Radiographic Testing (RT) Requirements Under CGSB 48.9712

Radiation safety sits alongside the technical requirement: the radiographer licence, the area control and the dose records are audited as part of the same programme. CGSB 48.9712, enforced by Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB), Public Services and Procurement Canada, publishes the.: Central certification, explicitly not employer-based.

An auditor examining RT asks for source or tube, exposure devices, film or detectors, densitometers, IQIs and the survey meters used to control the area. CAN/CGSB-48.9712 is the Canadian adoption, identical, of ISO 9712. The current edition is CAN/CGSB-48.9712-2022, adopting ISO 9712:2021, published October 2022, applied through the NDTCB Rules of Implementation effective 31 March 2024. It sets three levels, defines methods and sectors, fixes minimum training and industrial experience, and requires examination by a certification body independent of the employer. For an inspection service provider the operative consequences are narrow and testable: certificates must be current and in the right method, level and sector; the employer must issue written authorisation to operate; and NDT procedures must be approved by someone who personally holds Level 3 in that method. The standard is what auditors compare the personnel matrix against.

Source: Verified August 2026 against: CAN/CGSB-48.9712-2022 (ISO 9712:2021, IDT), published October 2022, per CGSB, SCC and distributor listings; NRCan NDTCB "Rules of Implementation for CAN/CGSB-48.9712", effective 31 March 2024, for the Canadian latitude, experience percentages, sponsor co-signature and Accelerated Experience Program caps; NRCan NDTCB "Qualifying Work Experience for NDT Certification" for the day and hour tables, and "Training Requirements and Prerequisites for NDT Certification" for Level 3 training hours; NRCan NDTCB document 8.2.1-083 version 02, issued 24 March 2026, for the CGSB wind-down and the SCC-approved maintenance extension; CWB Group "Making sense of NDT personnel certification in Canada" and "Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Personnel Certification", read 2026; CSA W178.2-18 clause 1.6, which directs NDT method certification to this standard.

Radiographic Testing under CGSB 48.9712 — procedure, personnel and evidence
Item	What applies	Why it matters
Regime	CAN/CGSB-48.9712, Non-destructive testing — Qualification and certification of NDT personnel (ISO 9712, IDT)	Enforced by Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB), Public Services and Procurement Canada, publishes the standard; certification to it is delivered by NRCan NDTCB and by CWB Group
Method	Radiographic Testing (RT)	Needs its own procedure and its own qualified personnel
Procedure approval	Per the certification scheme and the client specification	The signature an auditor traces
Other methods in scope	UT, UT-PA, ET, MT, PT, VT	Each needs separate qualification
Renewal	Five-year validity. Renewal at the end of each period on evidence of continued satisfactory work activity and current vision; recertification, which adds examination, at the alternate cycle — CWB Group states renewal every five years and recertification every ten years from initial certification. The standard's own future is in transition: the Government of Canada announced in Budget 2025 that CGSB operations wind down effective 1 April 2026. NRCan NDTCB confirmed on 24 March 2026 that its certification services continue without interruption and that CGSB is developing a transition plan for maintenance of the standard. CAN/CGSB-48.9712 was due for periodic maintenance review by 31 October 2027; SCC approved a two-year extension running from the date ISO publishes a confirmation or a new edition of ISO 9712, whose systematic review is scheduled to start in October 2026.	Applies to the personnel certification behind this method

Does CGSB 48.9712 require a separate procedure for RT?

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 RT procedure under CGSB 48.9712?

Approval follows the certification scheme and the governing specification rather than the employer alone. The person approving must hold the scheme's qualification for RT at the appropriate level.

What RT records does a CGSB 48.9712 audit sample?

The approved procedure, the technician's RT certification on the date of work, and the equipment evidence — source or tube, exposure devices, film or detectors, densitometers, IQIs and the survey meters used to control the area. 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 RT finding at audit?

IQI sensitivity not achieved, or radiation area control records missing for the shot. 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 CGSB 48.9712 is recorded the same way as not having done the work.

Can a technician certified elsewhere perform RT under CGSB 48.9712?

Where the scheme's certification travels with the individual, yes — that is the point of central certification. Verify the certificate covers RT at the level required and is current, since scope and expiry are what get checked.

What equipment evidence does RT need under CGSB 48.9712?

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 RT requirements differ from the other methods in CGSB 48.9712?

Scope, qualification and evidence are method-specific, so the differences are real rather than administrative. CGSB 48.9712 also covers UT, UT-PA, ET, MT, PT, and each carries its own procedure, its own personnel qualification and its own equipment evidence.

Personnel certification for RT

Central certification, explicitly not employer-based. CWB Group states it plainly: certification is delivered through independent third-party bodies, and "This differs from second-party certification systems, such as employer-based programs like SNT-TC-1A." Two bodies issue to this standard — NRCan NDTCB, and since November 2024 CWB Group, which is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada to ISO/IEC 17024 and can also renew and recertify certificates originally issued by NRCan. An outsourced Level III adds value here only if he personally holds CAN/CGSB-48.9712 Level 3 in the relevant method and sector; the employer then authorises him in writing to operate, and he can own the procedures.