AWS Welding Certification: The Complete Guide

Getting AWS welding certification means passing a test the American Welding Society (AWS) administers — not finishing a class or program. 

It's third-party proof that you can lay down a specific weld on a specific material, in a specific position, well enough to meet a recognized code, and it's usually what an employer means when a job posting asks for a "certified welder" or "certified inspector" rather than just someone with welding experience. 

That kind of proof only comes from repetition, which is exactly what Universal Technical Institute's welding training is built around: Running actual beads, in actual positions, across multiple processes, until it stops feeling like a test and starts feeling like muscle memory. 

This guide breaks down the four AWS credentials and how they differ, what testing actually involves, how long a certification lasts once you've earned it, and what it tends to mean for hiring and pay, so you can figure out which credential matches where you are in your career. 

What is AWS Welding Certification? 

The American Welding Society is the standards and certification body for the U.S. welding industry. It writes many of the codes welders build to, covering structural steel, pipelines, sheet metal and more, and it runs the certification programs that verify someone can actually weld, or inspect welds, to those codes. 

A "code," in this context, is a published set of technical rules for how a weld has to be made and what it has to hold up to, things like AWS D1.1 for structural steel. Codes exist because a bad weld in the wrong place, such as a bridge gusset plate or a pressure vessel seam, can fail in ways that put people at risk. Certification is how the industry verifies, independently of any single employer's judgment, that a welder or inspector can meet one of those codes consistently. 

AWS certification splits into two broad lanes. One verifies hands-on welding skill: Can you produce a sound weld, in a specific position, using a specific process and material, that holds up against code? The other verifies inspection skill: Can you look at someone else's weld and correctly judge whether it meets code. Which lane applies to you determines which credential you're after. 

Because AWS certifies through a network of accredited facilities rather than through schools, no training program can hand you the credential directly. It's earned by testing, administered and issued by AWS alone, and the specific eligibility rules and fees are set and updated by AWS rather than by any individual employer or school. 

Learn more about other industry-backed welding certifications that can help prove to employers you’re skilled for the job.

H2: Key Takeaways 

• AWS welding certification isn't one credential; it's a ladder of four: The Certified Welder Program (CWP) for hands-on welding skill, then Certified Associate Welding Inspector (CAWI), Certified Welding Inspector (CWI), and Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI) for inspection roles, plus specialty endorsements available on top of either track. 
• Certification isn't permanent. Certified Welder (CW) and CWI credentials both require periodic renewal to stay active. 
• Testing happens at AWS Accredited Testing Facilities (ATFs), not through a school or employer directly. 
• A CW certification applies to the specific process, position and material you tested on, not to welding in general, which is why many welders hold more than one. 
• Employers in code-governed welding work — structural steel, pipelines, pressure vessels and similar fields — commonly require or prefer AWS-certified welders and inspectors specifically over general experience alone. 

The AWS Certification Pathway: Which Credential Fits You 

Four credentials sound like a lot until you realize they split into just two tracks. 

The Certified Welder Program (CWP) is the hands-on track: Prove you can weld to a code. Everything else (CAWI, CWI and SCWI) is the inspection ladder: Prove you can judge somebody else's welds against a code, with each rung asking for more experience than the last. 

Specialty endorsements can attach to either track once the base credential is in hand. Most people who move into inspection start on the welding side first, since knowing how a weld is actually made makes it easier to judge whether one was made correctly. 

The breakdown below covers what each credential verifies in general terms. Exact eligibility requirements and fees are set by AWS and worth confirming directly before you commit to a test date. 

Certified Welder Program (CWP) 

The Certified Welder Program is the credential most people mean when they say "AWS certified welder." There's no formal education prerequisite. You choose the process, position and material you want to be tested on. Common combinations include stick (SMAW), MIG (GMAW), TIG (GTAW) or flux-cored (FCAW) welding. 

Welders test their skills for standard positions such as flat, horizontal, vertical or overhead, and weld a test piece that gets evaluated against the applicable code. Pipeline welders, for instance, often test under API 1104. 

Pass, and you're a Certified Welder (CW) for that specific combination, not for all the welding processes. That's why welders who work across multiple processes or positions often hold several CW certifications side by side, adding new ones as their job or industry requires. 

Certified Associate Welding Inspector (CAWI) 

CAWI is the entry point into inspection work, built for people who want a career in welding inspection but haven't yet logged the work experience CWI requires. In practice, CAWI holders often work under or alongside a full CWI, handling routine visual inspection and documentation while building toward the experience CWI requires. It's a common landing spot for welders and quality technicians who want inspection experience on their resume sooner rather than later. 

Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) 

CWI is the credential most job postings mean when they ask for a certified inspector. Eligibility runs on a sliding scale AWS sets between welding-related work experience and formal education, so more relevant coursework or a degree reduces the field experience required, and vice versa. 

The exam itself is typically given in three parts: A fundamentals section, a practical section, and an open-book section testing your ability to apply a specific welding code correctly. All three need to be passed to earn the credential, and CWI holders often started out as certified welders themselves before moving into inspection, which tends to make it easier to spot the kinds of defects a welder would actually produce. 

Senior Certified Welding Inspector (SCWI) 

SCWI sits above CWI, and AWS recently changed how it's earned. The standalone SCWI exam has been retired in favor of a step-by-step path: Four required endorsements — WPQ1, WPQ2, WCQA and NDEC — built on top of an active CWI credential. It's less a single test and more a portfolio of demonstrated experience across those four areas, which is why reaching SCWI is typically a multi-year progression rather than something anyone attempts early in a career. 

Other specialty endorsements 

Beyond the four core credentials, AWS also offers specialty endorsements tied to specific materials, processes or industries, which layer onto a base CW or inspector credential rather than replace it. These are separate from the specific endorsements now required for SCWI. Think of them as optional add-ons for a niche area you work in, rather than a required step for everyone. 

It's worth checking AWS's current certification catalog directly, since the list of available endorsements gets updated periodically. 

How To Get AWS Certified 

The process looks similar whether you're going for CW or working your way up the inspector ladder, just with a different test waiting at the end. Some candidates test within days of deciding to pursue certification. Others spend weeks undergoing position-specific practice first. That can be a reasonable choice given the certification only covers what you actually test on. 

1. Confirm eligibility. CW has no formal prerequisite. The inspector credentials require a mix of experience and education that AWS evaluates on a case-by-case basis. 
2. Choose what you're testing on or working toward. For CW, that means picking the process, position, and material or code you want certified for. For the inspector track, it's more about which rung, CAWI or CWI, matches your current experience and education. 
3. Schedule your test at an AWS Accredited Testing Facility (ATF). AWS doesn't administer tests directly; ATFs do, and they're located across the country, sometimes attached to training programs or employers. 
4. Complete the test. CW testing is a practical weld evaluated against code. CWI testing is typically given in three parts: Fundamentals, practical application and an open-book code section, and all three need to be passed. 
5. Get your results. Pass, and AWS issues the certification for that specific process, position and code combination, or the inspector credential you tested for. If you don't pass, ATFs can typically walk you through what retesting involves. 

None of these steps require going through a particular school first. Training beforehand just makes the actual test less of a surprise, which is where hands-on programs fit in. 

For a closer look at what that hands-on training actually involves day to day, check out a UTI Welding grad’s testimonial on their training experience. 

How Long Does AWS Certification Last? 

None of the credentials last forever without upkeep, and that's by design: Welding skill can fade without regular use, and codes themselves get revised over time. AWS wants ongoing proof rather than a one-time snapshot. A CW certification requires maintenance documentation every six months confirming you're still actively using the process you certified in; skip that, and it lapses. 

CWI runs on a longer clock: AWS currently requires renewal submissions at years three and six, followed by full recertification at year nine. Either way, it's worth calendaring your renewal dates as soon as you're certified, since missing one can mean retesting from scratch rather than a simple paperwork fix. 

How AWS Certification Can Affect Career and Pay 

AWS certification doesn't guarantee a job or a raise, but it's often required or strongly preferred across a lot of code-governed welding work, including structural steel, pipelines, pressure vessels and similar fields where a weld failure has real consequences. Employers in those areas commonly ask for a CW or CWI credential specifically, rather than "welding experience" in general terms, since it gives them documented proof rather than a resume claim taken at face value. Some welders also use certification as part of a conversation with a current employer about taking on more specialized work, though whether that translates into a pay change depends entirely on that employer. 

On pay, the clearest available numbers come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which tracks welders, cutters, solderers and brazers as a broad occupational group rather than by certification held. According to the BLS, the median annual wage for that group was $53,750 in May 2025.²⁶ This means half of welders earned more and half earned less. Keep in mind that salary depends on several factors, including experience, employer, demand and cost of living in the area. 

BLS projects total welder employment to exceed 467,000 by 2034,⁵⁰ with 45,000+ estimated average annual welding job openings in the U.S. projected each year from 2024 to 2034,⁴² mostly from the need to replace workers who leave the field or retire rather than from new positions being created. 

Those figures describe the broader welding occupation, not AWS-certified workers specifically, and they're national projections rather than a guarantee for any individual.  

Ready To Build AWS Certification-Ready Skills at UTI?¹ 

AWS testing rewards repetition. The more time spent running a given process in the position being tested, the more that test feels like second nature instead of a surprise. 

Universal Technical Institute's Welding programs are built around that kind of hands-on learning across multiple welding processes and positions, which is one way students build toward AWS testing during or after their training. Completing a program doesn't automatically make someone an AWS Certified Welder or inspector, since AWS issues and administers certification independently of any school, but it's a way to log the repetition that testing rewards well before test day arrives. 

Need help figuring out whether UTI’s welding training fits your career goals? Request information online or call 1-(800) 834-7308 to get in touch with an Admissions Representative. If you’re ready to start training, take the next step and apply now. 

UTI's Admissions team can walk through program length, campus availability and current curriculum. Career Services can help with looking for industry opportunities during and after training.¹ 

FAQs About AWS Welding Certification 

What's the difference between a Certified Welder (CW) and a Certified Welding Inspector (CWI)? 

What is AWS welding certification? 

It's an umbrella term for the credentials the American Welding Society issues to verify welding or inspection skill against a specific code, most commonly the Certified Welder (CW) and Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) credentials covered above. It's earned through testing at an accredited facility, not awarded by a school or employer. 

How much does AWS certification cost? 

It depends on the credential. Entry-level certifications like the Certified Welder (CW) typically run from a few hundred dollars up to around $1,000 once testing and materials are included. The inspector credentials cost more; AWS notes CWI can run into several thousand dollars once prep courses, study materials and exam fees are factored in. Confirm current pricing directly with AWS or your testing facility before you register, since fees are adjusted periodically. 

How long does AWS welding certification last? 

CW certification needs maintenance documentation every six months. CWI runs on a longer cycle, with renewal submissions due at years three and six and full recertification at year nine. Either way, it's not a one-and-done credential, so plan on staying current rather than treating the test as a finish line. 

Do I need AWS certification to get a welding job? 

Not always. Plenty of welding jobs don't require it, but it's commonly expected or preferred for code-governed work like structural, pipeline and pressure vessel welding. If you're still working out what education or credentials a welding career actually needs, UTI's breakdown of welder education requirements covers the broader picture. 

How do I prepare for the AWS certification test? 

The most reliable prep is repetition in the exact process and position you're testing on, since AWS tests a specific combination rather than general welding ability. Hands-on training programs like UTI's Welding Technology and Welding Specialist programs are one way to build that repetition before you sit for a test, particularly if you don't yet have steady access to the specific setup, machine and material you'll be tested on.