seal is $34.95, the traditional wooden hand stamp, laser engraved, needing a separate ink pad and named as the best choice for stamping on Mylar. The Self Inking Rubber Stamp of Seal is $39.95 and works press and print. The Slim Pre-Inked is $46.95, with 50% postconsumer recycled content. The MaxLight Pre Inked is $46.95 and has a dust cover over the impression area. The Xstamper is $64.95 at 52% recycled content by weight.
The electronic seal
Product facts from the Acorn catalog. The Public Weighmaster eSeal Electronic Image Stamp of Seal is $20.00 and is the cheapest thing in the range. It is an image of the seal rather than a tool, delivered by email at 300 dpi in PNG, DWG, JPG, DXF, PDF and TIF formats, sized approximately 1-5/8″ to 2″ depending on the state. Note what it does not include: encryption and an electronic signature. It is free with a physical stamp or seal purchase, and every other listing repeats that.
Sizes and dimensions
Product facts from the Acorn catalog. Most Public Weighmaster listings give the same die size in the same words: approximately 1-5/8″ to 2″ in diameter depending on state specifications. That sentence appears on 18 of the 23 listings; four more say the size varies with the state without giving a range, and the Xstamper listing gives no size at all. Reach is where the listings separate. The handheld, soft, hybrid, desk and gift models all state about 1-1/2″ into a sheet of paper. The cast iron model states 1-1/2″ to 2-1/2″ depending on body size, adding that states with a 1-5/8″ diameter go on the smaller frame unless the order says otherwise. The Long Reach states about 2-1/2″, the Extended Long Reach 4-1/2″, the electric Standard Reach about 2-3/8″ and the electric Long Reach almost five inches.
How many impressions you get
Product facts from the Acorn catalog. Embossers have no consumable, so the manual seals publish no impression count. The inked stamps do. The Self Inking stamp at $39.95 is rated at about 5,000 impressions. The Slim Pre-Inked at $46.95 is rated at about 25,000. The Xstamper at $64.95 is rated at up to 50,000. The MaxLight at $46.95 is the one to read twice: its description says up to 15,000 while its own highlights say up to 50,000, and we will not pick a number for it. The two electric units carry the same split, giving 200,000 impressions at 200,000 impressions.
Ink and colors
Product facts from the Acorn catalog. An embossing seal takes no ink. It presses a raised image into the sheet, which on white paper reads as texture rather than color, and none of the weighmaster embosser listings offer an ink choice. The stamps are where color lives. The Self Inking stamp at $39.95 is offered in 11 bold ink colors. The MaxLight at $46.95 names five: red, blue, black, green and violet. The Slim at $46.95 names five as well: red, blue, black, green and purple. The Xstamper at $64.95 gives no color count. The Regular Rubber Stamp of Seal at $34.95 has no built-in ink and requires a separate felt or cloth pad.
What you can customize
The catalog describes what it engraves, and separately, state law describes what it wants. Keep the two apart when you order. The Acorn listings say the weighmaster seals and stamps carry your name, the state you work in, your license number and your profession or job title, and that each die is made to your state specifications. Independently of the catalog, the statutes we read ask for close to the same set: Virginia wants the name, Commonwealth of Virginia and licensed public weighmaster; Maine the name, Maine and licensed public weighmaster; New Jersey the name, New Jersey, public weigher and the official number; Mississippi the name and license number. So the step that matters is not choosing a frame, it is pasting your state's exact wording into the order. One catalog habit is worth flagging: the listings promise to meet your State Board specifications, which is design profession language. A public weighmaster is licensed by a weights and measures authority, not a board.
The seal is a state question before it is a catalog question
Three of the eight seal states we confirmed do not leave the seal to the open market, and that is the most useful thing on this page. In Washington, the impression seal may be procured from the director for a statutory fee, it remains state property, and it must be returned when the license ends. In Arizona, the Division assigns a number to the Seal of Authority, approves forms, certificates and seals, and supplies a template for electronic recreation. In Texas, the department's own page describes the official certificate as carrying the department seal, which reads more like an agency device on the form than a stamp you buy. In those three, ask the agency before buying anything.
Where a state does expect you to supply your own, it usually says so in as many words. Virginia and New Jersey both put the cost on the weighmaster explicitly. Virginia, Maine and New Jersey all use the phrase impression seal, which describes an embosser, and Mississippi allows an impression seal or an electronic impression. We found no source saying an ink stamp is refused where an impression seal is named, and we will not claim one. The wording in the statute is the specification, and it is short enough to copy exactly. Our sources disagree with each other far less than they are simply silent in different places.
Ordering, proofs and delivery
Order the seal by the text your state's rule gives, not by the job title on a business card. Put your name as licensed, the state, your license or official number and the exact title your rule names in the center. Where the rule says where each element sits on the die, pass that through too. Acorn manufactures in Richmond, Virginia. The weighmaster listings state their own dispatch window of 24 to 48 hours, with the red soft seal the odd one out at under 24 hours in its highlights while its own description says 24 to 48. There is no minimum order. If your state's wording will not fit a stock layout, contact us with the rule text before you order rather than after.
Care and longevity
Acorn warrants embossing seals for two years and rubber stamps for six months. The weighmaster embosser listings match the first half exactly: every one of them states a two year warranty, the electrics calling theirs a two year limited warranty. The second half is a gap rather than a conflict. None of the five weighmaster stamp listings publishes a warranty term, so the house six months applies by default. In use, an embosser wants to be kept closed on its lock and out of grit, since grit in the die is what rounds off a letter.
Products in this range
Browse the full range: Public Weighmaster Stamps and Seals.
Related guides
- Replacing a Seal After a Renewal, Expiration or Name Change
- Electronic Seals and eSeal Image Files: What You Get and What You Do Not
- How to Choose an Embosser by Reach and Price
- Why a State Board Guaranteed Stamp Supplier Matters
- Arizona Weighmaster Seal: the Division Issues It
- California Weighmaster: No Seal, a Legend Instead
- Colorado Certified Weigher: No Seal Required
- Maine Weighmaster Seal: Wording Fixed by Statute
- Mississippi Bonded Weighmaster Seal: Exact Wording
- Nevada Weighmaster: No Seal, Signature Instead
- New Jersey Weighmaster Seal Says Public Weigher
- New York Weighmaster: No Seal, Signature and Number
- North Carolina Weighmaster Seal: the State Issues It
- Pennsylvania Weighmaster: No Seal, Nine Ticket Items
- Texas Public Weigher Seal: Unresolved, Ask TDA First
- Virginia Weighmaster Seal: Embosser, at Your Expense
- Washington Weighmaster Seal: State Owned, and Optional
- PE Stamp and Seal Requirements by State
- Electronic Seals and eSeal Image Files
Frequently asked questions
Who licenses a public weighmaster?
A state weights and measures authority, in most states a unit inside the department of agriculture. Across the 13 programs we confirmed that meant bodies such as the California Division of Measurement Standards, the Nevada Division of Consumer Equitability, the New York Bureau of Weights and Measures and the Virginia Office of Weights and Measures. New Jersey is the exception, appointing certified weighmasters through the Division of Consumer Affairs. There is no federal weighmaster license, and this page is not legal advice.
How many states license public weighmasters?
We confirmed 13 from primary sources: Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington. The count means one thing: for each we opened the agency's own page or the state statute and read the program there. We did not attempt a 50-state survey and found no primary source giving a national total, so the real number is higher than 13. Check your own state.
What is a certificate of weight?
The document the license allows you to issue: a signed statement of the weight, measure or count of a commodity you weighed for somebody else. The model law in NIST Handbook 130 lists what goes on it, including the name and license number of the weighmaster, the commodity, the owner, agent or consignee, the date, a consecutive number, the vehicle identification, the gross, tare and net weight, and the signature.
Is the certificate really a legal document?
Yes, and two agencies say so in those words. North Carolina states that the certificate of weight is a legal document and the weighmaster is responsible for the information on it. San Diego County Agriculture, Weights and Measures calls weighmaster certificates legal documents used to buy and sell products. Section 10(a) of the model law makes a certificate prima facie evidence of the accuracy of the measurements shown.
Does every state require a weighmaster seal or stamp?
No. Of the 13 programs we confirmed, 8 attach a seal or stamp to the weighmaster or the certificate and 5 do not. It is a state addition rather than a national rule: the Uniform Weighmaster Law text we read never mentions a seal, a stamp or an imprint. The certificate contents we read for California, Colorado, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania name no seal, which is a finding about those pages rather than a ruling that those states forbid one.
What goes on a public weighmaster seal?
Where a state writes it into law, the recurring elements are a name, a state, a license or official number and a title. Virginia requires the name and the words Commonwealth of Virginia around the outer margin with licensed public weighmaster in the center. Maine uses the same layout with the word Maine. New Jersey puts the name and New Jersey on the margin with public weigher in the center, plus the official number.
Can I just buy a weighmaster seal from a stamp company?
In some states yes, in others no, and it is worth checking before you spend anything. Virginia and New Jersey both put the cost of the seal on the weighmaster, which means you supply it. Washington is different: the impression seal may be procured from the director, it remains state property and it must be returned when the license ends. Arizona assigns the number on its Seal of Authority and approves seals. Texas describes the department seal as part of the official certificate.
Does my state call the job something else?
Often, yes. Among the programs we confirmed, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine and Washington use public weighmaster or licensed public weighmaster. California and New York license a weighmaster. Texas licenses a public weigher. New Jersey appoints a certified weighmaster, although the wording it puts in the center of the seal is public weigher. Mississippi licenses a bonded weighmaster and Colorado certifies a certified weigher. Take the engraving wording from your license.
What does an Acorn public weighmaster seal cost?
From $20.00 for the eSeal electronic image to $2,095.00 for the Weighmaster Heavy Duty Long Reach Embosser, across 23 published products with a median of $46.95. The working middle is $42.95 for a hybrid handheld, $44.95 for a soft seal, $46.95 for the handheld embosser and $129.95 for a gift finish or the Long Reach desk model.
Embosser or rubber stamp for a weight certificate?
The catalog offers both and does not rank them for this use, so the answer comes from your state's wording and from the paperwork. Virginia, Maine and New Jersey name an impression seal, which describes an embosser, and Mississippi allows an impression seal or an electronic impression. We found no source saying an ink stamp is refused where a statute names an impression seal, so we will not claim one.
What size is the die?
Every Public Weighmaster listing in the Acorn range states the same thing: approximately 1-5/8″ to 2″ in diameter depending on state specifications. The catalog publishes no single fixed weighmaster diameter, because the diameter follows the state. What changes with price is reach, from about 1-1/2″ on the pocket and desk models to almost five inches on the electric Long Reach.
Which model reaches the middle of a page?
Measure from the edge of the sheet to the spot. Anything within about 1-1/2″ is covered by a $44.95 desk model or the $46.95 handheld. Between there and 2-1/2″ you want the $129.95 Long Reach. To reach the center of a standard 8-1/2″ wide sheet you need the 4-1/2″ of the $169.95 Extended Long Reach, which the listing says is exactly what it is for. Nothing below it reaches that far.
How many impressions do the stamps give?
The self inking stamp at $39.95 is rated at about 5,000 impressions. The Slim pre-inked at $46.95 is rated at about 25,000. The Xstamper at $64.95 is rated up to 50,000. The MaxLight at $46.95 contradicts itself, saying up to 15,000 in its description and up to 50,000 in its highlights, so we report both and pick neither.
What is the warranty?
Acorn warrants embossing seals for two years and rubber stamps for six months. Every weighmaster embosser listing states a two year warranty, and the two electric units state a two year limited warranty, so the listings and the house term agree. None of the five weighmaster stamp listings publishes a warranty term, so the house six months applies to those by default.
Do I get a digital version of the seal?
Yes. Every physical weighmaster stamp and embosser listing includes an electronic seal by email at no extra charge, usually described as DXF, JPG, PDF and TIF files, with the Heavy Duty Long Reach listing naming DXF, JPG and TIF. Bought on its own the eSeal is $20.00 at 300 dpi. Encryption and an electronic signature are not included, so whether an image is acceptable on a certificate is a question for your state.
