Welding certification codex
Two individual AWS credentials (Certified Welder, Certified Welding Inspector), six AWS structural welding codes (D1.1 through D1.8), and ASME Section IX, the part of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code that sets welding procedure and welder qualification rules. Each page states who needs it, prerequisites, test format, cost where the issuer publishes a figure, and renewal cycle. New to the terms? Start with what a code-certified welder is.
ASME welder qualifications work differently
ASME welder qualifications are issued by the employer under its own quality program, not by ASME to the individual welder. There is no ASME-certified-welder registry to search or link to: a welder's ASME qualification exists as a record inside the employer's own quality-control documentation, tied to a specific process, position, and material the employer tested. Pressure-vessel and boiler fabrication shops commonly qualify welders this way alongside an AWS credential. The rules they qualify to are in ASME Section IX.
Moving into inspection instead? See welding inspector certifications compared: AWS CWI, API 510, 570 and 577, and ASNT NDT levels side by side.
State licensing: concentrated in boiler and pressure-vessel work
There is no general state welder license in the United States. State regulation is concentrated in boiler and pressure-vessel work, in some states and major cities, coordinated loosely through the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors; we have not verified a current, exhaustive list of which jurisdictions license this work. This is a factual summary, not legal advice; confirm current requirements with your state board or city directly before relying on it.