The Certified Welding Inspector credential from the American Welding Society is earned by passing three exam parts. You need 72% on each part and 72% averaged across all three. Only failed parts are retaken, so each part is worth preparing for on its own. Fillet Gauge covers all three, part by part: Part A (Fundamentals), Part B (Practical) and Part C with the AWS D1.1 code.
The three parts
- Part A, Fundamentals: 165 questions in 135 minutes, closed book. Ten published domains run from definitions and welding processes to symbols, NDE, metallurgy and welding calculations. Read the Part A guide.
- Part B, Practical: measuring and evaluating weld replicas against a book of specifications. It is taken first, at an AWS exam site.
- Part C, Code Application: open book with the code provided as an on-screen PDF. For D1.1 that's 55 questions in 135 minutes, and word search is switched off, so you navigate by bookmarks and your knowledge of the code's layout. Read the Part C guide.
What it costs (2026)
The initial exam fee for all three parts is $1,255 for AWS members and $1,520 for non-members. Retesting one part (A or C) costs $445. You get at most three retests in the three years from your original test date. The first retest needs no extra paperwork. The second and third need documented additional training, which AWS defines in its QC1 standard. The exam guides show the full fee and retest rules with links to AWS's own documents.
How to use Fillet Gauge
- Take the free Part A diagnostic: 25 questions weighted to the ten published domains, with no signup.
- Read the guide sections for your weakest domains.
- For Part C, practice finding clauses in your own licensed D1.1 without word search, using bookmarks only.
- Retake the diagnostic before your exam date.
Every question is original and written to the published AWS outline. Questions a CWI has reviewed are marked Reviewed, and the rest are being reviewed in batches. They are never real or recalled exam questions, and we cite code clauses by number without reproducing code text.