CWI 9-year recertification: organize your PDH evidence
A PDH total is easier to review when each entry leads back to a clear training record. For a CWI preparing for nine-year recertification, start with the chosen application route, then organize the evidence that supports it. A personal records checklist can reveal missing descriptions, unclear dates and duplicate entries before you apply.
Sources: AWS CWI program: renewal and recertification options.
Confirm your CWI recertification route
AWS distinguishes the three- and six-year renewal process from nine-year recertification. This guide focuses on organizing continuing-education evidence for the nine-year process; it does not cover every application requirement or recertification option.
Record the dates on your actual credential and check the current AWS instructions for your chosen route. Keep questions about eligibility or an unusual activity visible until AWS resolves them. A course purchase or a training record alone does not establish recertification.
Sources: AWS CWI program: renewal and recertification options.
Connect PDH hours to evidence
Under AWS QC1:2016-AMD1, the training/teaching route requires a minimum of 80 PDHs in nine years, including 20 in the final three. A particular course counts once in a nine-year period. Distance learning needs a course description and completion certificate stating contact hours. Activities must relate to the specified subjects or job functions.
Sources: AWS QC1:2016-AMD1, Sections 16.4 and 16.5: continuing-education evidence.
Build a PDH records checklist
Use one entry for each distinct training activity. The table below is a personal organizer, not an AWS form or an eligibility decision. Keep the original documents alongside it so another reader can trace each entry.
| Record item | What to keep together | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Activity and provider | Course title, provider and contact details | Can the activity and its provider be identified? |
| Completion and timing | Completion date and supporting record | Where does the date fall in your credential cycle? |
| Documented hours | Completion certificate showing contact hours | Does the claimed figure match its evidence? |
| Training content | Course description and relevant subject information | What inspection knowledge or job function does it address? |
| Record identity | Original file and any replacement copy | Are these separate activities or copies of one record? |
Sources: AWS nine-year application: supporting training information.
Practice with an incomplete record set
Imagine a fictional folder containing a completion certificate for Course A, a receipt for Course B and a second copy of the Course A certificate. The Course A description is missing. The receipt for Course B shows a purchase date, but the folder contains no completion record.
Create two activity entries, with a note that the second Course A file is a copy. Place the Course A certificate beside its entry and flag the missing description. Leave Course B incomplete until the provider supplies a completion record and the relevant course information.
Do not turn the receipt date into a completion date or count the copied certificate as a new activity. The exercise is about making the evidence understandable; it does not decide whether either course qualifies for a particular application.
- Mark what the documents establish.
- List what remains missing or unclear.
- Write the next evidence question beside each unresolved entry.
Use your NDT Academy training records
NDT Academy’s CWI nine-year course refreshes fundamentals, practical inspection and code application, then closes with a capstone assessment. Its PDH evidence package brings together issued certificate details, certificate contact hours, the course description and subject relevance. Logged training time is shown separately; extra logged time does not increase the certificate contact-hour figure.
For personally held training records, the PDF download becomes available after the course certificate is issued. Employer-sponsored records follow the company’s document-release process. Check that the records you receive match the training you completed and keep them with your application materials.
Explore the course scope and the academy’s PDH guidance before enrolling. AWS makes the final determination on the complete recertification application.
Sources and further reading
- AWS CWI program: renewal and recertification options
- AWS QC1:2016-AMD1, Sections 16.4 and 16.5: continuing-education evidence
- AWS nine-year application: supporting training information
Sources checked on September 15, 2026. Follow the current requirements from your employer or certification body when planning qualification or an examination.