AS 1796 explained: certification of welders and welding supervisors

AS 1796 is the Australian Standard that sets out how welders and welding supervisors are certified, and what each of its nine certificate categories covers. It specifies the theory knowledge, the practical welding skills and the examination requirements for certification to weld high quality applications in plain carbon steel, low alloy steel plate and pipe sections.

What AS 1796 covers

AS 1796 is a personnel certification standard. It certifies people, not welding procedures and not products. That distinction matters, because it is the most common source of confusion on a project: an AS 1796 certificate says a named welder demonstrated a defined skill under examination, and says nothing about whether the welding procedure being used on your job is qualified.

The standard covers:

• the qualification and experience needed before a person may be examined
• the theory knowledge required, common across all certificates
• the practical examination required for each certificate category
• the range of processes, materials, positions and thicknesses each certificate covers
• the periodic renewal requirements that keep a certificate current

What AS 1796 does not cover

Read the standard for what it is and no more. AS 1796 does not:

• qualify a welding procedure. That is AS 3992 for pressure equipment or the relevant clause of AS/NZS 1554 for structural steel
• set fabrication quality requirements for a company. That is AS/NZS ISO 3834
• certify welding inspectors
• cover aluminium, stainless steel or nickel alloys within the certificates 1 to 9 range

The nine certificate categories

AS 1796 numbers its certificates, with letter suffixes where a category divides by process or configuration. Certificates 1 to 9 are welder certificates. Certificate 10 is the welding supervisor certificate, and it is the one that turns up as an accepted qualification for a responsible welding coordinator under AS/NZS ISO 3834. The five welder categories currently delivered through AWI approved providers are marked below.

Those are the categories AWI examines and endorses, and they are the ones AWI’s own published scope covers. The standard also defines certificates 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9. What each of those covers is set out in AS 1796 itself rather than here, because a category description is exactly the sort of detail that moves between editions and gets quoted wrongly off a website. If your specification names one of them, ask AWI and it can be arranged.

Who needs AS 1796 certification

You will be asked for an AS 1796 certificate when the work involves welding on pressure equipment, pressure piping, boilers or other applications where the consequence of a failed weld is severe enough that the client wants independently examined evidence of the welder’s skill.

In practice that means:

• Welders working on boilers, pressure vessels and pressure piping, or on repair of the same
• Fabricators tendering for work where the specification names AS 1796 in the welder qualification clause
• Welding supervisors, who are certified under AS 1796 alongside AS 2214

How certification works in practice

Certification is a sequence, and the order matters because each step gates the next.

1. Meet the entry requirement. A Certificate III in Engineering, indentured tradesperson status, or documented prior experience of at least two years plus 300 hours of entry level welding training.
2. Complete the theory. One unit, common to every certificate, taken once. It covers interpretation of plans and specifications, validation of welding procedures, work health and safety, standards, non-destructive testing and project management.
3. Complete the practical. A minimum of 40 hours practical training in the certificate category you are pursuing.
4. Sit the examinations. The theory examination once, then a practical examination specific to each certificate category you want.
5. Obtain endorsement. Submit the qualification to AWI for assessment. On endorsement AWI issues the certificate and wallet card.
6. Keep it current. Maintain the log book and complete periodic renewal. A lapsed certificate does not verify.

The full AWI welder certification requirements, step by step

How to check whether an AS 1796 certificate is real

Do not rely on the paper. Printed and PDF certificates are trivially altered, and the industry has a known problem with forged welding certificates.

For a certificate issued by AWI, take the certificate number and the holder’s surname and check it against the register. The register carries the scheme, the categories covered, the issue date, the expiry date and the current status, and it is the only check worth relying on.

Certificate numbers are structured, and the numbering key is published, so you can also read the certificate category straight off the number before you check it.

Questions people actually ask about AS 1796

What is an AS 1796 welding ticket?

It is a welder certificate issued against AS 1796, covering one defined category of welding: a specific process, material, product form, position range and thickness range. The certificate number tells you which category the holder passed. It is held by a person, it is time limited, and it is entered on a register so an employer can check it with the certificate number and the holder’s surname.

What is the difference between AS 1796 certificates 3E, 4, 7, 8F and 8G?

They are different welding categories. In broad terms, 3E is manual metal arc welding with hydrogen controlled electrodes on alloy steel plate, 4 is the same process on alloy steel pipe, 7 is gas tungsten arc welding, 8F is flux cored arc welding and 8G is gas metal arc welding, the last three on plate and pipe. The pipe categories are the harder ones and they are the ones most often asked for on pressure work.

How long does an AS 1796 certificate last?

It is time limited and requires periodic renewal, with continued welding in the certified category recorded as evidence. A log book is the accepted mechanism. A lapsed certificate does not verify, and the further past expiry it goes the more likely renewal turns back into requalification.

Do I need a Certificate III to get AS 1796 certified?

Not necessarily. A Certificate III in Engineering or indentured tradesperson status is the straightforward route. There is also a documented experience route: a minimum of two years of welding experience plus completion of entry level welding training including at least 300 hours, with specified units. Either way the theory unit and the practical examination still apply.

Is AS 1796 the same as ISO 9606?

No. Both qualify welders and they are different documents with different rules. AS 1796 is an Australian certification scheme with numbered certificate categories, delivered through training and examination and endorsed by a certifying body. ISO 9606 is an international qualification test standard where the certificate records the essential variables and the resulting range. Hold whichever your specification names, and expect to be asked for both on a project with an international engineering contractor.

Does an AS 1796 certificate mean my welding procedure is qualified?

No, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in welding documentation. AS 1796 certifies the person. The welding procedure is a separate requirement with separate evidence, qualified under the relevant standard for the work. Both are needed and neither implies the other. The distinction, explained in full.

Related standards

• AS 2214, certification of welding supervisors for structural steel welding
• AS/NZS 1554, structural steel welding
• AS/NZS ISO 3834, quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials
• ISO 9606, the international welder qualification standard
• ISO 15614, welding procedure qualification by test
• AS 1210 and AS 4041, the pressure vessel and pressure piping standards that AS 1796 welders most often work to

Getting a copy of the standard

AS 1796 is published by Standards Australia and is not free. AWI does not reproduce the text of the standard: this article explains what it requires and how certification against it works. Buy the standard from Standards Australia or access it through a subscription if you need the clause level detail.