BIPM

International Bureau of Weights and Measures
French: Bureau international des poids et mesures

Seal of the BIPM
Abbreviation	BIPM
Formation	20 May 1875
Type	Intergovernmental
Location	Sèvres, France
Region served	Worldwide
Official language	French (official), English
Director	M.J.T. Milton
Website	www.bipm.org

Coordinates: 48°49′45.55″N 2°13′12.64″E / 48.8293194°N 2.2201778°E / 48.8293194; 2.2201778 The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (French: Bureau international des poids et mesures), is an international standards organisation, one of three such organisations established to maintain the International System of Units (SI) under the terms of the Metre Convention (Convention du Mètre). The organisation is usually referred to by its French initialism, BIPM.

The BIPM reports to the International Committee for Weights and Measures (French: Comité international des poids et mesures, CIPM), which is in turn overseen by periodic meetings of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (French: Conférence générale des poids et mesures, CGPM). These organizations are also commonly referred to by their French initialisms.

The BIPM was created on 20 May 1875, following the signing of the Metre Convention, a treaty among 51 nations (as of August 2008^[update]). It is based at the Pavillon de Breteuil in Sèvres, France, a 4.35 ha site (originally 2.52 ha) granted to the Bureau by the French Government in 1876, where it enjoys extraterritorial status, a status that was clarified by the French decree No 70-820 of 9 September 1970.