CWI Exam 2026: Parts A, B and C, the 72% Pass Mark and the Pass Rate

The AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) exam is set by the American Welding Society (AWS). It has three parts, and you need at least 72% on each: Part B (Practical) is taken first, at an AWS test site, with weld replicas, inspection tools and a sample code called the Book of Specifications; Part A (Fundamentals) and Part C (Code Book) are then taken on computer at a Prometric test center. This guide sets out what each part tests, how the pass mark works, what AWS says about pass rates, what a retake involves and what it costs, and gives you one practice question to try. ProSyllabus is an independent study site, not part of the American Welding Society.

AWS CWI Examination User Guide, CWI Part A information guide and CWI program page, read 23 Oct 2026.

Source: the AWS Part A, Part B and Part C examination information guides and the CWI Examination User Guide. The Certified Associate Welding Inspector (CAWI) sits the same three parts: AWS says the structure and content are the same for both, and the CAWI is for candidates who have met the same criteria but not yet the required field experience.

AWS's Examination User Guide says candidates are required to take Part B before Parts A and C. You schedule Part B through your application; once you have the Part B confirmation letter, its eligibility codes let you book Parts A and C on the Prometric website, and AWS recommends booking at least 30 days ahead. AWS's Policies and Fees document states that an exam is invalid if the fundamental or codebook part is taken before the practical, and that you have 120 days after the practical to take the fundamental and codebook parts, with no extensions on eligibility codes. (AWS QC1, clause 6.2.7, also provides for split examinations, which AWS may allow or require, starting with Part A; follow the order in your confirmation letter.) The User Guide treats the United States and Canada as domestic; international applicants apply through an AWS agent.

Part A is closed book: no reference books at the test center and none on screen. AWS's Part A information guide lists eleven content areas, each with the minimum share of the exam's questions:

These minimums add up to 82% (our arithmetic); the guide does not say how the remaining questions are spread. The Part A guide cites the 2013 edition (AMD1) of AWS B5.1. The 2025 edition of B5.1 groups the same ground a little differently: for example, its table puts joining and cutting processes together at a minimum of 14%. AWS names no specific book to study for Part A; it points candidates to the informative reference documents listed in an annex of B5.1, which include AWS A2.4 (symbols), AWS A3.0 (terms and definitions) and the AWS Welding Inspection Handbook.

Part B is a hands-on and written exam. AWS describes its intent as assessing whether you can evaluate a physical characteristic and make the correct decision against the given acceptance criteria or code requirements. You answer 46 questions in up to 120 minutes using four sets of material that AWS supplies on the day: the Part B Book of Specifications (a sample code written for the exam), an exhibits booklet of sample welding documents (such as PQRs, WPSs and WQTRs) and photographs, a four-piece plastic weld replica set, and an inspection tool kit with fillet weld gauges, a V-WAC gauge, a dial caliper, a ruler, a C4.1 gauge, a protractor, a hi-lo gauge, a magnifying glass, a mirror and a flashlight.

The Book of Specifications is a free PDF on the AWS website, in English and several other languages, so you can learn your way around it before the exam. The exhibits booklet and the replica set are confidential; AWS sells a sample tool kit. Exams in the United States and Canada use customary units (inches, degrees Fahrenheit); exams elsewhere use metric units.

Part C tests whether you can understand and apply the requirements of a code, standard or specification. You choose the code when you apply (and, where a printed book is permitted, bring it to the exam); AWS lists the codes and editions on its CWI page and in its Exam References and Editions Guide. They include AWS D1.1 (structural steel), API 1104 (pipelines), AWS D1.2 (structural aluminum), AWS D1.5 (bridges), AWS D15.1 (railroad), AWS D17.1 (aerospace) and an ASME option (Section IX with B31.1 and B31.3). For the D1.1 exam, AWS's references guide (last updated 1 August 2025) lists both the 2020 and the 2025 editions and says the exam is designed to apply to either. Check the current edition for your code before you buy a book.

Two rules in AWS's Examination User Guide matter for your preparation. First, when a printed code book is permitted, it must be an original printed publication or a permanently bound printed copy, with no loose pages; you may tab and highlight it before the exam, and notes in the margins are allowed. Second, for some Part C exams at Prometric a printed book is not permitted at all: the required code is provided on screen as a PDF, in English only, and AWS encourages candidates to practise navigating digital code books, including PDF bookmarks. If you fail Part C, the retest must use the same code as your original exam.

AWS's Examination User Guide sets two conditions: at least 72% on each of the three parts, and an overall composite score, the simple average of the three parts, of at least 72%. Your percentage is the number of correct answers divided by the number of questions on the exam, and AWS reports scores to the nearest lower whole percent. The unscored pretest questions do not count. In numbers, by our arithmetic:

Under AWS QC1 (clause 6.2.3), a candidate whose composite score reaches 72% but who misses 72% on one or two parts may retake only the parts failed, under the retest rules below. You get a preliminary score report from Prometric by email within two hours of each computer-based part, and AWS's official score letter about two to four weeks after your last part.

We could not find one from AWS. On 23 October 2026 we read AWS's CWI page, its computer-based testing page, the CWI Examination User Guide, the information guides for all three parts, QC1 and B5.1, and found no pass rate for the CWI exam or for any part of it. So we do not quote a pass-rate figure here.

AWS's Part A information guide does report one figure on difficulty, narrow but telling: AWS says that only about half of test-takers chose the correct answer to one of its published sample questions, on how submerged arc welding fluxes are classified. That is one question, not a pass rate.

What the structure says about difficulty is clearer. You must clear 72% three separate times, so a strong score on one part cannot rescue a weak one. Part A is broad and closed book: 165 questions on screen in 135 minutes leaves about 49 seconds per question (our arithmetic). Part C is open book but timed: 55 to 65 questions in 135 minutes on forms with pretest items, or 50 to 60 in 120 minutes on forms without them, is roughly two minutes per question (our arithmetic), which is enough only if you can find your way around the code quickly.

AWS's Examination User Guide and QC1 (clause 6.2.5) allow up to three retests within a three-year period counted from your original test date. The first retest needs no extra training. The second and third need documented further training, completed before you apply for the retest: 40 hours if you are retesting all three parts, or 16 hours if you are retesting one or two parts. A Part C retest must use the same code as your original exam. Your official score letter explains the retest steps that apply to you.

Prices from AWS's CWI page, read 23 October 2026. AWS says the non-member price includes a three-year AWS individual membership, that the prices include the Prometric seat fees, and that prices are subject to change. Rescheduling and cancellation fees depend on how close to the exam you make the change; AWS's Policies and Fees document (dated 10 November 2022) sets them out. International candidates pay their exam fees to the AWS agent they apply through, who can give the pricing for international CWI exams.

AWS's CWI page says the certification is valid for nine years, with renewal applications due at years three and six after the initial activation date; renewal by work experience asks you to confirm no break in practice or employment of more than two years within the prior three years. At the end of the nine years you recertify, for example through 80 professional development hours, the nine-year recertification course, the Part B practical exam, a CWI endorsement exam or the Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI) credential.

AWS's computer-based testing FAQ describes the screen: typically one question at a time, with a clock near the top showing the time remaining. You can skip questions and come back to them, and you can flag questions to review later, but there is no extra time after the clock runs out to review flagged questions. A tutorial is offered before the exam, and the tutorial time does not come out of your exam time. Prometric staff provide scratch paper and a pencil, and you may use a four-function, construction or non-programmable scientific calculator. There are no scheduled breaks, and time out of the room counts against your exam time.

So practise the way you will sit it: timed, one question at a time, flagging the ones you are unsure of and coming back to them. At the real Part A pace of 135 minutes for 165 questions on screen, a 50-question practice set takes about 41 minutes (our arithmetic).