Magnetic Particle Testing (MT) Requirements Under AWS D1.1

System performance is verified rather than assumed: lift tests on yokes and field indicator checks are dated records an auditor expects to see per shift or per job. AWS D1.1, enforced by American Welding Society (AWS), D1 Committee on Structural Welding; an ANSI-approved American.: Explicitly dual-track since the 2025 edition. Subclause 8.14.6, Personnel NDT Certification, now carries subclauses: 8.14.6.

An auditor examining MT asks for yoke or bench unit, ammeter, field indicators, lift-test weights and the consumables in use. D1.1 is a code, not a certification scheme — nobody issues a D1.1 certificate to a company. What it does is dictate who may inspect, how NDT must be procedured, and what constitutes acceptance. Clause 8 is the inspection clause and runs in seven parts: general requirements, contractor obligations, acceptance criteria, NDT procedures, radiographic testing, ultrasonic testing of groove welds, and other examination methods including radiation imaging systems and advanced ultrasonic systems. The 2025 edition rewrote how NDT personnel certification is established, added definitions splitting MT and PT indications into linear and rounded, and updated the Table 8.1 visual acceptance criteria for undercut and piping porosity.

Source: AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2025, Structural Welding Code — Steel, 25th edition, ANSI-approved 19 March 2025, revising D1.1/D1.1M:2020 — front matter, Summary of Changes and the complete Clause 8 and Clause 10 tables of contents read from the AWS-published preview at pubs.aws.org. Clause-level detail for 8.10.1, 8.14.6, 8.14.6.2, 8.14.6.3 and 10.29.1 taken verbatim from the AWS Welding Journal article "What's New in AWS D1.1 2025, Structural Welding Code — Steel" published by AWS/FABTECH. Current designation D1.1/D1.1M:2025-AMD1 confirmed on aws.org. AWS QC1:2016, Standard for AWS Certification of Welding Inspectors, read in full (clauses 8.1 visual acuity, 10.1 certification validity, 15 renewals, 16 nine-year recertification). ASNT standard editions confirmed on asnt.org: SNT-TC-1A (2024), ANSI/ASNT CP-189 (2024) and ANSI/ASNT CP-105 (2024) as employer-based, ANSI/ASNT CP-9712 (2023) as the US adoption of ISO 9712:2021 and third-party. Verified August 2026. The full body text of Clause 8 sits behind AWS's paywall and was not read line by line.

Magnetic Particle Testing under AWS D1.1 — procedure, personnel and evidence
Item	What applies	Why it matters
Regime	AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2025, Structural Welding Code — Steel	Enforced by American Welding Society (AWS), D1 Committee on Structural Welding; an ANSI-approved American National Standard. Welding inspector certification is administered by the AWS Certification Committee under AWS QC1. Enforcement is by the Engineer and Owner through the contract documents, and carries statutory force wherever a governmental body incorporates the code into law or regulation.
Method	Magnetic Particle Testing (MT)	Needs its own procedure and its own qualified personnel
Procedure approval	The employer's Level III, qualified in this method	The signature an auditor traces
Other methods in scope	VT, PT, RT, UT, Advanced ultrasonic systems including phased array (8.34), Radiation imaging systems (8.33)	Each needs separate qualification
Renewal	The code is reissued on roughly a five-year cycle: D1.1/D1.1M:2025 is the 25th edition, approved by ANSI on 19 March 2025 and revising D1.1/D1.1M:2020; the currently published designation is D1.1/D1.1M:2025-AMD1. Personnel credentials renew on their own clocks. Under AWS QC1, welding inspector certification is valid for three years; renewals are limited to two consecutive three-year periods, and before the end of the ninth year from initial certification the inspector must recertify — by examination, by a Committee-approved endorsement, or by experience and continuing education. A CAWI is not eligible for renewal and may hold that certification for up to three years only. Visual acuity examinations must be performed no more than one year before the examination date or the expiry date for renewals and recertifications.	Applies to the personnel certification behind this method

Does AWS D1.1 require a separate procedure for MT?

Yes. Every method in scope needs its own written procedure, approved by someone qualified in that method, describing technique, equipment, calibration, scanning or coverage, acceptance criteria and reporting. A single combined "NDT procedure" covering several methods is a finding under every regime that names procedures individually.

Who can approve a MT procedure under AWS D1.1?

A Level III qualified in MT. Because AWS D1.1 accepts employer-based certification, that Level III may be contracted rather than employed — but their own qualification must cover MT, and an auditor will check that before accepting the signature.

What MT records does a AWS D1.1 audit sample?

The approved procedure, the technician's MT certification on the date of work, and the equipment evidence — yoke or bench unit, ammeter, field indicators, lift-test weights and the consumables in use. The auditor works backwards from a finished job, so every item has to reconcile with the report and its stated acceptance criteria.

What is the most common MT finding at audit?

Yoke lift test not recorded, or field adequacy not demonstrated for the geometry. It is a records failure rather than a technique failure — the examination was performed correctly and the evidence supporting it cannot be produced, which under AWS D1.1 is recorded the same way as not having done the work.

Can a technician certified elsewhere perform MT under AWS D1.1?

Not automatically. Employer-based certification ends when the holder leaves, so the new employer must certify them under its own written practice. Prior training and documented experience transfer as evidence; the certificate itself does not.

What equipment evidence does MT need under AWS D1.1?

Calibration status traceable to the day of use, covering the instrument and its accessories — probes, cables, blocks and reference standards for ultrasonics; sources and densitometers for radiography. An in-calibration instrument with an out-of-calibration reference block fails the same way as an uncalibrated one.

How do MT requirements differ from the other methods in AWS D1.1?

Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. AWS D1.1 also covers VT, PT, RT, UT, Advanced ultrasonic systems including phased array (8.34), and each carries its own procedure, its own personnel qualification and its own equipment evidence.

Personnel certification for MT

Explicitly dual-track since the 2025 edition. Subclause 8.14.6, Personnel NDT Certification, now carries subclauses: 8.14.6.2, Employer-Based Certification, allows NDT personnel to be certified in accordance with the employer's written practice by ASNT SNT-TC-1A or ANSI/ASNT CP-189; 8.14.6.3, Internationally Recognized Third-Party Certification, allows certification by ANSI/ASNT CP-9712, CAN/CGSB-48.9712 or ISO 9712. Employer-based certification is therefore squarely accepted, and an outsourced Level III can own the written practice and certify the technicians. Clause 10.29.1 goes further for tubular work: UT of T-, Y- and K-connections shall be performed to a written procedure prepared by an NDT Level III, with Level III certification obtainable through SNT-TC-1A and CP-189.