What is the AWS Certified Welder program and how do you qualify?
The Certified Welder program is run by the American Welding Society and certifies that you can physically produce a sound weld to a specified code or standard. It is performance-only: there is no written exam and no seminar. You test at an AWS Accredited Test Facility — a shop, school or testing lab that AWS has audited and approved to run the program — welding a coupon in the process, position, material, thickness and code your test is written against. The coupon is then evaluated by visual inspection and by destructive or radiographic testing as the standard requires. A pass certifies you for that specific range of variables, not for welding generally. Unlike an employer's in-house qualification, an AWS Certified Welder record is held by AWS and is portable between employers; it stays valid as long as a maintenance form confirming you have continued to weld in the process is submitted every six months.
- The Certified Welder program is performance-only — there is no written exam and no required seminar.
- Testing must be done at an AWS Accredited Test Facility for the record to be filed with AWS and portable.
- Certification covers only the process, position, material, thickness and code you tested to.
- A maintenance-of-certification form every six months is what keeps the record alive; there is no calendar expiry.
AWS Certified at a glance
| Cost | Set by the Accredited Test Facility that runs your test, so it varies by provider; AWS charges its own record-keeping fee, published on aws.org |
| Duration | Typically a single test session — coupon welding plus evaluation, often the same day |
| Issued by | American Welding Society (AWS) |
| Format | Hands-on performance test only, at an AWS Accredited Test Facility; no written examination |
| Expiry | No fixed expiry, but lapses unless a maintenance-of-certification form is submitted every six months |
| Who needs it | Production, structural, pipe and fabrication welders whose employers or clients require a portable, third-party welder qualification |
| Scope | Certification is limited to the process, position, material, thickness and code you tested to |
| Portability | Held on AWS's record for the welder, not by the employer, so it moves with you |
Sources: American Welding Society, official site · AWS Certified Welder program. Reviewed August 2026 by the GlobalCybers team.
The Performance Test, Coupons and Accredited Test Facilities
You are certified for variables, not for welding
An AWS Certified Welder record names the process, position, base material, thickness range, filler and code you tested to. Change a variable outside the qualified range — move from plate to pipe, from 3G to 6G, from carbon steel to stainless, from one code to another — and the existing certification does not cover it. This is why experienced welders hold several certifications and why a job advert names the test it wants rather than asking for 'AWS certified'.
What an Accredited Test Facility is
Does an AWS Certified Welder record affect pay?
Welder pay is driven by the process, position and code a shop needs rather than by holding a certification in the abstract — a portable 6G pipe qualification opens different work from a flat-position plate test. BLS reports wages by occupation, not by credential.
GlobalCybers reimburses certification fees after a successful permanent placement through our network.
What the AWS Certified Welder Test Covers, Qualified Variables
The Coupon
A test plate or pipe welded to a written test procedure. Everything about your certification — its scope and its limits — follows from what the coupon proves.
Positions 1G–6G
Position is the variable that most affects difficulty and marketability. A 6G fixed-pipe qualification is the benchmark test for pipe work because it covers the widest positional range.
Accredited Test Facilities
Only an AWS-audited ATF can run the Certified Welder program. A shop test that is not at an ATF may qualify you for that employer under the code, but it is not an AWS Certified Welder record.
Destructive Testing
Bend and tensile tests, or radiography where the standard allows, decide the result. Visual acceptance comes first — a coupon that fails visual inspection never reaches the bend tester.
The Six-Month Form
Continuity is maintained by a form, signed by your employer, confirming you have kept welding in the process. Miss the window and the certification lapses regardless of your skill.
Multiple Certifications
Welders accumulate certifications the way technicians accumulate ASE tests — one per meaningful combination of process, position, material and code.
How do you become an AWS Certified Welder, step by step?
Decide which test you actually need
Work backwards from the job: which process, position, material, thickness and code does the work require? Testing to a narrower set of variables than the job needs is the most common wasted test.
Find an AWS Accredited Test Facility
Only an ATF can administer the Certified Welder program and file the result with AWS. AWS publishes a directory of accredited facilities; fees are set by the facility, so they vary by provider.
Prepare on the same setup you will test on
Practise the exact joint, position and material with the machine settings you will use. ATFs commonly sell practice time; the test is a single supervised session, not an iterative one.
Weld and submit the coupon
You weld under supervision to the written test procedure. The coupon is visually inspected and then bend, tensile or radiographic tested as the standard requires.
Keep it alive with the six-month maintenance form
AWS certifications do not carry a fixed expiry date but do require a maintenance-of-certification form, signed to confirm continued work in the process, every six months. Miss it and you retest.
Who Requires a Welder Qualification
Welder qualification itself is mandatory almost everywhere structural or pressure-retaining welding is done — AWS D1.1, ASME Section IX, API 1104 and the building codes that adopt them all require welders to be qualified to the applicable procedure. What is optional is doing it through the AWS Certified Welder program rather than through an employer's own qualification records. Employers choose the AWS route when they want a third-party-held, portable record; owners and general contractors sometimes specify it directly in a contract.
AWS Certified Welder, Frequently Asked Questions
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Fabricators and pipe shops hire against specific process and position qualifications. Tell us what you are certified to weld.
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