1.2 Certification Paths: SNT-TC-1A, CP-189, and ASNT Central Certification

Why the path question shows up on a Level II exam

A Level II who cannot tell employer certification from central certification will misread procedure headers, quote the wrong document in a job interview, and miss specific-exam items that ask who owns the practical. Shops, travelers, and owner-users use the same vocabulary — Level I, Level II, Level III, written practice, SNT-TC-1A — for programs that are not interchangeable. This section separates the three paths that matter for ASNT NDT Level II.

Certification is a written statement that a named person has met a defined qualification process for a method and level. Qualification is the mix of training, experience, vision, and examinations behind that statement. Who signs the certificate is the path: the employer, or a third party such as ASNT Certification Services LLC.

Three paths, one vocabulary

ANSI/ASNT CP-105 is a different document: it is the standard topical outline used to build bodies of knowledge. It is not a certification path. Do not call CP-105 “the certification standard.”

SNT-TC-1A: the employer's written practice is the law of the shop

SNT-TC-1A is titled a recommended practice for a reason. ASNT publishes recommended training hours, experience, exam parts, and vision checks. The employer then writes a written practice that says how this company will qualify people. That written practice can adopt the recommendations, exceed them, or — with justification the customer will accept — modify them. When a procedure says “personnel shall be certified in accordance with the company's written practice,” the governing text is the written practice, not a photocopy of SNT-TC-1A.

In a pure SNT-TC-1A shop:

• The employer issues the Level I / II / III wallet card or letter.
• The NDT Level III named in the written practice builds or approves exams and procedures.
• General, specific, and practical exams are employer exams unless the written practice says it will accept a third-party exam in place of one of those parts.
• Leaving the company usually means the certification ends, because it was never a personal ASNT certificate.

That last point is why central certification exists. An SNT-TC-1A card from Shop A is evidence that Shop A qualified you. Shop B may honor it, re-examine you, or ignore it. The ASNT NDT Level II record in the public directory is independent of Shop A.

CP-189: same three levels, less employer discretion

ANSI/ASNT CP-189 is a standard, not a recommended practice. Programs that “work to CP-189” still run through an employer written practice, but that practice shall meet the standard. Common exam-relevant contrasts:

• Language is shall, not should. Reducing training or experience below the standard is not a casual written-practice edit.
• A designated NDT Level III (often required to hold ASNT NDT Level III) is responsible for the program.
• Examination administration, specimen control, and instructor qualifications are specified more tightly.
• Customers who specify CP-189 are usually buying less variability across contractors, not a different set of MT physics.

CP-189 does not mean ASNT administers your Level II CBT. A CP-189 employer can still write its own general and specific exams. Some CP-189 written practices accept ASNT central exams as the general and/or specific portion and still require the employer's practical. Read the written practice; do not assume.

ASNT central NDT Level II: what it is and what it is not

ASNT NDT Level II is the current central written program for this exam ID. ASNT's certification page states that the program includes a general computer-based exam and specific exams for various methods and that it meets Recommended Practice SNT-TC-1A. ASNT's comparison page is equally plain: choose ASNT NDT when you will take hands-on practical exams through an employer-based program. That is the design, not a loophole.

So the split of labor is:

1. ASNT reviews training and experience documentation, collects fees, and delivers standardized general and specific CBTs.
2. The employer (or another party named in the written practice) still performs visual acuity, a practical exam, and any job-specific exam the written practice requires.
3. Holding the ASNT certificate does not automatically authorize you to inspect at a site whose written practice has not accepted that certificate.

Two related programs get mixed into Level II questions:

• ASNT 9712 is a different central program aligned with ISO 9712. It includes ASNT-administered practical examinations and, at Level III, procedure-writing elements. It is the path ASNT recommends when you need a portable credential that already contains the practical, especially for multi-country contract work. It is not the 50-plus-40 CBT package this guide prepares.
• ACCP (ASNT Central Certification Program) is the older brand many procedures still name. Current public pages organize central offerings as ASNT NDT and ASNT 9712. If a specification says ACCP Level II, ask the Level III whether the customer now accepts ASNT NDT Level II, ASNT 9712 Level II, or still wants the legacy ACCP scheme. Do not invent an ACCP item count.

Realistic path scenarios

Traveler vs. captive shop. A contractor who changes employers every outage wants the ASNT directory listing because the next gate will not accept last year's shop letter. The new employer will still run vision and a practical on the site procedure. The ASNT CBT removes the “prove you know the method” argument; it does not remove site indoctrination.

Nuclear specification. A bid package says “CP-189.” Showing only an ASNT NDT Level II badge is incomplete. The contractor still needs a CP-189 written practice, a responsible Level III, and whatever practical and vision the standard plus the customer require. The badge may satisfy the written general/specific piece if the written practice says so.

SNT-TC-1A shop that also wants ASNT. A fabrication shop certifies people to its written practice and pays for ASNT CBT as a recruiting and customer-audit story. Those technicians hold two things: an employer certification that dies when they leave, and an ASNT certification that lasts five years if they recertify. Specific-exam items that ask “who certifies the technician for this procedure?” still point at the employer unless the procedure explicitly names ASNT.

ISO job abroad. A client in a country that specifies ISO 9712 may not treat ASNT NDT Level II as equivalent, because the practical was not administered by the certification body. That candidate needs ASNT 9712 or another ISO 9712 scheme, not a longer study session on the 50-question general.

When an exam item names a document, classify it first: guideline (SNT-TC-1A), standard (CP-189 or CP-105 outlines), or third-party program (ASNT NDT Level II or ASNT 9712). Then ask who signs the certificate and who still owns the practical. That two-step habit is the entire point of this section.