The routes side by side
| AWS seminar | Self-paced online course | Books | Practice bank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teaching | Live instructor | Recorded or self-paced lessons | None beyond the text | Explanations on each answer |
| Schedule | Fixed live sessions | Your pace, within an access window | Yours | Yours |
| Part B hands-on | AWS ships plastic weld replicas to online students | Check what the provider ships | Only what you own | Photo and measurement drills, no physical replicas |
| Practice exams or scoring | Full-length practice exams listed on the 8-week seminar page | Per-course completion exams on the AWS Pre-Seminar | Chapter self-tests | Yes, by domain |
| Best for | Newer to inspection, or you want an instructor | Teaching on your own schedule | Experienced, disciplined, tight budget | Finding gaps and drilling the clock |
AWS seminars
AWS sells the CWI seminar in three shapes, per its price list effective 1 January 2026, re-read on 25 Oct 2026. Prices below are for the seminar only, member then non-member:
- 2-week in-person seminar: $2,875 and $3,140 for the D1.1 version.
- 2-week online seminar: $2,245 and $2,510. AWS's page lists sessions Monday through Friday, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm ET, and says an FAQ describes them as evening sessions, so confirm the time before you book.
- 8-week online seminar: $2,245 and $2,510. Live sessions run twice a week, two hours each, in the evening Eastern time, with online materials one month before and one month after.
Both online seminars list a $1,500 deposit, refunded if the weld replicas come back undamaged within two weeks of the last session. AWS ships the study books, a visual inspection toolkit and plastic weld replicas to online students. The 8-week page lists full-length practice exams for Parts A, B and C.
Seminar-plus-exam packages cost more ($3,070 member, $3,335 non-member for the online D1.1 options). If a package includes the exam, don't add the exam fee on top. The CWI exam cost guide has every fee, retests included. AWS also lists a Part B training seminar by itself, which suits someone who is solid on Parts A and C.
Seminar prices are AWS's list, subject to change. Check the AWS price list the day you book. AWS's own seminar pages and FAQs list some totals and times differently from its price list, so confirm the amount and the session time with AWS before you pay.
Online CWI courses and classes
Online CWI training comes in two forms. Live online classes are the AWS 2-week and 8-week online seminars above: an instructor, fixed session times and replicas shipped to you. A self-paced course gives you lessons to work through alone.
The AWS CWI Pre-Seminar is the self-paced option we could read in full: ten courses, a completion exam in each, 90 or 120 days of access (its own page lists both), and a note that it covers the Part A fundamentals and is not a replacement for the seminar. Check the access window against your exam date.
On any online course page, check five things before you pay:
- Does it cover Part B directly? Look for Book of Specifications lookups and measurement work, not just weld symbol lectures.
- Is it on the current code edition? Exams in 2026 use D1.1:2025. A course built on an older edition gives you wrong clause numbers.
- How long do you have access? A 30-day window is wasted if your exam is in 90.
- Does every answer come with a reason? A score alone doesn't tell you what to fix.
- Are the questions original? You sign a Candidate Attestation Agreement, so choose prep written from the published outline.
Self-study with books
AWS sells the Certification Manual for Welding Inspectors and the Welding Inspection Technology workbook, and the AWS online seminars ship physical copies of the Book of Specifications, the Book of Exhibits and a workbook. Self-study works when you already inspect welds and can hold a schedule alone. It has two gaps: nobody explains what you misread, and nothing tells you how you score against 72%.
- Part B: the Book of Specifications is a free PDF from AWS. Get fast at finding clauses and tables in it.
- Part C: you need your own licensed D1.1. The exam shows it as an on-screen PDF with word search off, so practice with bookmarks and clause numbers. The D1.1 edition guide explains which edition applies.
- Part A: the exam is closed book, so formulas and terms must be in your head. The CWI math calculator and heat input calculator let you check your arithmetic.
Practice banks, including ours
A practice bank doesn't teach a topic from scratch. It finds your weak domain, trains the clock and shows you what each mistake looked like. That makes it the cheapest first move and a useful add-on to a seminar. Open Exam Prep offers 200 questions free. Fillet Gauge has more per part and adds timed exams and a course.
Fillet Gauge offers a free 10-question check for each part, scored by domain with no signup. Across Parts A, B and C the bundle holds 1,407 original questions, 7 timed practice exams and 26 modules of lessons, and the site has 18 free tools. Paid options, per part:
- 7-day pass, $29: the question bank and timed practice exams, for when your exam is days away.
- Practice pack, $79: the bank, timed exams and domain scores, with lifetime access.
- Course, $99: a lesson for every exam subject, worked calculations, a week-by-week study plan built from your check and exam date, code and specification drills, timed D1.1 lookup sets for Part C, the bank and timed exams with your score change by domain since the last one. Lifetime access.
- Parts A + B + C bundle, $249.
Every question is original and written to the published AWS outline, and each answer carries an explanation that cites the clause it relies on. No code text is copied. We don't provide physical weld replicas or live instruction, so a seminar is still the answer if you want an instructor or hands-on replicas.
Which route fits you
- New to inspection, want a live instructor: an AWS seminar, then practice tests to confirm you're above 72% on every part.
- Experienced inspector, time is short: the free check first, then the course or pack for the parts where you scored low.
- Working full time: self-paced material with a plan. See the 30, 60, 90 day study plan and the CWI study plan tool.
- Weak on Part C lookups: drill clause navigation with the Part C lookup drills.
- Weak on defects and NDE: the weld discontinuity quiz and the NDE methods guide.
Combine them
The common pairing is a seminar for teaching and a practice bank for the weeks after, so you can see your score by part as you go. Others skip the seminar and use the free check to decide whether they need one. A retest costs $385 to $1,180, so one honest baseline before you spend $2,000 or more on a seminar is cheap insurance.
Take the free 10-question check
Take the free 10-question check for Part A, Part B or Part C (D1.1). It takes a few minutes, needs no signup and scores you by domain, so you know whether you need a seminar, a course or just practice. If the gap is bigger than a check shows, the Fillet Gauge course gives you a lesson for every exam subject, timed practice exams and a worked explanation on every answer for $99 per part. See the terms and refunds first.
FAQ
Do I need a seminar to take the CWI exam?
No. AWS sells seminars, and the exam fee is a separate item unless you buy a package. Choose by your gaps. The cost guide lists both.
What is the cheapest way to prepare for the CWI exam?
Books you already own plus free checks cost least, but only if you know where you're weak. A $99 course or $29 pass costs far less than one retest, which is $385 for Part B and $445 for Part A or C.
Can I take CWI classes online?
Yes. AWS runs two live online seminars: a 2-week version with sessions Monday to Friday and an 8-week version with two-hour evening sessions twice a week. Both cost $2,245 for members and $2,510 for non-members, plus a $1,500 replica deposit refunded when the replicas come back undamaged within two weeks of the last session. The AWS CWI Pre-Seminar is the self-paced online option for the Part A fundamentals.
How long is CWI training?
An AWS seminar runs 2 weeks, in person or online, or 8 weeks online. The self-paced Pre-Seminar gives 90 or 120 days of access (its page lists both). A practice bank or our course runs on your schedule, so set it by your exam date.
Is an online seminar as good as an in-person one?
They differ in format, not on a quality scale we can measure. AWS ships replicas to online students, and the in-person option puts you in a room with an instructor. We haven't attended either and don't compare results.
Does Fillet Gauge replace an AWS seminar?
No. It is a practice and course tool. It complements a seminar by showing your score by part and drilling lookups. It can't give you live instruction or physical replicas.
Sources
All retrieved 25 Oct 2026.
- Certification and Education Program Price List, American Welding Society, effective 1 January 2026.
- 2-Week Online CWI Seminar, AWS.
- 8-Week Online CWI Seminar and Exam, AWS.
- CWI Pre-Seminar, AWS.
- CM Certification Manual for Welding Inspectors, AWS publications.
- WIT-W:2008 Welding Inspection Technology Workbook, AWS publications.
- CWI practice questions, Open Exam Prep.
- Fillet Gauge question, timed-exam, lesson and tool counts: our product configuration and offer pages, 25 Oct 2026.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by the American Welding Society (AWS).