How to become a certified welding inspector

R1.1The route, from work years to renewals

R1.2Step by step

1. Bank the work years

   AWS wants documented welding-related work, and how much depends on your schooling: five years with a high school diploma, as few as one with a bachelor's in welding engineering or welding engineering technology. The full table lives on CWI requirements.

2. Get the eye exam done on the AWS form

   You need to read Jaeger J2 at 12 inches or more, glasses allowed, plus a color perception test. An ophthalmologist, optometrist, MD, RN or certified PA signs it, on the AWS Visual Acuity form only, no more than one year before your exam date.

3. Apply and pay

   In the US and Canada you apply in the AWS Certification Application Portal and upload the employment verification, the eye form and a photo. Outside those two countries you go through an AWS International Agent, who sets the price. The US and Canada fee for all three parts is $1,255 for AWS members or $1,520 for non-members, and that non-member price bundles a 3-year membership (AWS CWI page, checked October 2026). The full breakdown is on what the CWI exam costs.

4. Wait for the confirmation letter

   AWS emails it about 4 to 6 weeks after you apply and advises against booking travel before it lands. The application deadline is 6 weeks before the exam week (AWS Policies and Fees, November 2022, checked October 2026). Booking, step by step, is on how to book CWI exam dates.

5. Sit Part B first

   Part B's the hands-on practical at an AWS site, booked through your application with a site code. Tools, replicas and the Book of Specifications are supplied, and you get 120 minutes. Show up late and you aren't admitted.

6. Then the two computer parts

   Use the eligibility code from your letter and book a Prometric seat at least 30 days ahead, as AWS recommends. Part A is closed book. Part C lets you work from the code you picked when you applied. The 2022 Policies and Fees document gives a 120-day window after Part B. Drill the fundamentals beforehand on the free CWI practice test.

7. Read the score letter

   You need 72% on each part and a 72% composite. Prometric emails a preliminary score within two hours of each computer-based part; the AWS letter follows about 2 to 4 weeks after your last part, and the certificate and wallet card about 6 to 8 weeks after scores are confirmed. Land at 60% or more on every part but short of 72% and the same exam can qualify you as a CAWI instead (CWI vs CAWI).

8. Keep it alive

   The credential runs 3 years at a time. You file a CWI renewal at years 3 and 6 on your work record, then the 9-year recertification.

R1.3What the credential is, and how long the route takes

CWI is a certification issued by AWS, a professional society. It isn't a government license. Some jurisdictions run their own inspector registrations for certain work, and on a job the contract documents say who has to be qualified for what. Read the job spec before you assume the CWI covers it.

"Welding QC inspector" is a job title. A posting decides whether it wants the CWI, a CAWI, another scheme or none. You don't need a course before a first attempt; the training rule only kicks in on retests, and it's spelled out on CWI requirements.

The clock

The work years are the long part, and only schooling shortens them. After that the admin clock runs a few months: about 4 to 6 weeks for the letter, up to 120 days between Part B and the computer parts, then the score letter and certificate. All AWS estimates.

What it pays is a separate question with a thinner answer. BLS has no welding-inspector line, and what welding inspectors earn shows what it does publish.

R1.4Route questions

R1.5Sources

1. AWS CWI Examination User Guide, September 2026 — order of parts, scores, timelines (checked October 2026)
2. AWS CWI page — fees, Prometric centers (checked October 2026)
3. AWS B5.1:2025 — clause 6.2 (experience table), clause 6.5 (qualifying functions) (checked October 2026)
4. AWS Visual Acuity Exam Form, August 2026 — Jaeger J2, color test, one-year limit (checked October 2026)
5. AWS Policies and Fees, November 2022 — 6-week deadline, 120-day window (checked October 2026)