CWI Application and Exams FAQ

The American Welding Society offers all applicants the opportunity to use the online Certification Application Portal to register for seminars, courses and make payment.

Before beginning the online application, please review the submission process, required documents, and the education and work experience requirements that must be met to become a CWI.

AWS administers the CWI Part A and Part C Exams via Prometric. Candidates will receive a Confirmation Letter from AWS via email once all application requirements are completed and approved. A candidate will require the eligibility code contained in the Confirmation Letter before being permitted to schedule CWI Part A and Part C Exams with Prometric.

Prometric offers over 450 Exam Centers across the globe and has over 100 Exams Centers across the United States. For more information, please visit the AWS page on Prometric's website.

AWS administers CWI Part B (Practical) exam at locations across the United States where AWS educational seminars are scheduled.

Please review the schedule here

International Candidates should work with their local AWS Agent representative to determine appropriate methods for applying for certification programs and for registering for exams.

CWI Part B Practical Exam

For CWI examinations that include the Part B Practical exam, application deadlines will remain the same as they currently are published.

In the US, the deadline is 6 weeks prior to the Part B exam date.

Please plan for potential travel time depending on the exam location you select.

CWI Part A and Part C Exams

CWI (Exam Parts A and C) exams, application deadlines are flexible, depending on your scheduling preferences and availability to take the selected certification program exams at Prometric.

Candidates will find the best availability at Prometric sites when scheduling as soon as they receive their Confirmation Letter.

Outside of the US, the deadline may be closer to 4 weeks (please see the local AWS agent for the specific timeline for your country/region).

AWS's online Certification Application Portal currently does not save incomplete applications. A candidate would need to start the process from the beginning if a current/previous submission was not completed.

The name on your government-issued ID needs to exactly match the name you provide on your application.

The Prometric Staff will require the name on the ID that candidates present at the Exam Center to exactly match the name on the application.

CWI (Exam Parts A and C) CBT Exams

Prometric schedules exams in windows, typically a morning window and an afternoon window, and you may select one or the other depending on availability.

You will not be able to choose a specific start time (e.g., 10:30am), but you will be able to select an available time slot in either the morning or the afternoon.

CWI Part B Exam

Exam dates and times are scheduled along with AWS seminars and are often held in a variety of cities across the United States.

Please review the schedule here.

Exam dates and times are not flexible.

Please plan for potential travel time depending on the exam location you select.

A candidate must receive a Confirmation Letter from AWS before scheduling exams with Prometric.

The Confirmation Letter, which includes an eligibility code, will be sent via email after initial, renewal or recertification applications and all required documentation are reviewed, processed and approved by the AWS Certification Department.

A candidate will require the eligibility code contained in the Confirmation Letter sent by AWS before being permitted to schedule.

The Prometric website maintains the most current schedule options available to AWS candidates.

Prometric administers CWI Part A and Part C Exams via CBT.

AWS directly administers CWI Part B Practical Exam.

Parts A and C Exams will be held at a Prometric Exam Center and Part B Exam will be held at a different time, day and location.

CWI candidates must complete all three parts of the CWI exams (Part A, Part B Practical and Part C) before retaking any of the exam parts.

When you schedule your exam, you are given the option to choose the order in which you prefer to take Parts A and C of your exam.

All candidates are required to take the Part B Practical portion of the CWI Exams before Parts A and C.

Candidates may choose whether to take Part A before Part C or vice versa, but both must be after Part B has been completed and within - days of Part B Practical.

Prometric treats CWI Part A and Part C as two separate exams, and thus they are scheduled separately.

Although they may be on the same day, they may be some hours apart, depending on the availability of various exam seats at the local Prometric Center.

CBT Exams are offered in languages other than English.

Languages currently offered are Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

Please contact your local AWS International Agent for more information.

On average and barring extenuating circumstances, international applications are processed in approximately four (4) to six (6) weeks from the time the application is received.

Once an application is processed, eligibility codes for parts A and C are created and emailed directly to the candidate.

AWS Coordinators will send a follow-up email to the Agency within 24 hours of processing with all eligibility letters.