This paper describes a programmable capacitor intended for use as the reference impedance in an inductance measurement system. The capacitor is programmable from 1 pF to 39 mu F with a resolution of 1 pF and consists of a parallel combination of commercially available capacitors with values that follow the Fibonacci series progression. This paper presents a novel calibration procedure for the programmable capacitor that uses an LCR meter performing only difference measurements and requires only three reference capacitance standards within the device s programmable range. Design details and major sources of error for the use of the capacitor in an inductance measurement system are also discussed.