Specifying API 510/570/653 in Contractor RFPs: A Defensible Policy

Short answer: A defensible contractor policy names the certification that matches each inspection scope, not one blanket requirement. For in-service pressure vessels, specify an API 510 inspector; for process piping, API 570; for field-erected aboveground tanks, API 653. Separate the inspector who evaluates from the NDE examiners who test, and specify their NDT certifications by method. Add jurisdictional credentials where a state or province requires them, and write an exceptions process.

That structure is what owner QA teams, PSM auditors and bidders can all read the same way. This guide turns it into a scope-by-scope policy you can adapt, explains which credentials are central versus employer-issued, shows how to handle pipelines, welding and shop-built tanks, and covers what a contractor can realistically be expected to hold at bid time.

Why a written certification policy matters

A written policy protects the owner in three places: bid evaluation, regulatory audit and incident investigation. In bid evaluation it makes eligibility objective, so a lower-priced bid with the wrong credentials can be set aside without argument. In audit it shows how the owner meets its own obligations. For processes covered by OSHA Process Safety Management, 29 CFR 1910.119(h)(2)(i) requires the employer, when selecting a contractor, to obtain and evaluate information regarding the contract employer's safety performance and programs, and 1910.119(j)(4) requires inspection and testing to follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices and to be documented with the inspector's name, date, equipment identifier, work description and results. Offshore, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement SEMS rule at 30 CFR 250.1914 similarly requires operators to obtain and evaluate information on a contractor's safety record and environmental performance and to document an agreement on safety and environmental policies before work starts.

Neither regulation names API 510, 570 or 653. What they do is require the owner to show that the people doing integrity work are competent under a recognized practice. Where the owner has adopted API 510, 570 and 653 as its RAGAGEP, requiring the matching API certification for the inspector role is the most direct way to demonstrate that competence. In an incident investigation, the question will be whether the owner required credentials that fit the work, verified them, and controlled exceptions. A policy that answers those three questions in writing is defensible.

Inspector vs examiner: write two requirements, not one

The most common drafting error is a single line such as "all inspection personnel shall be API certified". The in-service codes do not work that way. In API 510 (current eleventh edition), the examiner carries out specified NDE in support of the inspector and does not evaluate results against the code unless the owner/user has trained and authorized them for it. Examiners need not hold API 510 certification, but they must be competent in the NDE procedures they use, and the owner/user may ask for proof such as ASNT SNT-TC-1A, CP-189 or AWS welding inspector certification. Evaluation and acceptance of NDE results stay with the inspector.

So write two requirements for each scope:

• Inspector of record: the API certification for the equipment type (or the jurisdictional equivalent), current and verifiable, with the role defined in the owner's inspection program.
• NDE examiners: certification by method and level under the contractor's written practice to SNT-TC-1A, CP-189 or a central program (ASNT NDT Level II/III, ASNT 9712 (formerly ACCP)), or CAN/CGSB-48.9712 through NRCan in Canada, plus any technique qualifications the scope needs.

This also widens the bidder pool honestly. Many capable NDE contractors supply examiners to an owner's own API inspectors. Requiring every technician to hold API 510 excludes them for no technical reason and does not improve data quality.

Scope-by-scope certification matrix

The table maps common midstream and downstream inspection scopes to the credentials owners typically name. Use it as a starting point and adjust to your RAGAGEP, jurisdiction and contract model.

All of the API programs named above appear on API's Individual Certification Programs list. API also lists QUTE manual and phased array programs for UT examiners who detect and size flaws, which is relevant where the scope includes crack sizing in wet H2S or similar service.

Writing the RFP clauses

Good clauses are specific, verifiable and tied to roles. A pattern that works:

1. Role definitions. Define "Inspector" as the person who evaluates results and makes code decisions under the owner's inspection program, and "Examiner" as personnel who perform NDE. Reference the owner's inspection program document.
2. Required certifications by role and scope. For example: "Inspection of pressure vessels within the scope of API 510 shall be evaluated by an Inspector holding current API 510 certification. NDE shall be performed by Examiners certified to Level II or higher in the applicable method under a written practice meeting ASNT SNT-TC-1A or ANSI/ASNT CP-189."
3. Evidence at bid. Require names or a roster of proposed inspectors with API certificate numbers, the contractor's NDT written practice, and sample certification records for proposed examiners. API certificate status can be checked in API's online inspector verification tool and ICP directory.
4. Evidence before mobilization. Current certificates, vision exam records, procedure qualifications and equipment calibration records, reviewed and accepted by owner QA.
5. Substitution control. No substitution of named inspectors without written owner approval and equal credentials.
6. Jurisdictional compliance. The contractor confirms any state or provincial credential required for the work location.
7. Records. Reports must carry the examiner's name, certification level and method, and the inspector's acceptance, so that the 1910.119(j)(4)(iv) documentation elements are captured.

Defining equivalents and the exception workflow

A policy with no exceptions process will be bypassed in the field. Write the process instead:

• Accepted equivalents list. Maintain a short list the QA team will consider without escalation, for example a National Board commission for jurisdictional vessels where your state requires it, ABSA in-service pressure equipment inspector certification in Alberta (set out in ABSA's AB-526), or an STI certified inspector for shop-built tanks.
• Request. The contractor submits the proposed person, credentials, experience on the equipment type and the reason the primary certification is not available.
• Technical review. The owner's inspection lead or mechanical integrity engineer compares the proposed credential against the scope's risk: service, damage mechanisms, and whether the person will make evaluation decisions or only perform NDE.
• Conditions. Approve with conditions where appropriate: evaluation by the owner's API inspector, limited scope, time limit, or added oversight.
• Approval and record. Sign-off at a defined level (for example, MI manager), recorded with the contract file, and reviewed for trends at each policy revision.

The point is not to avoid exceptions; it is to make each one deliberate, risk-based and traceable.

What bidders and their teams can realistically hold

Contractors preparing for bid eligibility ask what they should build on their team. API's published eligibility rules shape the answer. For API 510, 570 and 653, API's program pages list education and experience combinations (from one year with a bachelor's in engineering or technology up to five or more years with no formal education), and in each case at least one year must be in supervision or performance of inspection activities as described in the code. That means an inspection certification usually follows time in an inspection role. A journeyman welder who is not yet in inspection work will generally not meet the API 510/570/653 inspection-experience requirement without that year.

Some programs are closer to craft experience. API's API 1169 page states that eligible experience categories include pipeline inspection, oil and gas industry inspection, pipeline construction and heavy industry work within the last 20 years, with education able to reduce the hours. AWS CWI is another common first credential for welders moving into inspection. NDT Level II certification under an employer's written practice is often the most practical first step, because it puts the person into inspection work that later counts toward API eligibility.

For a contractor, a balanced team usually means a small number of API-certified inspectors per discipline, a larger group of NDT Level IIs across the methods the owner's scopes call for, a Level III to own procedures and the written practice, and CWIs where welding scopes are common.

Worked example: a midstream terminal RFP

Consider a midstream operator issuing one RFP for a terminal that has field-erected crude tanks, a handful of shop-built additive tanks, a vapor recovery vessel, the station piping and a short breakout-tank manifold under PHMSA jurisdiction. A blanket "API 653 required" clause would leave the vessel and piping evaluation uncovered and say nothing about the people running the MFL scanner.

A scope-based version reads differently. Tank evaluation for the field-erected and breakout tanks is assigned to an API 653 inspector, with the breakout tanks explicitly inspected to API Std 653 as 49 CFR 195.432 requires and without using the standard's RBI alternative for the interval. The shop-built tanks are assigned to an STI certified inspector or an API 653 inspector holding the SP001 adjunct certification. The vapor recovery vessel goes to an API 510 inspector, and the station piping to an API 570 inspector; the owner may allow one person holding several certifications to cover these. Examiners are listed separately: Level II in electromagnetic methods for floor scanning, Level II UT for shell and piping thickness and for prove-up of floor indications, Level II VT and MT/PT for welds and repairs, all under a written practice to SNT-TC-1A or CP-189 owned by a named Level III. Each bidder submits a roster with certificate numbers that QA verifies before award, and any substitution goes through the exception workflow.

The result is an RFP that any bidder can price, any auditor can follow, and the owner can defend if a finding is later questioned.

Regulatory and jurisdictional overlay

OSHA PSM and EPA RMP. Mechanical integrity and contractor provisions apply to covered processes; inspection practices must follow RAGAGEP and be documented. State boiler and pressure vessel laws may require National Board commissioned inspectors or recognized owner-user inspection organizations for certain vessels; confirm with the state chief inspector. PHMSA requires breakout tank inspections under 49 CFR 195.432 to follow API Std 653 (with the RBI alternative in its section 6.4.3 excluded) and Operator Qualification for covered tasks. EPA SPCC at 40 CFR 112.8(c)(6) requires aboveground container integrity testing, with personnel qualifications and frequency determined in accordance with industry standards, which is where STI SP001 and API 653 inspector credentials enter. Offshore, SEMS contractor selection and training provisions apply in addition to company requirements.

Canada. Provincial regulators govern in-service pressure equipment. ABSA's AB-526 sets the In-service Pressure Equipment Inspector certification, and AB-506 sets owner-user inspection and servicing requirements in Alberta; Ontario is regulated through TSSA. NDT personnel are typically certified through NRCan under CAN/CGSB-48.9712. Write the provincial credential into Canadian RFPs alongside or instead of the API certificate, as your legal review confirms.

Common mistakes in certification clauses

• Requiring API certification for every technician, which shrinks the bidder pool without improving data quality.
• Naming "API certified" without the program number, which lets an API 653 inspector bid on vessel evaluation.
• Specifying "Level II" without the method, or accepting a Level II in MT for a UT thickness scope.
• Not verifying certificates; API publishes a public status verification tool for exactly this purpose.
• Ignoring renewal dates that fall within the contract period.
• Copying US language into Canadian contracts without the provincial credential.
• Letting the contractor's inspector set intervals outside the owner's inspection program; the code decisions belong within the owner's quality system.

How Atlantis supports this

Atlantis NDT bids into the examiner side of these policies. Our ASNT-certified technicians work under ASNT Level III oversight and perform UT thickness and CML surveys, corrosion mapping, PAUT, TOFD, MT, PT, VT, tank-floor MFL and guided-wave screening, with certification records available to owner QA before mobilization. Results go to the owner's API-certified inspector, who stays inspector of record; we are not the authorized inspector or inspection agency. With 1,500+ inspection activities delivered, we respond to RFP and quote requests within 24 hours. See inspection services, NDE for API 510 programs, NDE for API 570 programs and NDE for API 653 programs, or send us your RFP certification requirements.

Related: API inspector guide, how to verify an API inspector certificate, PSM requirements for NDT contractors, in-house vs third-party inspection, ASNT Level II vs code inspector certification, sequencing certification spend against bid eligibility.

FAQ

What inspector certifications are oil majors and big midstream operators actually requiring on offshore and onshore contracts?

Requirements vary by company and are set in each contract, but scopes are commonly mapped to API 510 for vessels, API 570 for piping, API 653 for tanks, API 1169 for onshore pipeline construction inspection, AWS CWI for welding, and NDT Level II/III by method for examiners. Offshore work adds SEMS contractor requirements. Always read the specific RFP.

Are there any API inspection certs I could realistically work on while still wrenching as a journeyman welder?

API 510, 570 and 653 each require at least one year in supervision or performance of inspection activities, so they usually follow an inspection role. API 1169 counts pipeline construction and heavy industry experience under its published rules. Many welders start with AWS CWI or NDT Level II certification.

How should an internal policy on accepted third-party inspector certifications be structured?

By scope: pressure vessel, piping, tank, pipeline and welding. For each scope list the primary certification for evaluation, the examiner certifications by method, the accepted equivalents, and an exception workflow with defined reviewer and approver.

Should every NDT technician on the job hold API 510 or 570?

No. API 510 states that examiners do not need API 510 certification but must be trained and competent in the NDE procedures used. Require NDT certification by method for examiners and API certification for the person who evaluates.

Does OSHA PSM require API-certified inspectors?

PSM does not name API certifications. It requires inspection and testing that follow RAGAGEP, documentation of each inspection, and evaluation of contractor safety performance. Owners that adopt API 510, 570 and 653 as RAGAGEP commonly require the matching certification.

How do we verify an API inspector's certification?

Use API's online inspector status verification tool, which searches by last name or certification number, or the ICP directory on api.org.

Is a National Board commission equivalent to API 510?

They serve different purposes. A National Board commission supports jurisdictional and code inspection work; API 510 covers in-service inspection under the API code. Some owners accept either for certain scopes. Define this in your equivalents list and confirm jurisdictional requirements.

What applies to shop-built tanks under SPCC?

40 CFR 112.8(c)(6) requires integrity testing per industry standards. Under STI SP001, formal inspections are performed by an STI certified inspector or an API 653 inspector with STI's SP001 adjunct certification.

What should Canadian RFPs require?

The provincial credential. In Alberta, ABSA's AB-526 In-service Pressure Equipment Inspector certificate applies to people who perform or certify integrity assessments; NDT personnel are usually NRCan-certified to CAN/CGSB-48.9712.

How often should the policy be reviewed?

At least whenever your RAGAGEP, a referenced code edition, or a regulation changes, and when exception trends suggest the accepted list needs updating.

Planning a turnaround or integrity campaign? Request certified NDE examiners or talk to us about your inspection scope.