AWS D1.1: Structural Welding Code: Steel

AWS D1.1, Structural Welding Code: Steel, sets the rules for welding structural steel: joint design, qualification of welding procedures and welders, fabrication, inspection and workmanship. It is a code, not a personal credential: a welder qualifies to it by passing a weld test made to a Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) and judged against the code's acceptance criteria. That test can be run by an employer, or taken through AWS's Certified Welder program, which tests welders on procedures used in structural steel work and grades them against the applicable code (aws.org, as of 2026-10-21). Inspectors use it too: D1.1 (2020 edition) is one of the code books a CWI candidate can bring to the Part C exam (aws.org, as of 2026-10-21). AWS's bookstore lists the 2025 edition (with Amendment 1) at $588 for members and $784 for non-members (pubs.aws.org, as of 2026-10-21).

D1.1 is the AWS code most commonly referenced by welder-qualification tests for structural fabrication and construction work.

• Issuer American Welding Society (AWS)
• Scope Governs welding of structural steel: joint design, qualification of welding procedures and welders, fabrication, inspection, and workmanship for statically and cyclically loaded structures.
• Who needs it A welder or fabricator working structural steel construction, or a CWI whose Part C code-book exam is built around D1.1.
• Prerequisites D1.1 is a code, not a personal credential, so it has no entry requirements of its own. A welder qualifies to it by passing a weld test made to a Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) and judged against the code's acceptance criteria. Employers run such tests, and AWS's Certified Welder program, which has no prerequisites, tests welders on procedures used in structural steel work (aws.org, as of 2026-10-21). A CWI's Part C exam can also use D1.1 as its code book.
• Test format A weld test: the welder welds a test piece to a WPS and it is judged against the code's acceptance criteria, whether an employer runs the test or it is taken at an AWS Accredited Test Facility under the Certified Welder program (aws.org, as of 2026-10-21).
• Cost AWS's bookstore lists D1.1/D1.1M:2025 (with Amendment 1) at $588 member / $784 non-member (pubs.aws.org, as of 2026-10-21).
• Renewal / recertification Not applicable: D1.1 is a code, not an expiring individual credential.
• Where employers ask for it The code most often named outright in structural fabrication and construction job postings, for general steel building, platform, and equipment-support work.