NQA-1 Compliance for Inspection Service Providers
Suppliers of items or services with a safety function for nuclear facilities — including inspection, examination and testing services. It reaches NDT service providers working for operating reactors, new build, SMR and advanced reactor programmes, DOE sites, and nuclear component manufacturers. Personnel are qualified under employer-based certification, so a contracted Level III can sign the written practice and administer examinations for the firm.
NQA-1 is imposed contractually by the customer; ASME's NQA-1 Quality Program Certificate is a separate, voluntary third-party attestation that the supplier's programme conforms. NQA-1 is the implementing standard that turns the eighteen abstract criteria of 10 CFR 50 Appendix B into auditable requirements. Part I contains the eighteen Requirements — Organization; Quality Assurance Program; Design Control; Procurement Document Control; Instructions, Procedures and Drawings; Document Control; Control of Purchased Items and Services; Identification and Control of Items; Control of Special Processes; Inspection; Test Control; Control of Measuring and Test Equipment; Handling, Storage and Shipping; Inspection, Test and Operating Status; Control of Nonconforming Items; Corrective Action; Quality Assurance Records; Audits. Part II adds supplemental subparts for specific activities, including Subpart 2.7 Software Control and Subpart 2.14 Commercial Grade Dedication. Requirement 9 covers special processes such as welding and NDE; Requirement 2 covers indoctrination, training and the qualification of inspection and test personnel. A graded approach lets the degree of application follow the quality level of the work.
Source: ASME NQA-1-2022, 'Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications' (ASME/ANSI listing); ASME NQA-1-2024 issued 24 July 2024 is the newest edition. NRC Regulatory Guide 1.28, Revision 6, 'Quality Assurance Program Criteria (Design and Construction),' issued September 2023 and announced in the Federal Register on 11 September 2023, endorses NQA-1-2017, NQA-1-2019 and NQA-1-2022 subject to exceptions and clarifications, extends endorsement to Part II, and also endorses NEI 14-05A Revision 1 (September 2020) for accreditation in lieu of commercial grade surveys for laboratory calibration and test services. Part I Requirement list and the Part II Subpart 2.7 and 2.14 titles cross-checked against an ASME/ANS Section technical overview presentation dated 21 January 2026 and ASME's own standard page. ASME NQA-1 Certification programme description and CA Connect process from asme.org. NOTE: the specific paragraph number within Requirement 2 that addresses NDE personnel could not be confirmed from the standard itself and is deliberately omitted. Accessed 21 Aug 2026.
| Item | What applies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (standard owner and operator of the voluntary NQA-1 Certification programme); the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission endorses it through Regulatory Guide 1.28, and the U.S. Department of Energy imposes it on its own contractors | The body that issues, audits and can withdraw |
| Applies to | Suppliers of items or services with a safety function for nuclear facilities — including inspection, examination and testing services. | Whether this binds your firm at all |
| Personnel certification | Employer-based — the firm certifies its own, under a qualified Level III | Decides whether an outsourced Level III can sign for you |
| Renewal | NQA-1 compliance itself does not expire; it is maintained continuously and verified by audit. NQA-1 Part I Requirement 18 requires audits to verify compliance with the programme, and in practice suppliers run internal audits of all requirements annually and are audited by customers on a recurring cycle — NUPIC's standard vendor schedule is 33 months. The ASME NQA-1 Quality Program Certificate is renewed by reassessment; ASME publishes a price guide covering both new certificates and renewals but does not publish the renewal interval on its programme pages, so it is not stated here. | Diarise from the certificate date, not from memory |
| Methods in scope | UT, PAUT, RT, MT, PT, VT | Each method needs its own procedure and qualified personnel |
| Industries | Nuclear power generation, Small modular and advanced reactors, Nuclear component and pressure-boundary manufacturing, U.S. Department of Energy sites and national laboratories, Fuel cycle and radioactive materials processing | Where this regime shows up in contracts |
Who does NQA-1 apply to?
Suppliers of items or services with a safety function for nuclear facilities — including inspection, examination and testing services. It reaches NDT service providers working for operating reactors, new build, SMR and advanced reactor programmes, DOE sites, and nuclear component manufacturers. NQA-1 is imposed contractually by the customer; ASME's NQA-1 Quality Program Certificate is a separate, voluntary third-party attestation that the supplier's programme conforms.
Can an outsourced Level III sign for NQA-1 compliance?
Yes. NQA-1 accepts employer-based certification, which places the obligation on the employer and allows a contracted Level III to write and sign the written practice, approve procedures and administer examinations. The Level III must be qualified in each method they sign for, and the employer still owns the records.
What documents does a NQA-1 audit ask for?
Quality Assurance Program manual mapped to the eighteen Part I Requirements, with the graded approach and quality levels defined, Indoctrination and training records — attendance sheets, training logs and personnel training records — and records of qualification for inspection and test personnel under Requirement 2, NDE written practice to SNT-TC-1A or ANSI/ASNT CP-189, with the NDE procedures qualified under Requirement 9, Control of Special Processes, Inspection and test plans and acceptance criteria under Requirements 10 and 11, and the inspection, test and operating status controls of Requirement 14, Procurement documents and Approved Suppliers List evidence under Requirements 4 and 7, including sub-tier flowdown of NQA-1 and 10 CFR Part 21. Auditors open records before they open manuals, because a manual describes intent while records show practice. The most common failure is a documented system that does not match what the technicians actually do.
How often is NQA-1 renewed?
NQA-1 compliance itself does not expire; it is maintained continuously and verified by audit. NQA-1 Part I Requirement 18 requires audits to verify compliance with the programme, and in practice suppliers run internal audits of all requirements annually and are audited by customers on a recurring cycle — NUPIC's standard vendor schedule is 33 months. The ASME NQA-1 Quality Program Certificate is renewed by reassessment; ASME publishes a price guide covering both new certificates and renewals but does not publish the renewal interval on its programme pages, so it is not stated here. Firms that diarise renewal from the certificate date rather than from the last audit avoid the lapse that forces a full reapplication.
What are the most common NQA-1 findings?
Programme written to Part I but silent on the Part II subparts the work actually triggers — most often Subpart 2.7 for NDE acquisition and sizing software and Subpart 2.14 for commercial grade dedication, Graded approach applied inconsistently, so safety-related work is executed under procedures written for a lower quality level, Requirement 2 records incomplete — training and indoctrination logged but no qualification records for the individuals performing inspection and examination, NDE written practice not aligned to the specific edition of SNT-TC-1A or CP-189 that the customer's procurement documents invoked. These recur because they are records problems rather than capability problems — the work is being done correctly and the evidence is not being kept.
Which NDT methods does NQA-1 cover?
UT, PAUT, RT, MT, PT, VT, ET, Leak testing. Each method in scope needs its own approved procedure and personnel qualified in that specific method; a Level III qualified in ultrasonics cannot sign for radiography.
Personnel certification under NQA-1
Employer-based. NQA-1 does not certify individuals and does not operate a central scheme; Requirement 2 makes the supplier responsible for indoctrination, training and for qualifying inspection, examination and test personnel, and for NDE it points to the ASNT documents — ASNT Recommended Practice SNT-TC-1A or ANSI/ASNT CP-189 — implemented through the supplier's own written practice. That means an outsourced Level III can write and approve the written practice and the NDE procedures, administer and grade examinations, and sign as the certifying technical authority where the written practice designates them, while the employing supplier retains the certification decision and the records. ASME's NQA-1 certificate attests to the programme, not to any individual.
The audit sequence
- Build the programme to Part I and the applicable Part II subparts, applying the graded approach to the quality level of the work actually sold.
- Submit the QA manual for review — to the customer directly, or to ASME through CA Connect if seeking the voluntary NQA-1 Quality Program Certificate.
- Implement and generate objective evidence: NQA-1 certification and customer audits both assess implementation, not just the manual, so the programme must have been running long enough to produce records.
- Undergo the assessment — for ASME certification, a full audit of the quality assurance program by trained ASME auditors; for customer acceptance, an Appendix B supplier audit by the licensee or a joint programme such as NUPIC.
- Close findings with cause determination and corrective action under Requirement 16, then receive the NQA-1 Quality Program Certificate or placement on the customer's Approved Suppliers List for the defined scope.
- Maintain through internal audits under Requirement 18 and periodic reassessment by ASME or the customer.
Documents an auditor asks for
- Quality Assurance Program manual mapped to the eighteen Part I Requirements, with the graded approach and quality levels defined
- Indoctrination and training records — attendance sheets, training logs and personnel training records — and records of qualification for inspection and test personnel under Requirement 2
- NDE written practice to SNT-TC-1A or ANSI/ASNT CP-189, with the NDE procedures qualified under Requirement 9, Control of Special Processes
- Inspection and test plans and acceptance criteria under Requirements 10 and 11, and the inspection, test and operating status controls of Requirement 14
- Procurement documents and Approved Suppliers List evidence under Requirements 4 and 7, including sub-tier flowdown of NQA-1 and 10 CFR Part 21
- Commercial grade dedication procedure and critical characteristics records where Part II Subpart 2.14 applies
- Software control documentation under Part II Subpart 2.7 for any NDE acquisition, analysis or sizing software used in safety-related work
- Nonconforming item and corrective action records under Requirements 15 and 16
- Audit programme records — plan, checklist, report and evidence of corrective action completion — under Requirement 18
- Quality assurance records under Requirement 17, held in storage meeting the standard's fire-protection provisions
Findings firms get against NQA-1
- Programme written to Part I but silent on the Part II subparts the work actually triggers — most often Subpart 2.7 for NDE acquisition and sizing software and Subpart 2.14 for commercial grade dedication
- Graded approach applied inconsistently, so safety-related work is executed under procedures written for a lower quality level
- Requirement 2 records incomplete — training and indoctrination logged but no qualification records for the individuals performing inspection and examination
- NDE written practice not aligned to the specific edition of SNT-TC-1A or CP-189 that the customer's procurement documents invoked
- Requirement 9 special process control missing the link between the qualified procedure, the qualified personnel and the specific job performed
- Requirement 7 sub-tier control weak — calibration laboratories or contract technicians engaged without evaluation, survey, or dedication
- Requirement 18 audits performed by personnel with direct responsibility in the area audited, or audit packages missing the plan, checklist, report or corrective action closure
- Requirement 12 measuring and test equipment found out of tolerance with no evaluation of the acceptability of items previously inspected with it
Related: the NQA-1 overview, outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, a programme gap assessment, interim Level III cover.