How to Pass the AWS CWI Exam
How to pass the AWS Certified Welding Inspector exam: the three parts (150, 46 and 50-65 questions), the 72% minimum on each part, eligibility, fees, retest rules and a study plan for Parts A, B and C.
Problem this solves
This guide solves the next-step problem for CWI candidates: it explains what matters, then gives you a direct way to test that knowledge with practice questions instead of guessing what to study next.
The Short Answer
To pass the AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) exam you must score at least 72% on each of three parts: Part B (practical, 46 questions), Part A (fundamentals, 150 questions) and Part C (open-book code, 50 to 65 questions). Take Part B first, learn the inspection tools, and practise navigating your chosen code book quickly.
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Which welding process uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode?
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Eligibility: Check This Before You Study
The American Welding Society (AWS) requires a vision test plus a combination of education and welding-based work experience, with supporting documentation. The minimums on AWS's CWI page are: - Bachelor or higher degree in welding engineering or welding technology: at least 1 year of welding-based work experience - Associate or higher degree in welding or non-welding engineering technology, engineering or a physical science: at least 2 years - Engineering or technical courses applicable to a bachelor's degree in welding: at least 3 years - Trade or vocational courses: at least 4 years - High school diploma or approved equivalency: at least 5 years - 8th grade level of schooling: at least 9 years - Less than 8th grade: at least 12 years AWS's Examination User Guide says the exam structure and content are the same for the CWI and for the Certified Associate Welding Inspector (CAWI), which is for candidates who meet the same criteria but do not yet have the required field experience.
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What Each Part Covers
AWS describes the three parts like this: Part A, Fundamentals (150 questions, closed book, computer-based at Prometric): destructive testing, fabrication math, safety, metallurgy, nondestructive testing, welding symbols, WPS/PQR and welding fundamentals. Part B, Practical (46 questions): hands-on activities using equipment AWS provides, including applying WPSs and PQRs, using inspection tools and methods, and evaluating required welds. You work from the Part B Book of Specifications (a sample code AWS publishes as a free PDF), an exhibits booklet, a set of plastic weld replicas and an inspection tool kit with fillet weld gauges, a V-WAC gauge, a dial caliper, a hi-lo gauge and similar tools. Part C, Code Book (50 to 65 questions, open book, computer-based at Prometric): your ability to locate and understand information in one code. AWS lists AWS D1.1 (2020), API 1104 (22nd edition), AWS D1.2 (2014), AWS D1.5 (2020), AWS D15.1 (2019), AWS D17.1 (2024), ASME BPVC Section IX (2023) with B31.1 and B31.3 (2024), and an ISO standard. AWS's User Guide says candidates must take Part B before Parts A and C.
Format, Scoring and Fees
From AWS's CWI page and Examination User Guide (dated 09.04.2026): - Passing score: a minimum of 72% on each part. You receive a consolidated score report for Parts A, B and C by email about two weeks after you complete Parts A and C; Prometric emails a preliminary score report within two hours of each computer-based exam. - Time limits: the User Guide describes Part B as a two-hour exam. Time limits for Parts A and C: Not published on the AWS CWI page. - Calculators: four-function, construction and non-programmable scientific calculators are allowed; programmable, alphabetical, memory and noisy models are not. - Part C code books: where a printed book is permitted it must be an original or permanently bound copy. You may tab and highlight it, and margin notes are allowed. For some Prometric Part C exams the code is provided only as an on-screen PDF, so practise navigating a PDF with bookmarks too. - Fees: initial CAWI/CWI exams cost $1,255 for AWS members and $1,520 for non-members (the non-member price includes a 3-year AWS membership); exams plus Part B training cost $2,000 and $2,265. - Retests: up to three retests within three years of your original test date. The first needs no extra training; the second and third need proof of 40 hours of training if you retest all parts, or 16 hours for one or two parts. A failed Part C must be retaken with the same code. - Certification is valid for nine years, with renewal applications at years three and six.
A Practical Study Plan
1. Confirm eligibility and pick your code. Your Part C code should match the work you do or want to do, and you are locked into it for retests. 2. Start with Part B, because it comes first. Download the free Part B Book of Specifications and practise measuring fillet sizes, undercut and misalignment with real gauges if you can borrow them. Part B rewards hands-on familiarity with the tool kit. 3. Build Part A by topic. Welding symbols, nondestructive testing and metallurgy are dense; give each its own week. Practise fabrication math with your exam calculator. 4. Learn your code's layout, not its text. For Part C, tab every clause and table you would need on the job, and do timed lookup drills: read a question, find the governing clause, answer. If your exam uses an on-screen PDF, do the same drill in a PDF reader. 5. Practise timed mixed sets for Part A, review every miss, and track which topic it came from. 6. Use the last week to rerun weak topics and one full set for each part.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming you can average across parts. You need at least 72% on each part. - Bringing a loose-leaf or photocopied code to Part C. AWS only allows original or permanently bound printed copies where print is permitted. - Studying Part C by reading the code cover to cover. Speed of lookup is the skill being tested. - Never handling the gauges before Part B. - Choosing a code you do not use. A failed Part C must be retaken with the same code.
Exam-Day Tips
- Arrive at the Prometric centre 30 minutes early with valid government-issued ID. - Check your calculator against AWS's list before test day; all calculators are inspected at check-in. - Personal items, phones and bags stay outside the test room. Water in a clear, unlabeled container is allowed. - The computer tutorial does not count against your exam time. - In Part C, answer the quick lookups first and flag long ones.
Keep Practising
Work through Part A topics with the CWI exam prep question bank, and check your baseline with the free CWI practice test. Practice scores do not predict an AWS result; use them to find weak topics, and pair them with hands-on gauge practice for Part B.
Sources
Checked 2026-10-24. - American Welding Society, Certified Welding Inspector - AWS CWI Examination User Guide (PDF)
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