Nadcap NDT / AC7114 Audit Preparation for Inspection Companies
A Nadcap NDT / AC7114 audit runs in 6 stages, beginning with register the site in eauditnet, select the ac7114 base plus the slash.. Performance Review Institute (PRI), a not-for-profit affiliate of SAE International, administering Nadcap on behalf of the Nadcap NDT Task Group and its subscribing primes tests the system by sampling finished work backwards to the records behind it, so preparation means reconciling records to jobs.
AC7114 is the base checklist of the Nadcap NDT programme, and it audits the NDT quality system rather than any one method. It covers customer requirement flowdown and the sequencing of NDT operations, procurement control over sub-tier calibration and cleaning/etching facilities, an annual internal NDT audit, control and traceability of inspection status identifiers, inspection and traveller records, and calibration including interval extension. Section 5 audits people: the written practice, certification packages, vision records, the Responsible Level 3, outside Level 3 agencies and training course outlines. AC7114 is never used alone — every accredited method adds a slash sheet, and each prime may add a supplemental question set. The general quality system is covered by AS9100/EN9100, AC7004, or ISO/IEC 17025 for test houses. What separates firms that clear an audit from firms that collect findings is not the quality of the documentation but whether it describes what actually happens.
Source: AC7114 Rev L (Issued 1997-07, Revised 21-SEP-2017, superseding Rev K, to be used on audits starting on or after 31-DEC-2017) read in full for question numbering and Compliance Assessment Guidance. Current revisions confirmed from PRI-issued Nadcap NDT certificates and Scopes of Accreditation: AC7114 Rev S (audits on/after 19-May-2024) and AC7114S Rev R (on/after 10-Nov-2024) on 2025-dated certificates; AC7114 Rev R and AC7114S Rev Q on a certificate expiring 31 May 2026; AC7114 Rev P and AC7114S Rev O on a certificate expiring 31 May 2023. PRI Nadcap FAQ (accreditation length wording) and Getting Started pages, accessed 21 Aug 2026.
| Stage | What happens | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Register the site in eAuditNet, select the AC7114 base plus the slash sheets and subscriber supplements matching the methods and. | Where the paperwork is tested against itself |
| Stage 2 | Run the self-audit against every selected checklist, correct internally identified nonconformances, and upload the self-audit and pre-audit document pack at. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Stage 3 | On-site audit, typically two to five days: in-brief attended by the Responsible Level 3 and quality manager, scope verification on. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Stage 4 | Respond to each NCR in eAuditNet with a five-part corrective action — root cause, immediate corrective action, action to prevent. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Stage 5 | PRI's NDT staff engineer compiles the audit pack; the NDT Task Group, made up of the subscribing primes, reviews it. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Stage 6 | Accreditation is granted and the certificate and Scope of Accreditation are published on the eAuditNet Qualified Manufacturers List. | Where the paperwork is tested against practice |
| Renewal | Initial accreditation is 12 months. PRI states it can be extended to 18 months based on audit performance after three audits, and to 24 months after five audits, under the Supplier Merit Program. Both lengths appear on real certificates: an 18-month accreditation expiring 31 May 2023 and a 24-month accreditation expiring 31 May 2026 and 28 February 2027. Major NCRs, non-sustaining corrective actions and accumulated delinquency days cost a site its merit interval. | Diarised from the certificate date, not the last audit |
How long does Nadcap NDT / AC7114 audit preparation take?
Document work — the written practice, procedures and quality manual — takes weeks. What cannot be compressed is documented experience and records history: on-the-job hours accrue in real time, and calibration and certification history cannot be back-filled. Firms that start when the audit is scheduled rather than announced clear it without findings.
What does Performance Review Institute (PRI), a not-for-profit affiliate of SAE International, administering Nadcap on behalf of the Nadcap NDT Task Group and its subscribing primes look at first?
Records, not manuals. A manual states intent; records show practice. The usual opening move is to take a completed job and trace it back to the technician's certification, the instrument's calibration, the approved procedure and the report — and see whether all four reconcile.
What are the most common Nadcap NDT / AC7114 findings?
Self-audit uploaded late, performed against a superseded checklist revision, or not including one compliance job per method (AC7114 question 4), Written practice not approved by the Responsible Level 3, or failing to identify every method and specific technique actually performed at the site, Techniques shown on an individual's certificate that do not appear as techniques in the written practice (question 5.2.3), Near-vision examination not repeated annually, colour perception not repeated at least every five years, or the exam administered by someone not designated in writing by the Responsible Level 3 (questions 5.4.6, 5.4.7). Almost all of them are evidence problems rather than capability problems: the work was done correctly and the proof was not kept, or was kept somewhere the firm could not retrieve during the audit.
Can a consultant attend the Nadcap NDT / AC7114 audit?
Yes, and it changes the outcome. Someone who has sat through the same audit at other firms answers in the auditor's own terms, produces the right record without a search, and stops a clarification turning into a finding. The firm still owns every answer — the consultant does not speak for it.
What happens after a Nadcap NDT / AC7114 finding?
A corrective action with a deadline, and evidence of closure at the next audit. Repeat findings are treated far more seriously than first ones, because they show the corrective-action system itself is not working.
Does Nadcap NDT / AC7114 require a pre-audit or gap assessment?
Not as a requirement, but the arithmetic favours it: a gap assessment finds the same evidence problems the auditor would, without the finding attached, and while there is still time to fix them. Firms entering their first Nadcap NDT / AC7114 audit blind typically collect findings that a sampling exercise would have caught.
What the auditor asks to see
- Completed self-audit checklists — AC7114 plus every applicable slash sheet and supplement — uploaded to eAuditNet no less than 30 days before the scheduled audit, with the procedure and paragraph referenced for each question
- NDT written practice for qualification and certification of personnel, approved by the Responsible Level 3
- NDT method process procedures, plus the work instructions known in industry as technique sheets or data cards
- List of Approved NDT Personnel including Level 3's, on attachment AC7114-A
- NDT material and equipment list for each method on attachments AC7114/1A through AC7114/9A
- Subscriber Matrix of Nadcap Subscribers that have approved the supplier for NDT — inaccuracy here is stated cause for a follow-up audit
- Personnel certification packages: training records, experience, latest written and practical examinations, vision and colour-perception records
- Annual internal NDT audit records, and the documented annual maintenance (technical proficiency) review for each certified individual in each method
- Calibration certificates providing traceability to the unit of measure, and documented justification where a calibration interval has been extended
- Proof on file of NAS 410 / EN 4179 certification for any outside-agency or corporate Level 3 used for examinations, procedure or technique approval, hardware inspection, or as Responsible Level 3
Findings to close before the audit
- Self-audit uploaded late, performed against a superseded checklist revision, or not including one compliance job per method (AC7114 question 4)
- Written practice not approved by the Responsible Level 3, or failing to identify every method and specific technique actually performed at the site
- Techniques shown on an individual's certificate that do not appear as techniques in the written practice (question 5.2.3)
- Near-vision examination not repeated annually, colour perception not repeated at least every five years, or the exam administered by someone not designated in writing by the Responsible Level 3 (questions 5.4.6, 5.4.7)
- No documented annual maintenance review in each method for each individual certified to process and inspect hardware — the requirement applies to Level 3s too, and the record must name reviewee, reviewer, process and acceptance criteria, part identification, method and disposition
- No proof on file of the outside or corporate Level 3's NAS 410 / EN 4179 certification (question 5.5.4)
- Annual internal NDT audit missing, or not covering the inspection process, planning and traveller documentation, personnel certification records, procedures and equipment
- Inspection status identifiers (stamps, initials, clock numbers) not controlled — no issue, recall and traceability register, or an identifier available to someone other than the individual it is assigned to
Related: the Nadcap NDT / AC7114 overview, outsourced ASNT Level III cover, written practice development, NDT procedure development, a programme gap assessment, interim Level III cover.