NDT Technician Certification Tracking in the USA

Technician certifications, eye tests and expiry tracking against your written practice. Request a demo. Affordable. Accessible. Fully customizable. Quote on request.

US certification is employer-based, and that is what auditors test

In the United States, most NDT technicians are certified by their employer. Under ASNT’s Recommended Practice SNT-TC-1A, your company writes its own written practice, your Level III administers the exams, and the certificate carries your company’s name. ANSI/ASNT CP-189 works the same way but as a standard with firmer requirements, and some clients specify it by name. A smaller number of technicians hold central certification such as ASNT’s ASNT 9712 (formerly ACCP), and your Level III may hold an ASNT NDT Level III certificate.

That model gives US companies flexibility, but it puts the burden of proof on you. When a refinery QA reviewer, an Authorized Inspector or an aerospace customer’s auditor looks at a technician’s qualification, they are really auditing your records. Does the certificate match the written practice? Are the training and experience hours documented? Were the exams graded correctly? Is the eye test current?

Most US inspection companies still answer those questions from a mix of spreadsheets, scanned PDFs and the Level III’s filing cabinet. It works until the Level III is on vacation, a client asks for twelve qualification packs before Monday, or a technician’s eye test quietly lapses in the middle of a turnaround.

The Certificates app in Atlantis NDT ERP holds all of it on the technician’s record: certifications by scheme, level and method, OJT and training hours, exam sheets, vision tests, radiation safety details and medical fitness. Status is worked out daily, warning tasks appear 90 days before anything expires, and email alerts go to the people you choose. Atlantis NDT is based in Houston, so the setup reflects how Gulf Coast inspection companies actually work.

Recording SNT-TC-1A and CP-189 certifications the way your written practice defines them

Each certification is its own record: scheme (SNT-TC-1A or CP-189, with ISO 9712, PCN, CSWIP and other also available), level from trainee to Level III, method, certifying body, issue, expiry and renewal dates, industry sector, OJT hours, training hours, whether the exam was passed, and attachments.

That structure matches what SNT-TC-1A asks you to document. The recommended practice sets out training and experience hours by method and level, and your written practice adopts them or sets its own. With OJT and training hours on each record, a Level III can see whether a trainee has the hours to sit a Level I or Level II exam without digging through timesheets and course rosters.

Certificate templates hold the rules. For each scheme you define validity in months, whether a vision test and an exam are required, and minimum OJT and training hours. A company might set one template for its SNT-TC-1A practice, a second for CP-189 work where a client demands it, and other-scheme templates for aerospace or client-specific qualifications. Recertification intervals vary by written practice; the template carries whatever yours says.

Because the certifying body is a field, you can separate certificates issued under your own practice from those a new hire brought from a previous employer. Under SNT-TC-1A, certification does not transfer between employers automatically; a technician joining you needs to be certified under your written practice. Recording both makes that transition visible, and a certificate that no longer applies can be marked revoked rather than deleted, so the history stays intact.

Exams, grading and the evidence behind each certificate

SNT-TC-1A certification rests on general, specific and practical examinations, and US auditors routinely ask to see them. The app’s examination sheets record the general, specific and practical scores, the passing score and the exam files.

The default passing score is 70%, which lines up with the minimum SNT-TC-1A sets for each individual exam. Your written practice may also require a minimum composite grade. The passing score is adjustable, and how composite grading is shown on the sheet can be configured during implementation to mirror your written practice.

With exam files attached, a technician’s certification history is complete in one place: when the exams were taken, the scores and the papers. When a client auditor samples three technicians from your roster, your QA manager opens three records instead of three binders.

This matters most at the moments US companies feel audit pressure: ASME certificate holder reviews, owner-user audits of contract inspection companies, and aerospace customer audits. In each case, the question is the same. Can you prove this person was qualified, under your written practice, when they did the work? Records built this way answer it.

Atlantis NDT also delivers NDT training based on ASNT SNT-TC-1A for Level I, II and III candidates, and those training hours can then be entered against each technician’s certificate record.

Annual vision tests: Jaeger J2, J1 and colour

SNT-TC-1A calls for a near-vision test at least annually, with the technician able to read Jaeger J2 or equivalent at not less than 12 inches, plus a colour contrast check defined by your written practice. Some aerospace and client specifications ask for the stricter J1. Whatever the requirement, a lapsed eye test makes an otherwise valid certificate useless on site.

Vision tests are separate records in the app, linked to the technician: near vision against J1 or J2, far vision, colour perception, contrast, the examiner, the clinic, the certificate file and the expiry. The daily check creates a warning task 90 days before a vision test expires, the same as for certifications.

US companies handle eye tests in different ways. Some send technicians to an occupational health clinic; others have a qualified examiner in-house. Recording the examiner and the clinic keeps each test traceable, which auditors look for.

Colour perception results matter for PT and colour-contrast MT, and for reading some digital displays. Having the result on record lets your Level III see immediately whether any restriction applies before a technician is scheduled on that type of work.

Because one vision test covers every method a technician holds, a single lapsed test can take a multi-method Level II off the schedule. Warning tasks for vision tests and certificates come from the same daily check, so renewals can be planned together.

Radiography: NRC, Agreement States and radiographer records

If you shoot RT, your people carry two sets of qualifications. The NDT certificate says they can interpret a film or digital image. The radiation safety side says they can legally work with a source. Under NRC rules in 10 CFR Part 34, and the equivalent rules in Agreement States such as Texas and Louisiana, a radiographer must complete radiation safety training and hold a radiographer certification, and radiographer’s assistants work under supervision. Everyone working with the source wears personal dosimetry.

The employee NDT profile in the Certificates app includes radiation safety training, radiation badge number and medical fitness expiry, alongside the highest NDT level and methods certified. A radiographer’s state or independent certification card can be recorded as an other-scheme certificate with its own expiry, template and attachments, so it gets the same 90-day warnings as an NDT certificate.

That gives the radiation safety officer and the operations manager one place to check before an RT crew leaves the yard: NDT level, radiographer certification, safety training, badge number. The badge number on the profile keeps the link between a person and their dosimetry reports clear when a dose query comes up.

Source transport is handled elsewhere in the ERP. The Fleet app records whether a vehicle can carry radioactive sources and its transport licence number and expiry, so the truck is checked with the same discipline as the crew. The Certificates app does not replace your radioactive materials licence records or your regulator’s requirements; it keeps your people’s qualifications current and visible.

Refinery, petrochemical and API inspection work on the Gulf Coast

From Corpus Christi through Houston and Beaumont to Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, much NDT work is done for refineries, chemical plants and midstream operators running API 510, API 570 and API 653 inspection programmes. The owner-user’s API-certified inspectors decide what gets inspected; your technicians do the UT thickness, PAUT, RT and surface work that feeds those programmes. Code work runs under ASME Section V for methods, with Section VIII and B31.3 for construction and repair.

These clients expect documented qualification before a technician sets foot on site. Typical requests include current certifications by method and level, a copy of the written practice, a current vision test and site-specific safety training. Many plants also screen contractors through platforms such as ISNetworld or Avetta, and turnarounds often come with their own badging and orientation requirements.

The Certificates app helps you respond fast. Each technician’s certificates, vision test and attachments are already on the record, so a qualification pack is a matter of gathering files, not reconstructing them. Site credentials such as safety council orientation or a TWIC card for port and marine terminal access can be tracked as other-scheme certificates with their own expiry dates, or added as dedicated fields as part of the customization scope agreed with you.

Spring and fall turnarounds are where tracking breaks down. You bring in extra technicians, some from other companies, and everyone needs checking at once. Because warning tasks are generated 90 days ahead, renewals for your core crew can be pulled forward before turnaround season rather than discovered in the middle of it.

Pipelines and PHMSA operator qualification

Pipeline work adds another layer. Operators regulated by PHMSA under 49 CFR Parts 192 and 195 must make sure people performing covered tasks are operator qualified, and NDT of pipeline girth welds is commonly done to API 1104. A technician on a pipeline spread may need a current NDT certificate, an OQ record for the relevant covered tasks, and the operator’s own site requirements.

The app doesn’t manage OQ programmes, but it can hold OQ qualifications as other-scheme certificates with their evaluation date, expiry and evidence attached. That puts them on the same record, with the same warning tasks and email alerts, as the technician’s NDT certificates. Many pipeline NDT companies also employ AWS Certified Welding Inspectors; a CWI can be recorded the same way.

The benefit is a single view of whether a technician can go on a particular spread. Before, that answer often needed a call to the OQ administrator, a look at the NDT tracker and a search for the latest eye test. Now it is one employee record.

Aerospace shops working to NAS 410

Aerospace NDT personnel are qualified under NAS 410, with prime contractors often adding their own requirements, and Nadcap audits look closely at personnel records. NAS 410 differs from SNT-TC-1A in areas such as examination requirements, vision testing and the role of the responsible Level 3, and it is not something you want to track in the same spreadsheet as your refinery work.

In the Certificates app, NAS 410 certifications are recorded under the other scheme, with a template that carries your validity period, vision test and exam requirements, and minimum hours. The industry sector field lets you separate aerospace certificates from industrial ones, so an auditor sees exactly the population they are sampling.

Examination sheets record general, specific and practical scores and files, and the passing score can be set to what your NAS 410 written practice requires. Vision tests record J1 or J2, colour and contrast with examiner and clinic. For shops that do both aerospace and industrial work, the same technician can hold both kinds of certificate side by side, each with its own status.

How Certificates fits into your day-to-day operations

The Certificates app doesn’t live on its own. In Atlantis NDT ERP, it connects to the parts of the business where a lapsed certificate would cause real trouble.

• Timesheets warn when a technician whose certificate is not valid logs hours, so the issue is caught before hours are approved and billed to the client.
• Dashboards show certificates expiring and expired next to calibration due and overdue, so the operations manager sees people and equipment risk on one screen.
• Daily email alerts cover technician certificates, calibration certificates and company certifications, with your choice of recipients, look-ahead days and resend interval.
• Company certifications, such as ISO 9001 registration or an accreditation a client requires, are tracked with their own alert days.
• Team Assignments blocks double-booking of technicians and equipment and flags out-of-calibration equipment; planners use the certification lists and NDT profiles to pick a qualified crew, and a certificate check at dispatch can be added as part of your customization scope.

Inspection reports signed in the NDT Reports app, or presented on a 3D asset model through Atlantis’s separate Digital Twin Reporting Software, carry more weight when the qualification behind every signature is documented and current.

Setting it up for a US inspection company

Atlantis NDT deploys and configures the ERP for you. For a US company, setup of Certificates usually covers:

1. Reviewing your written practice (SNT-TC-1A or CP-189) and building certificate templates to match its validity, exam, vision and hours rules.
2. Adding other-scheme templates for NAS 410, radiographer cards, OQ qualifications, CWI or site credentials you need to track.
3. Importing your existing tracker: technicians, certificates, levels, methods, dates, hours and vision tests, with scanned certificates attached.
4. Setting up daily email alerts and warning tasks for the QA manager, radiation safety officer, operations and management.
5. Agreeing access rights so medical and vision details are visible only to the people who need them.
6. Connecting Certificates to Timesheets, Dashboards and the other apps you use in the full Atlantis NDT ERP.

The system is affordable, accessible and fully customizable, and the quote depends on the apps and customization scope you choose. To see it with your own written practice loaded, book a Certificates demo.

Frequently asked questions

Does the app replace our SNT-TC-1A written practice?

No. Your written practice remains the controlling document, approved by your Level III. The app holds certificate templates that mirror its rules and records the certificates, exams, hours and vision tests that show you followed it.

Can we track CP-189 and SNT-TC-1A certificates for the same technician?

Yes. Each certificate is its own record with its own scheme, method, level and dates, so a technician can hold both, and each shows its own status.

Will it stop an expired technician being put on a job?

It warns rather than blocks by default. Certificates move to expiring soon 90 days out, warning tasks and email alerts go to the people you choose, and timesheets warn if hours are logged against an invalid certificate. A hard check at dispatch can be added as part of your customization scope.

Can we track radiographer certification and dosimetry badges?

Yes. The NDT profile records radiation safety training and radiation badge number. A radiographer certification card can be recorded as an other-scheme certificate with its expiry and a scanned copy.

Does Atlantis NDT provide the training too?

Atlantis NDT delivers training based on ASNT SNT-TC-1A. The app also records certificates your people hold from other schemes, such as ISO 9712, PCN or CSWIP, but Atlantis does not train or certify for those.

Can we keep AWS CWI and OQ records in the same place?

Yes, as other-scheme certificates with their own expiry dates, templates and attachments, so they get the same warnings as NDT certificates.

Get your certification records audit-ready

Send us an outline of your written practice and a sample of your current tracker, and we will show you how it looks in the Certificates app with templates, expiry lists and alerts set up for your team. Request a quote for your US operation, covering the apps and customization you need.

Certificates by region

• Certificates global overview
• Certificates in Canada
• Certificates in UK & Europe
• Certificates in Middle East
• Certificates in India

Works with

• NDT Reports: Method-specific NDT inspection reports, captured in the field and issued from the ERP.
• Procedures: Controlled NDT procedures and techniques with revisions and approvals.
• Dashboards: KPI dashboards across jobs, reports, certifications and revenue.

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