API 510 vs API 570 vs API 653: Which Should You Study?
Start with the equipment you inspect: API 510 concerns pressure vessels, API 570 concerns in-service metallic piping, and API 653 concerns aboveground storage tanks. Then check the relevant experience you can document and the work you want to perform. The program number is a poor reason to choose your study order.
Sources: API 510 program and exam documents; API 570 program and exam documents; API 653 program and exam documents.
Match the program to your actual work
Use this table to narrow your research. The learner examples are planning suggestions, not determinations that someone qualifies.
For example, if your assignments concentrate on piping while tank inspection is only a possible future direction, investigate the piping route first. If you support several asset types, ask which inspection responsibilities your next role actually includes. A specific job description and a conversation with your supervisor are better decision inputs than collecting the largest set of course certificates.
| Program | Equipment focus | A useful reason to investigate it | Question to answer before buying training |
|---|---|---|---|
| API 510 | Pressure vessels | Your current or intended responsibilities involve vessel inspection, maintenance, repairs or alterations. | Can you connect your documented duties to the vessel experience API requires? |
| API 570 | In-service metallic piping systems | You work with process piping and want to develop the inspection knowledge relevant to those systems. | Is the experience you plan to submit actually relevant to this piping program? |
| API 653 | Aboveground storage tanks | Your work involves tank inspection and repair, or associated alteration and reconstruction responsibilities. | Does your employment history support the tank inspection activities in API's qualification criteria? |
Sources: API 510 program and exam documents; API 570 program and exam documents; API 653 program and exam documents.
Check eligibility before setting an exam deadline
For all three programs, API bases eligibility on a combination of education and relevant experience. Its current criteria require qualifying experience within the preceding ten years, under the employment or contract conditions specified for an authorized inspection agency. API requires applicants to document the experience and verifies it after application.
Make a short eligibility worksheet before budgeting for an exam. Record your education category, employment dates, equipment involved, inspection responsibilities and a person who can verify the work. Mark any uncertain item for clarification with API. A broad job title such as “technician” does not give you enough information to evaluate your own history carefully.
You can choose to study while building relevant experience, but keep that learning goal separate from an assumed exam date. When buying a course, know whether your immediate objective is understanding the subject or preparing for a particular approved exam appointment.
Sources: API 510 program and exam documents; API 570 program and exam documents; API 653 program and exam documents.
Choose the documents for your exam window
API publishes a Body of Knowledge identifying exam topics and a Publications Effectivity Sheet identifying the publications used for the exam. These documents are tied to exam windows. For example, API 653 currently lists separate sets for March–November 2026 and March–November 2027. Use the set for your intended exam window from the official program page.
Before enrollment, write down three questions for any training provider: Which exam window does this material support? Which editions are used? Where can I compare the course outline with the official topics? Save the answers alongside your study plan and repeat the check if you move your exam date. A course title containing the right API number is only the start of that comparison.
Sources: API 653 program and exam documents; API 510 program and exam documents; API 570 program and exam documents.
Compare the training after you choose a direction
Review NDTAcademy's API 510 course, API 570 course or API 653 course for the actual curriculum and enrollment options. Use the course page to assess your study needs, then return to API for certification requirements and application decisions. Completing preparation training does not itself award an API inspector credential.
Build your plan around one clear outcome: the asset type you need to understand, the experience you can substantiate and the exam window you have checked. That gives you a concrete basis for choosing training and identifying questions that still need an answer.
Sources and further reading
- API 510 program and exam documents
- API 570 program and exam documents
- API 653 program and exam documents
Sources checked on September 6, 2026. Follow the current requirements from your employer or certification body when planning qualification or an examination.