NDT Report Templates

Eight free NDT report templates, one per method, each built around the fields ASME Section V and the matching ISO standard expect to see. Every template has an example layout, a print view you can save as PDF, and a CSV download. If you want the editable Word or Excel version with your logo, ask and we will send it.

Pick a template by method

Each template page explains what that method's report must contain, shows an example layout with illustrative values, and links to a print view you can save as PDF and a CSV of the fields. The editable Word or Excel version can be requested from any template page.

What every NDT report must contain

Whatever the method, a report has to let someone who was not there understand what was examined, how, by whom, against what standard, and with what result, and it has to let them find the same place again. ASME Section V Article 1 sets general record requirements that each method article builds on, and ISO method standards each close with a test-report clause. Across all of them, the common core is:

• Unique report number and revision, and the date of the examination.
• Client, job, work-order and purchase-order references.
• The item examined: component, weld or area ID, drawing number and revision, material and thickness.
• The procedure and its revision, the technique, and the extent of examination.
• The equipment used, identified well enough to trace its calibration.
• The personnel: name, method, level and certification scheme, for the examiner and any reviewer.
• The indications found, with location from a stated datum, size and evaluation.
• The acceptance standard, the result, and signatures.

Choosing the right template

Choose by method first, then check the report against three documents: your NDT procedure (which fixes the technique and the recording levels), your written practice (which decides who may evaluate and sign), and the client specification (which often adds fields, formats or a required cover sheet). If they disagree, the client specification and the referencing code win. For surface methods on welds, PT and MT reports look similar but record different process controls; for volumetric methods, a PAUT or TOFD report needs the data file and scan plan that a manual UT report does not.

Why NDT reports get sent back

Client reviewers and Authorized Inspectors reject reports for a short list of reasons: no datum, so an indication cannot be found again; equipment named without serial numbers, so calibration cannot be traced; a result with no stated acceptance standard; "no recordable indications" with no recording level; a technician whose certificate had lapsed; and signatures missing or in the wrong order. The templates are built to make each of those visible before the report leaves the office. For more on this, read the NDT report format clients reject.

Report numbering, revisions and retention

A template is only half of a reporting system. The other half is how reports are numbered, revised and kept. A numbering scheme that includes the method and a running sequence (for example one sequence per method, per year) makes a missing report obvious and stops two technicians issuing the same number on the same day. Revisions should be explicit: if a report is corrected after issue, it is reissued with a new revision and the reason, and the superseded revision is kept, not overwritten.

Retention periods are set by the referencing code, the client contract and your quality system, and they differ: some codes set a minimum for radiographs and review forms, some clients require the full job file for the life of the asset, and your written practice sets how long personnel records are kept. Write the retention rule into your quality procedure and apply it to reports, raw data (films, PAUT and TOFD files, thickness logs), calibration records and certification records together, since an audit of one report will ask for all of them.

• One numbering sequence per method keeps gaps visible.
• Never edit an issued report in place; reissue with a revision and a reason.
• Keep raw data with the report it supports, under the same job reference.
• Keep the technician's certification and the instrument's calibration evidence traceable to the date of the examination.

Paper, spreadsheet or software

Paper forms are still normal on many sites, and a well-designed paper form is better than a badly designed app. Spreadsheets add sums and consistency but make it easy to overwrite the last good version. Software earns its place when report volume, the number of technicians, or client audit pressure makes retyping and manual checking the bottleneck. These templates work in all three: print them, rebuild them from the CSV, or use them as the specification for your report types in software.

Other free NDT templates

• NDT procedure template
• NDT written practice template (SNT-TC-1A)
• Calibration certificate template
• NDT daily progress report template
• NDT inspection checklist
• All resources and downloads

From templates to software

Templates fix the layout. What they cannot fix is the retyping: the same job, drawing, procedure, instrument and technician details on every report, and the manual check that the technician's certificate and the instrument's calibration were valid on the day. In Atlantis ERP, the NDT Reports app has 17 method-specific report types, captured in an offline field app with photos and signatures, reviewed and approved in a workflow, and issued in your own company format. Digital Twin Reporting then places the results on a 3D model of the asset.

To estimate the hours that could save, try the NDT software time-savings calculator, or ask for a demo using one of your own reports. Affordable. Accessible. Fully customizable. Quote on request.

Frequently asked questions

What should every NDT report include?

At minimum: a unique report number and revision, the date, the client and job references, the component and weld or area identification tied to a drawing revision, the procedure and revision, the equipment used, the personnel with method and level, the indications found with location and size, the acceptance standard, the result, and signatures. Each method adds its own technique data.

Are these templates code-approved?

No template is approved by a code on its own. The templates are laid out around the record and report requirements of ASME Section V and the ISO method standards, but your procedure, your written practice and your client specification decide what your report must contain.

Can I use these templates for ISO-based work?

Yes. Each page lists the ISO method standard and its companion acceptance standard, and the fields cover what those standards ask for. Change the acceptance-standard field to the one your contract names.

How do I get the editable Word or Excel version?

Use the request form on any template page. We send the editable file to the email you give, and nothing else is sent unless you ask.

Why move reports into software?

Because the same job, drawing, procedure, equipment and technician details are typed again on every report. In software they are entered once, the report goes through review and approval, and the issued PDF matches your company format.

Standards referenced

• ASME Section V Article 4 record and report items (T-492, T-493), summarised
• ASME Section V Article 4 overview
• ASME Section V Article 6 examination records (T-691, T-692)
• ASME Section V Article 7 examination records
• ASME Section V Article 2 T-291 technique details and T-292 review form (ndt.net forum)
• ASME Section V Article 9 report (T-991)
• ASME Section V Article 23 / SE-797 thickness measurement (ndt.net forum)
• ASTM E797/E797M-21
• ISO 17640:2018
• ISO 10863:2020
• ISO 13588:2019
• ISO 16809:2017
• ISO 3452-1:2021
• ISO 17638:2016
• ISO 17636-1:2022
• ISO 17636-2:2022
• ISO 17637:2016