WPS vs PQR vs welder qualification records: a CWI study guide

WPS, PQR and welder records at a glance

A Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) describes the welding conditions and instructions to be followed. A Procedure Qualification Record (PQR) records the conditions used for a procedure test and its results.

A welder qualification record documents an individual's performance test and the scope qualified.

Sources: AWS D1.1:2025 sample procedure and performance qualification forms; AWS: the purpose and use of WPS and PQR documents.

Understand why a WPS may have a PQR

For a WPS qualified by testing, the supporting PQR records procedure-test evidence. The applicable code determines how that evidence supports the WPS; a test condition and a permitted production range are not interchangeable.

AWS D1.1 permits prequalified WPSs when all applicable prequalification conditions are met. This route still requires a written WPS, but does not require a procedure qualification test merely because the document is called a WPS.

If a study packet has no PQR, identify its claimed qualification route. Examine that claim using the applicable code edition and the exercise requirements.

Sources: AISC: welding procedure and welder qualification, FAQ 8.6.2.

Keep the welder record connected to the person

Read the welder record for the individual named, the test conditions and the scope qualified. The AWS sample form separates actual test values from the range qualified and provides fields for the person, employer, referenced WPS and test results.

Use those fields to connect a study assignment to its supporting record. A document for another person, or a record with an unexplained scope, leaves a question to resolve before the exercise can be completed.

Document abbreviations vary. Read the full title and governing standard before deciding which qualification it records.

Sources: AWS D1.1:2025 sample procedure and performance qualification forms; AWS: the distinct functions of WPS, PQR and welder records.

Try a staged document-matching exercise

This fictional classroom packet extends the familiar document-ID check. At each stage, write three things: the fact you can point to, the limited conclusion it supports, and the question still open. No welding settings, qualification ranges or acceptance limits are supplied.

Read the stages in order. Each later stage keeps the earlier corrections, but adds a new piece of information. Decide whether your earlier finding is resolved and whether the packet now supports the broader claim that the assignment is covered.

• Keep the page number or field location beside each observation.
• Close only the question the new evidence actually resolves.
• Separate a document-control question from a technical qualification decision.

Check your packet-review findings

A leaves two identity links unresolved: PQR-A is referenced but PQR-B is supplied; Welder-14 is assigned but Welder-41 is named. Request the corresponding records or an explanation of those links. These observations describe the packet; they do not establish what the missing records contain.

B resolves the two stated identity mismatches. It does not establish assignment coverage. The AWS sample welder form distinguishes actual test values from the range qualified. Matching an ID supplies neither the omitted scope nor the assignment requirements needed for comparison. Record those as unanswered questions.

C establishes that two versions share a document number and the packet does not identify which applies. Ask for the applicable revision and the change explanation. A revision letter alone does not identify a changed essential variable or establish a requalification requirement.

Try a final variation: the instructor identifies the WPS as prequalified. Revisit the procedure-support question using that route; the person-specific qualification question remains separate.

A useful final note is specific: identities now match; scope comparison is incomplete because the required information is absent; WPS revision applicability is unresolved. Avoid replacing those three findings with a single pass or fail label.

Sources: AWS sample forms: identity, revision and qualification-scope fields; AISC: qualification routes and essential variables.

Connect the records with CWI D1.1 preparation

NDT Academy's CWI AWS D1.1 track includes lessons on codes and welding records, review of WPS/PQR/welder documents, WPS qualification by testing, and welder performance qualification. Its record-review curriculum also addresses revision status and writing short, specific findings. Use the staged exercise to practice those connections.

For an examination exercise, use its specified reference and instructions. For a production assignment, establish the governing documents and revisions. A familiar form alone does not establish which requirements apply.

For a separate drawing-reading task, use the welding-symbol study checklist. For a group learning plan, the employer training page provides the team inquiry route.

The course provides examination preparation. AWS sets the separate CWI eligibility, application and examination requirements; completing preparation does not by itself award the CWI credential.

Sources: AWS: current CWI certification and application requirements.