CRI, the Certified Radiographic Interpreter: the credential that also recertifies your CWI
Quick answer
What is the CRI (Certified Radiographic Interpreter) and how does it relate to the CWI?
The Certified Radiographic Interpreter certifies you to read weld radiographs to code. It costs $1,005 for members or $1,270 for non-members, requires forty hours of radiographic training and a year of interpretation experience, and, usefully for CWIs, holding it satisfies the nine-year CWI recertification.
The Certified Radiographic Interpreter (CRI) is a specialist American Welding Society credential for reading weld radiographs and judging them against a code. It is a cousin to the inspector ladder, not a rung, but it has one practical connection every CWI should know: holding the CRI is one of the four ways to satisfy your nine-year CWI recertification. This guide covers the credential on its own terms and that cross-connection, from a site that sells no prep.
What does the CRI certify you to do?
The CRI certifies that you can interpret radiographic film and digital radiographs of welds and apply the acceptance criteria of the relevant code or standard: deciding whether an indication is acceptable or a rejectable defect under AWS, API, ASME, or ASTM rules. It is a reading-and-judgment credential specific to radiography, distinct from the general weld-inspection scope of the CWI.
What are the CRI eligibility requirements?
As AWS publishes them, to sit the CRI you need:
- Education: a high-school diploma or GED equivalent.
- Training: a minimum of 40 hours of formal training in radiographic interpretation and examination, covering the topics in AWS B5.15, Clause 9.
- Experience: at least one year of radiographic-interpretation experience, either company-certified or nationally certified, or performed under the direct supervision of a qualified professional. Up to six months of other nondestructive-examination experience may count toward that year.
- Vision: near-vision acuity to read Jaeger Number 2 letters at a distance of at least twelve inches with at least one eye, corrected or uncorrected, tested within seven months before the exam.
Confirm your exact case against the official CRI application, since AWS sets these thresholds and revises them.
What is the CRI exam and pass mark?
The CRI exam has three timed parts, as AWS publishes them:
- General Knowledge, 70 multiple-choice questions on welding, metallurgy, math, radiography theory, film handling, and codes and standards (closed book).
- Code Knowledge, 78 open-book multiple-choice questions on radiographic quality and film interpretation against AWS, API, ASME, and ASTM standards.
- Practical, 40 questions interpreting actual radiographs to specific codes and standards.
You must score at least 70 percent on each of the three parts and average at least 80 percent across all three. That averaging rule is stricter than the CWI, where each part stands alone at 72 percent with no averaging.
What does the CRI cost?
The standalone CRI exam fee is 1,005 US dollars for AWS members and 1,270 for non-members, verified against the AWS 2026 price list on 2026-07-24. See the full dated line items on the cost table.
How long is the CRI valid?
The CRI certification lasts three years and may be renewed twice, at year three and year six, on the same rhythm as the CWI interim renewals. After nine years of continuous certification, holders complete a full recertification. Confirm the current renewal steps on the official AWS CRI page.
How does the CRI satisfy CWI recertification?
This is the reason a CWI might care about the CRI beyond the radiography work itself. Your CWI is valid for nine years, and at year nine you recertify by one of four routes: re-examination, a new endorsement, the CRI credential, or 80 Professional Development Hours. Earning (or holding a valid) CRI is the third of those routes: it satisfies the nine-year recertification outright.
The caveat is cost. As a pure recert vehicle the CRI is rarely the cheapest option, because it is its own full program with its own 1,005-dollar exam fee, its 40 training hours, and its year of interpretation experience. If radiographic interpretation is useful in your work, the CRI does double duty: it advances your capability and recertifies your CWI in one move, which is excellent value. If it is not, the 80-PDH route or an endorsement you wanted anyway is usually cheaper. The recertification guide ranks all four routes by cost, and the recert calculator models your year-3, year-6, and year-9 deadlines.
Where CRI sits on the whole map
The CRI is a specialist cousin, alongside the Certified Welding Educator, off the main CAWI-to-CWI-to-SCWI inspector ladder. The credential ladder guide lays them all out together so you register for the right credential rather than paying for one you do not need.
Sources: the AWS Certified Radiographic Interpreter certification page, the AWS Certified Welding Inspector recertification information, and the AWS 2026 Certification and Education Programs Price List at aws.org (reviewed 2026-07-24). The CRI exam fee ($1,005 member / $1,270 non-member) is the CRI exam price-list line. Eligibility, exam format, pass marks, validity, and the recertification routes are set by AWS and can change; confirm your exact case against the official CRI application and the AWS recertification pages before you register or pay. This site is independent, is not affiliated with AWS, and sells no seminar, course, or exam seat.