Examination Records for CP-189
CP-189 names this requirement as "Written, specific and practical examination records, including evidence that proctors administering written examinations were trained". The employer's Level III owns it, and a contracted Level III can author and sign it.
The finding auditors record against this document is: Proctor training for written examinations not evidenced. CP-189 is an American National Standard and it states requirements where SNT-TC-1A offers recommendations — it was written because employers implemented SNT-TC-1A inconsistently. It sets minimum education, training, experience and examination requirements for Level I, II and III nondestructive testing and predictive maintenance personnel, and adds requirements for NDT instructors. The 2024 edition adds requirements for computed radiography, digital radiography and computed tomography image interpreters, requires employers to assess whether externally referenced examinations meet their requirements, restricts eye drops used to improve vision, and requires trained proctors for written examinations. The commercially decisive provision is that Level III personnel must hold ASNT NDT Level III certification.
Source: ANSI/ASNT CP-189 (2024) — ASNT product listing (source.asnt.org) and ASNT standards page (asnt.org/standards-publications/standards), which describes CP-189 as establishing minimum requirements for employer-based NDT personnel certification including the requirement for ASNT NDT Level III certification of Level III personnel; 2024 changes (image interpreter requirements, proctor training, eye drop restriction, employer assessment of referenced exams) taken from ASNT's own edition summaries. Prior editions confirmed: 2006, 2016, 2020, 2024. ANSI/ASNT CP-105 (2024) topical outlines from the same ASNT standards page. ASNT NDT Level III recertification requirements and fees from certification.asnt.org/recertification/asnt-ndt-level-iii, checked August 2026. ASNT NDT Level III ANAB accreditation to ISO/IEC 17024 from ASNT Certification Services newsroom. ASTM E543 acceptance of CP-189 from A2LA R212 (10 Sept 2025) and the ASTM E543 scope. Recertification intervals for Levels I and II under CP-189 deliberately not given as a number — not verified against the 2024 text.
| Item | What applies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Regime | ANSI/ASNT CP-189, ASNT Standard for Qualification and Certification of Nondestructive Testing Personnel | Enforced by American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), approved as an American National Standard by ANSI. Enforced by the contract that invokes it — US Navy and defence supply chains, government and utility procurement — and auditable through ASNT's Employer-Based Certification Accreditation Program, which accredits programmes against SNT-TC-1A, CP-189, or both. The dependent credential, ASNT NDT Level III, is issued by ASNT Certification Services LLC. |
| Document | Examination Records | the general, specific and practical examination papers and results behind each certification |
| Owner | the employer's Level III | The signature an auditor traces back |
| Where it is checked | Pull individual certification files and trace each back through training hours, experience, examination results and vision records; Close. | Usually against a sampled job, not in isolation |
| Common failure | Level III of record holds ASNT NDT Level III in some but not all of the methods the firm certifies under CP-189 | The gap between the manual and the job file |
What must a examination records contain under CP-189?
It has to satisfy CP-189 as American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT), approved as an American National Standard by ANSI. Enforced by the contract that invokes it — US Navy and defence supply chains, government and utility procurement — and auditable through ASNT's Employer-Based Certification Accreditation Program, which accredits programmes against SNT-TC-1A, CP-189, or both. The dependent credential, ASNT NDT Level III, is issued by ASNT Certification Services LLC. enforces it: the general, specific and practical examination papers and results behind each certification. The test is not completeness on paper but traceability — an auditor picks a finished job and works backwards to this document, so anything it claims must be demonstrable on that job.
Who signs the examination records for CP-189?
The employer's Level III. Because this regime accepts employer-based certification, that role can be filled by a contracted Level III rather than a staff appointment, provided they are qualified in the methods they sign for.
How does a CP-189 auditor test this document?
By sampling. They take a completed job, find the technicians and equipment used, and trace each back through this document to the evidence behind it. A document that reads well but cannot survive that trace is the most common finding across every regime, not just this one.
How long must CP-189 records be kept?
CP-189 makes recertification a requirement rather than a recommendation, with the interval fixed in the firm's certification procedure. The dependent credential has a firm published number: the ASNT NDT Level III certificate the CP-189 Level III must hold is renewed every five years, either by accumulating a minimum of 25 recertification points across the 60-month cycle while maintaining at least 36 months (756 days) per method of active Level III work, or by retaking and passing the examinations before the expiry date. ASNT publishes renewal-by-points fees from US$440 (member, single method) and examination recertification fees of US$525–545 per method for members. Retention is set by the regime and by the client contract above it, and the longer of the two governs. Firms that set one retention period for everything and document it fare better at audit than firms tracking different periods per record type and losing track.
Does a generic template satisfy CP-189?
No. A downloaded template describes a generic firm, and the first question an auditor asks is whether the document describes THIS firm — its methods, its equipment, its people, its actual workflow. Templates are a starting structure; the content has to be the firm's own or the trace fails immediately.
What happens if this document is missing at a CP-189 audit?
It is a finding, and depending on the regime it can suspend the certificate rather than merely generate a corrective action. The related finding auditors record most often is: Level III of record holds ASNT NDT Level III in some but not all of the methods the firm certifies under CP-189
Where this sits in the CP-189 evidence pack
- Written certification procedure meeting CP-189 — the CP-189 equivalent of a Written Practice
- Current ASNT NDT Level III certificates for the Level III of record, one for every method the firm certifies
- NDT instructor qualification records
- Training records mapped to the ANSI/ASNT CP-105 topical outlines
- Experience records by method, level and technique, with evidence of supervision
- Written, specific and practical examination records, including evidence that proctors administering written examinations were trained
- Vision examination records — near-vision acuity and colour contrast
- CR, DR and CT image interpreter qualification records where the firm offers digital radiography
- Individual certification and recertification files carrying the certifying signature and the certified scope
Personnel certification context
Employer-based, with a central-certification prerequisite at the top. Levels I and II are certified by the employer against the firm's written certification procedure. The Level III running that programme must additionally hold ASNT NDT Level III certification in the method — a credential from ASNT Certification Services, earned through a computer-based Basic examination plus at least one Method examination, and ANAB-accredited to ISO/IEC 17024. This is precisely why CP-189 work is outsourced: the firm engages a contracted Level III who already holds the ASNT method certificates, and that person signs the procedure, sets and grades examinations and recommends certification while the employer issues the certificates.
Related: the CP-189 overview, outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, a programme gap assessment, interim Level III cover.