AWS D1.2: Structural Welding Code: Aluminum

AWS D1.2, Structural Welding Code: Aluminum, covers the welding requirements for structures made from aluminum structural alloys; AWS's listing excludes aluminum pressure vessels and pressure piping. Like D1.1 for steel, 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. The current edition is D1.2/D1.2M:2026, listed at $216 for AWS members and $288 for non-members (pubs.aws.org, as of 2026-10-21).

Used where structural members are aluminum rather than steel; shipbuilding, transportation, and specialty fabrication commonly reference this code.

• Issuer American Welding Society (AWS)
• Scope The aluminum-specific counterpart to D1.1: qualification and workmanship requirements for welding aluminum structures.
• Who needs it A welder qualified to weld aluminum structural members, where D1.1's steel-based acceptance criteria do not apply.
• Prerequisites A code, not a personal credential, so it has no entry requirements of its own. Same structure as D1.1: 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.
• Test format A weld test made to a WPS and judged against the code's acceptance criteria. Ask the employer or test facility which code and procedure a given test covers.
• Cost $216 member / $288 non-member for the D1.2/D1.2M:2026 edition (pubs.aws.org, as of 2026-10-21).
• Renewal / recertification Not applicable.
• Where employers ask for it Named in shipbuilding, transportation-equipment, and specialty aluminum-fabrication postings.