Prepare for the American Welding Society Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI) credential endorsement by endorsement. Compare the four tested areas and reference policies, check your eligibility, and practise a coordination decision using the supplied document-review exercise.
How do you earn SCWI now?
For new applicants, AWS replaced the single Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI) exam with four required CWI endorsements on April 1, 2025. You may take those four exams in any order.
The endorsements are Welder Performance Qualifier (WPQ1), Welding Procedure Qualifier (WPQ2), Welding Coordination and Quality Assurance (WCQA), and Nondestructive Examination Coordination (NDEC). There are no exam waivers; completing the four does not waive SCWI eligibility or the final application.
Official sources: Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI) Program | American Welding Society — Program page, requirements, pathway, renewals, and FAQ sections; SCWI Stackable Credential Guide (05.20.2025), American Welding Society — Endorsement exams, eligibility, application, and renewal sections
Which experience requirements should you check?
The published SCWI route requires CWI certification for at least six of the past eight years with relevant experience, plus 15 years of qualifying work across at least three listed areas.
Those areas include procedure development, work with base metals, welding, discontinuity evaluation, repair-welding planning, written procedures, welder or procedure qualification, code application, quality control and teaching. Check the official list and document the work that supports your application.
AWS B5.1:2025 contains defined education-credit provisions, while the program page describes education as implied by prior CWI certification. If you intend to claim education credit, ask AWS to confirm how the standard applies to your transcripts and experience before relying on a reduced work requirement.
Prepare the employment and qualifying-experience forms, identification and visual-acuity documentation required by the current application instructions.
Official sources: Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI) Program | American Welding Society — Program page, requirements, pathway, renewals, and FAQ sections; SCWI Stackable Credential Guide (05.20.2025), American Welding Society — Endorsement exams, eligibility, application, and renewal sections; AWS B5.1:2025 — Specification for the Qualification of Welding Inspectors — Clause 6 (education and experience requirements) and Table 8.2
What should you expect on the four exams?
Each endorsement has its own passing score, time limit and reference policy. The following figures apply to the English forms in the current endorsement descriptions.
The exams are delivered by computer at Prometric. Unscored pretest questions are mixed into the forms and are not identified. Question time excludes additional appointment activities; confirm the full appointment length and any language-form differences when booking.
| Endorsement | Total questions | Question time | Book policy | Pass score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPQ1 | 55: 50 scored + 5 pretest | 180 minutes | Open book | 70% |
| WPQ2 | 55: 50 scored + 5 pretest | 180 minutes | Open book | 66% |
| WCQA | 75: 70 scored + 5 pretest | 150 minutes | Closed book | 70% |
| NDEC | 55: 50 scored + 5 pretest | 135 minutes | Closed book | 72% |
Official sources: SCWI Stackable Credential Guide (05.20.2025), American Welding Society — Endorsement exams, eligibility, application, and renewal sections; Welder Performance Qualifier Endorsement Description (Rev. 07.25.2025) — Examination requirements, test specifications, references, and CBT timing; Welding Procedure Qualifier Endorsement Description (Rev. 10.14.2025) — Scope, test specifications, examination references, and CBT timing; AWS Nondestructive Examination Coordination Endorsement Description (Rev. 10.14.2025) — Endorsement scope, test specification, exam details, and CBT timing; Welding Coordination and Quality Assurance Endorsement Description (Rev. 04.02.2025) — Endorsement scope, test specifications, exam details, and CBT timing
What does each endorsement test?
Use each endorsement’s test specification as a separate coverage checklist. The percentages below apply within that endorsement, not across one combined SCWI exam.
WPS means welding procedure specification, and PQR means procedure qualification record. NDE means nondestructive examination. In WPQ1’s topic list, pre-test activities are preparation for a welder qualification test, not the unscored questions included in the exam.
| Endorsement | Tested areas | A useful review task |
|---|---|---|
| WPQ1 | Pre-test activities 30%; conducting the test 40%; post-test records 30% | Review qualification-test preparation, responsibilities, evidence and records. |
| WPQ2 | Planning 30%; WPS qualification and testing 40%; finalizing the WPS 30% | Review qualification requirements, variables, testing evidence and the relationship between a PQR and WPS. |
| WCQA | Welding QA and coordination 40%; general quality programs 30%; auditing 30% | Trace a coordination or audit question to the required records and assigned responsibilities. |
| NDEC | Qualification and certification 20%; methods 30%; coordination 50% | Review personnel qualification, method limitations, inspection plans, sampling and report interpretation. |
Official sources: Welder Performance Qualifier Endorsement Description (Rev. 07.25.2025) — Examination requirements, test specifications, references, and CBT timing; Welding Procedure Qualifier Endorsement Description (Rev. 10.14.2025) — Scope, test specifications, examination references, and CBT timing; AWS Nondestructive Examination Coordination Endorsement Description (Rev. 10.14.2025) — Endorsement scope, test specification, exam details, and CBT timing; Welding Coordination and Quality Assurance Endorsement Description (Rev. 04.02.2025) — Endorsement scope, test specifications, exam details, and CBT timing
Practise reviewing a record packet
Compare each supplied record with the stated requirement. Separate a documentation finding from a conclusion about the physical weld.
This original paper exercise defines a fictional plan and decision authority. Those premises control its answer; they are not universal AWS or contractual requirements.
Practice exercise
A fictional quality plan, Q-4, states that welded joint J17 may be recommended for acceptance only when two records are on file: the current approved WPS at revision 4, and a final NDE report for J17 bearing the examiner's signed release. Your review packet contains a WPS at revision 3 and an unsigned draft NDE report for J17. Every other Q-4 requirement is confirmed, no emergency conditions apply, and the plan assigns disposition decisions to the designated quality manager while you coordinate reviews. Can you recommend acceptance of J17? State what you do next.
Show answer
No. Two required records are missing: the packet's WPS is one revision behind the revision 4 the plan requires, and the NDE report is an unsigned draft rather than a final signed release. Do not recommend acceptance. Request the current approved revision 4 from document control, obtain the final signed NDE report from the examiner, verify both against Q-4, and then route the complete evidence with your recommendation request to the designated quality manager.
The packet does not meet Q-4: revision 3 is not the required revision 4, and an unsigned draft is not a final signed report. Obtain the required controlled records, verify them against the stated plan and route the decision request to the assigned quality manager. The supplied facts do not establish a physical defect or its cause and do not justify ordering a repair or changing historical records. The conclusion is limited to the fictional plan’s record requirements.
Official sources: Welding Coordination and Quality Assurance Endorsement Description (Rev. 04.02.2025) — Endorsement scope, test specifications, exam details, and CBT timing
Which references and study method should you use?
Use the current endorsement descriptions and Exam References and Editions Guide to identify the approved references for each exam. Check its physical or digital reference rules before buying or preparing books.
A self-study reading list is different from the references permitted during an exam. WPQ1 and WPQ2 are open-book; WCQA and NDEC are closed-book. Do not assume a printed-book, PDF-search or other interface rule is shared by all four.
As study advice, compare WPQ1 and WPQ2 to identify overlapping topics, then give WCQA and NDEC dedicated review time. Choose your exam order around your knowledge gaps and schedule; AWS permits any order.
- Map missed and guessed practice answers to the specific endorsement task.
- For a reference task, locate the applicable provision and exceptions in the approved edition.
- For a coordination task, state the evidence required and who has authority to decide.
- Revisit unfamiliar areas as well as high-weight areas; a practice percentage does not establish an official result.
Official sources: SCWI Stackable Credential Guide (05.20.2025), American Welding Society — Endorsement exams, eligibility, application, and renewal sections; Welder Performance Qualifier Endorsement Description (Rev. 07.25.2025) — Examination requirements, test specifications, references, and CBT timing; Welding Procedure Qualifier Endorsement Description (Rev. 10.14.2025) — Scope, test specifications, examination references, and CBT timing; AWS Nondestructive Examination Coordination Endorsement Description (Rev. 10.14.2025) — Endorsement scope, test specification, exam details, and CBT timing; Welding Coordination and Quality Assurance Endorsement Description (Rev. 04.02.2025) — Endorsement scope, test specifications, exam details, and CBT timing; AWS Exam References and Editions Guide (last updated August 1, 2025) — CWI/SCWI endorsement reference listings
What should you check before applying?
Confirm the current application route, exam fees and appointment requirements with AWS or the applicable international agent.
Track the four endorsement results and the evidence required for the SCWI application. Passing the exams alone does not approve the credential.
After certification, renewal is required at years three and six, followed by nine-year recertification. Use the current AWS instructions for deadlines and the route available to you.
Official sources: Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI) Program | American Welding Society — Program page, requirements, pathway, renewals, and FAQ sections; SCWI Stackable Credential Guide (05.20.2025), American Welding Society — Endorsement exams, eligibility, application, and renewal sections
Official sources
Key facts checked:
- Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI) Program | American Welding Society
- SCWI Stackable Credential Guide (05.20.2025), American Welding Society
- Welder Performance Qualifier Endorsement Description (Rev. 07.25.2025)
- Welding Procedure Qualifier Endorsement Description (Rev. 10.14.2025)
- AWS Nondestructive Examination Coordination Endorsement Description (Rev. 10.14.2025)
- Welding Coordination and Quality Assurance Endorsement Description (Rev. 04.02.2025)
- AWS B5.1:2025 — Specification for the Qualification of Welding Inspectors
- AWS Exam References and Editions Guide (last updated August 1, 2025)