The term, Certified Welding, is often misunderstood or misused even within the welding and metal fabricating business. This site exists to help clarify the misunderstanding and logically explain not only what the term, certified welding, means but how to become certified and the importance of hiring a company that employs certified welders.

The use of a certified welder requires a welding company to, first, certify a specific welding procedure, and second, make sure their welders are qualified to perform the given weld. This requirement may be established through written specifications for a project or verbally communicated by an end user to the welding company.

The welding company certifies that the work for a client will be done according to a qualified welding procedure by welders who have been tested, have available qualification test sheets, and can attest to their ability to weld in accordance with the welding companies’ Welding Procedure Specification (WPS). Higher quality welding companies have these certified procedures, qualified welders and will provide their WPS’s and qualification test records attesting to their welder’s ability.

The standards for a certified weld are set by the American Welding Society (AWS). The Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) first defines a specific welding procedure. AWS further defines the test sheets for this procedure as the Procedure Qualification Record (PQR). A PQR consists of two sheets; the first sheet defines all the parameters. The second is the actual test record. The independent testing laboratory that does the weld test completes a report referred to as the Welder Procedure Qualification Record or WPQR. These four documents make up the complete set.

The AWS standards allow for variations to this. Some shops do not provide all four documents but all the pertinent content is still required on whatever documents are presented for verification.

Some welding shops do all of the above and take it one step further, send all this information to the state (for example Ohio allows this) to get approved (“stamped”) so there is a written public record of the certifications for everyone to see. You can and should ask for a companies’ “certifications” so you can see what they are certified for and if a state stamp is on their documents.

The process outlined above is a time consuming and expensive one but helps define a companies’ standard of quality. As end users it is important that you check out the welding company you are thinking of using to verify their quality standards.