Title 15Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73

§204 Metric system authorized

Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 6— - WEIGHTS AND MEASURES AND STANDARD TIME › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND STANDARDS GENERALLY › § 204

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Metric measures may be used anywhere in the U.S.; contracts or court papers can't be invalid just because they use them.

Full Legal Text

Title 15, §204

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It shall be lawful throughout the United States of America to employ the weights and measures of the metric system; and no contract or dealing, or pleading in any court, shall be deemed invalid or liable to objection because the weights or measures expressed or referred to therein are weights or measures of the metric system.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification R.S. § 3569 derived from act July 28, 1866, ch. 301, § 1, 14 Stat. 339.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Study of Metric System by the Secretary of Commerce Pub. L. 90–472, Aug. 9, 1968, 82 Stat. 693, authorized the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a program of investigation, research, and survey to determine the impact of increasing worldwide use of the metric system on the United States; to appraise the desirability and practicability of increasing the use of metric weights and measures in the United States; to study the feasibility of retaining and promoting by international use of dimensional and other engineering standards based on the customary measurement units of the United States; and to evaluate the costs and benefits of alternative courses of action which might be feasible for the United States. The Secretary was directed to submit to the Congress such interim reports as he deemed desirable, and within three years after Aug. 9, 1968, a full and complete report of the findings made under the study, together with such recommendations as he considered to be appropriate and in the best interests of the United States. By its own terms, the Act expired thirty days after the submission of the final report.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

15 U.S.C. § 204

Title 15Commerce and Trade

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73