Side by side X3 · CWI vs CSWIP 3.1
CWI or CSWIP 3.1: which inspector credential fits your work?
CWI is the American Welding Society's inspector credential; CSWIP 3.1 Welding Inspector comes from TWI Certification in the UK. The one that fits is the one your job's spec and your employer ask for. Both mix written papers with a hands-on inspection, but the pass mark, experience rule and renewal clock differ, as the table shows.
- Exam
- CWI
- Updated
- October 2026
X3.1The two schemes on paper
| Point | AWS CWI | CSWIP 3.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | American Welding Society, under QC1 and B5.1:2025 | TWI Certification Ltd, UK, ISO/IEC 17024 |
| Written papers | Part A: 165 questions, 150 of them scored, 135 min, no books. Part C: 50 to 60 scored, your code book open, 120 or 135 min | Theory 1: 80 multiple-choice, 2 h. Theory 2, on WPSs and welder certificates: 40 multiple-choice, 1 h 30 |
| Hands-on part | Part B: 46 questions in 120 min with replicas, tools and the Book of Specifications | Inspect 8 specimens to a code supplied by the test center, 1 h 30 |
| Pass mark | 72% on each part, plus a 72% composite | 70% on every part |
| Experience | Set by education, e.g. 5 years of welding-related work after high school | 3 years of welding inspection under qualified supervision, or 2 years as a CSWIP Visual Welding Inspector |
| Eyesight | Jaeger J2 at 12 in or more plus color perception, within 1 year | N5 or Jaeger 1 at 30 cm, certificate within 12 months |
| Retests | Up to 3 within 3 years; training needed before the 2nd and 3rd | One retest of failed parts within 1 year |
| Validity | 3-year periods with two renewals, then a 9-year recertification | 5 years, renewable to 10, then a recertification exam |
≠ marks a row where the two differ.
AWS side: AWS CWI Examination User Guide, September 2026, AWS Part B information sheet, March 2024 and the AWS CWI page. CSWIP side: TWI CSWIP-WI-6-92, June 2024 (17th edition). Older layouts of the CSWIP 3.1 papers still circulate online; the June 2024 document is the one in force when we checked.
X3.2Where the two exams feel different
Book rules first. On CWI Part A you get nothing to look things up in. Part B lets you work from AWS's Book of Specifications, handed out in the room, and on Part C you've got the one code you picked at application. The Part C code book sheet lists the codes and editions AWS accepts, including D1.1:2020 and D1.1:2025.
The hands-on piece runs differently too. CSWIP 3.1 hands you eight specimens and a code, and you inspect and report. CWI Part B is a paper-based session with plastic weld replicas, a tool kit and a booklet of exhibits; the Part B practical page explains how it runs, and it comes first in the CWI order.
The pass marks look close at 70% and 72%, but the CWI adds a composite on top of the per-part line, and it rounds scores down to the whole percent. A 71.9 on any part means a retest.
The renewal clocks set the long-term cost. A CSWIP 3.1 certificate runs five years and renews once to ten. The CWI renews every three years, with a bigger recertification at nine.
X3.3What to check on your side
- Read the inspection clause of the contract or the job posting; it may name the credential it wants.
- Check which code your work runs to. CWI Part C is built around codes such as D1.1, API 1104 and ASME IX.
- Count only the years you can document, against each scheme's own rule.
- Book the eyesight test inside the window each issuer allows: one year for AWS, 12 months for CSWIP.
- Price the whole renewal cycle across nine or ten years.
X3.4Common points of confusion
Does a CSWIP 3.1 holder get the CWI automatically?
AWS lists no CSWIP route on its CWI price table. The reciprocity routes it does list are CWB or INWC, and an IIW waiver (AWS CWI page, checked October 2026).
Is the CSWIP 3.1 practical like CWI Part B?
Both are hands-on, but the setup differs. CSWIP 3.1 is eight specimens inspected to a supplied code in 1 h 30 (TWI CSWIP-WI-6-92, June 2024, checked October 2026). CWI Part B is 46 questions in 120 minutes using replicas, tools and the Book of Specifications (AWS Part B information sheet, March 2024, checked October 2026).
Which pass mark is lower?
CSWIP 3.1 sets 70% on every part. The CWI sets 72% on each part plus a 72% composite, rounded down to the whole percent (AWS CWI Examination User Guide, September 2026, checked October 2026).
Are there other welding inspection credentials to weigh?
API 577 Welding Inspection and Metallurgy is the one refinery and petrochemical work tends to raise. CWI vs API 577 sets it against the CWI the same way.
How do I start on the CWI side?
The how to become a CWI route lays out application, Part B, then Parts A and C.
X3.5Sources
- TWI CSWIP-WI-6-92, June 2024 — 17th edition; Welding Inspector 3.1 format, eligibility, validity (checked October 2026)
- AWS CWI Examination User Guide, September 2026 — parts, order, pass rule, retests (checked October 2026)
- AWS Part B information sheet, March 2024 — 46 questions, 120 minutes (checked October 2026)
- AWS CWI page — eligibility, reciprocity routes (checked October 2026)
Going for the CWI?
Our CWI prep app has practice questions for iPhone and iPad. Pair it with the free tags here.