CWI Exam Structure: Parts A, B, and C

Three Parts, One Standard: 72% Each

The CWI examination is not a single test but three independent parts, and you must pass all three at a minimum of 72% to earn the credential. The three parts deliberately probe different abilities: raw welding knowledge from memory, hands-on measurement and judgment, and the discipline of looking up an answer inside a real code book. AWS sequences them as Part B first, then Parts A and C, which must be taken within 60 days of Part B. A score on one part does not bleed into another — fail one and you retake only that one.

Part A — Fundamentals (Closed Book)

Part A tests what an inspector must know cold. It is closed book: no references, no notes, no code. The exam is delivered as a computer-based test (CBT) at Prometric centers with a minimum of 150 questions and a working time of about two hours (plan for roughly three hours on site with check-in and the tutorial). Because nothing can be looked up, Part A rewards genuine command of welding processes, metallurgy, symbols, NDE methods, math, safety, and inspector duties.

Representative content weights you should respect when budgeting study time: welding processes and definitions, welding and NDE symbols, weld examination, performance qualification, heat control and metallurgy of carbon and low-alloy steels, welding math, destructive and nondestructive testing, cutting processes, WPS/PQR documents, and safety.

Part B — Practical (Open Book, Hands-On)

Part B is the part candidates underestimate. It is delivered in person at AWS or third-party seminar sites, not at Prometric, and it is open book — but the only book allowed is the AWS-supplied "Book of Specifications," an acceptance standard written specifically for the exam so that no candidate has a code-familiarity advantage. You work through roughly 46 questions using physical plastic weld replicas and a kit of real inspection tools: fillet weld gauges, a bridge cam (V-WAC) gauge, a Hi-Lo gauge, calipers, and a steel rule.

You must measure weld size and profile, locate and size discontinuities, read the provided specification, and render an accept/reject decision. It blends manual skill with code interpretation under time pressure.

Part C — Code Application (Open Book)

Part C is the open-book code exam, again a CBT at Prometric, with 50 to 65 questions in about two hours. Here you are tested on a single welding code you select when you register — most often AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code – Steel, though endorsements exist for API 1104 (pipelines), ASME Section IX (boilers/pressure vessels), AWS D1.5 (bridge), and others. You may use the code on screen or your tabbed printed copy. The skill being graded is not memorization but navigation: finding the controlling clause, table, or figure fast enough to answer in time.

Strategy: Aim for roughly 48 seconds per question on Part A and the ability to locate any code section in under 30 seconds on Part C. Tab and index your code book before exam day — speed of lookup, not knowledge of where things "feel like" they should be, is what passes Part C.

How the Three Parts Differ in Skill Demand

It helps to see the three parts side by side, because candidates who pass Part A often stumble on Part B, and vice versa — the parts reward different things:

Part A is failed by candidates who never internalized the fundamentals because nothing can be looked up. Part B is failed by candidates who can recite theory but cannot physically read a fillet gauge or convert a measurement into a code decision. Part C is failed by candidates who know the code but are too slow to find the controlling clause inside the time limit.

Endorsements and Code Choice for Part C

When you register you select the code book for Part C. The default and most common is AWS D1.1, Structural Welding Code – Steel, but the credential supports add-on code endorsements that let an inspector demonstrate competence in other governing documents:

• API 1104 — welding of pipelines and related facilities (oil & gas).
• ASME Section IX / Section VIII — boiler and pressure-vessel construction.
• AWS D1.5 — bridge welding; AWS D1.2 aluminum; AWS D1.6 stainless; AWS D15.1 railroad rolling stock.

Each endorsement is its own open-book code test. Choosing the code that matches your industry early lets you tab and practice with the right document throughout your study, rather than learning D1.1 and then re-learning a different code's clause structure later.