In this method, traditional standard plane in phase-measuring profilometry (PMP) was replaced by a calibration gauge containing three virtual calibration planes and a reference plane. The application of calibration gauge avoided precise translation of standard plane during calibration procedure. In addition, circular steps were designed to calibrate lateral coordinates automatically. With this calibration gauge, 3D coordinates could be calibrated through only one measurement. To recover the continuous phase distribution of all steps with the same height, an iterative procedure was proposed. Based on the known geometric parameters of calibration gauge and approximate estimation of equivalent wavelength, the fitted phase surfaces of three virtual calibration planes were adjusted to their ideal positions relative to the reference plane. Experiment results showed that this method was suitable for portable measurement systems using PMP.