The BIPM is a scientific and permanent organism created by the Metre Convention, an international treaty signed in Paris in 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations.

It operates under the authority of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) and the supervision of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM).

The BIPM is located in Sèvres, close to Paris.

Its mission is to ensure the realisation and improvement of a unique, coherent, and world-wide recognised measurement system.

The Mutual Recognition Arrangement was signed in 1999 by representatives of 104 metrology institutes to respond to the need for fostering global commerce.

It establishes the criteria for the recognition of the equivalence of measurement, calibration, and testing certificates issued by the signatory institutes.