Under ASME IX QW-322.1, a welder’s qualification for a process expires after six months without using it — and getting it back means a test coupon, lab testing, and a welder off production. Enter your shop’s numbers below to see what that exposure looks like in dollars. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Your shop
What the 6-month rule can cost you
One lapse Expired
$0
One welder, one process: test + downtime.
Realistic annual exposure
$0
If the 6-month rule catches ~10% of your qualifications in a year.
All lapse Worst case
$0
Every qualification expires at once — the shutdown/slow-year scenario.
Estimates only. Real quotes vary by region, lab, and test scope — sources for the default figure are on the requirements page.
Prevention is free: Every dollar above is avoidable — a documented production weld resets the six-month clock at zero cost. The free ContinuityLog tracker computes each welder’s per-process expiry date and flags anything expiring within 30 days, so the coupon never gets ordered. No signup, no upload.
What requalification actually involves
A lapsed qualification is not a career reset, but it is never free either. Under QW-322.1(b), a welder whose continuity lapsed can renew by welding one test coupon with that process — any thickness, position, or material — and passing the required testing. One passing coupon restores all of the welder’s prior qualifications for that process. That is the good news. The bad news is everything the coupon drags along with it.
First, the test itself. Accredited labs publish bend tests at roughly $45–$150 per specimen, and test facilities discussing rates on the AWS forum cite $200–$800 per welder per process for a qualification test all-in; an all-position qualification (fee plus four bend coupons) was quoted at about $500, which is why this calculator defaults there. If you use radiography instead of bends, the shot and film reading replace the specimen fees at broadly similar money.
Second, the costs that never appear on the lab invoice. Somebody has to cut and prep coupon material, pull the right filler, and set up the machine. The welder spends half a day to a day off production — the calculator’s downtime field, defaulted to a conservative two hours at a $75 shop rate. QC spends time scheduling, witnessing, filling out the WPQ paperwork, and updating the continuity log that should have prevented the test in the first place. And if the lapse was discovered after production welds were made, add an audit finding and a disposition exercise on those welds — a cost this calculator doesn’t even try to put a number on.
Third, the multiplication. Continuity runs per welder, per process. A welder qualified on GTAW, SMAW, and FCAW carries three separate six-month clocks, and a slow winter can quietly expire two of them at once. That is why the worst-case number above scales with welders × processes: it is the shape of the real exposure, not a scare figure. Most shops never see the worst case — but almost every shop that tracks continuity on a stale spreadsheet eats a lapse or two a year, which is what the annual-exposure estimate reflects.
The uncomfortable comparison: the log entry that would have prevented each of these tests costs nothing. A welder at month five gets put on one job that uses the process, the date is recorded, and the clock resets. The entire requalification industry around the six-month rule exists because that entry didn’t get made.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a welder qualification test cost?
Roughly $200–$800 per welder per process at a test facility, all-in. Bend specimens alone run $45–$150 each at accredited labs, and an all-position qualification was quoted at about $500. Materials and downtime come on top.
What does certification cost beyond the test fee?
Coupon material, consumables, half a day to a day of the welder’s time off production, and QC time to schedule, witness, and update the WPQ (Form QW-484). Estimate the hidden part as downtime hours × shop rate.
Does an expired qualification mean requalifying from scratch?
No. Per QW-322.1(b), one passing test coupon with the process — any thickness, position, or material — restores all prior qualifications for that process. Revocation for cause (QW-322.2) is stricter.
How can a shop avoid requalification costs?
Track continuity so nobody reaches six months by accident: one row per welder per process, sorted by expiry, reviewed on a cadence. A welder near month five gets a production job with the process — a $0 fix. The free tracker does the sorting and flagging for you.
The cheapest requal test is the one that never happens
ContinuityLog Pro watches your continuity dates and emails you 30 days before any welder’s qualification lapses — before the numbers above become an invoice. $29/mo per shop, free while in beta.
One email when the beta opens. No spam.