EN ISO 9606 — Welder Qualification (Fusion Welding)
Qualification test certificates for welders in fusion welding to the EN ISO 9606 series — steels, aluminium, copper, nickel, and titanium and zirconium — one certificate per test piece, printed in English and Italian. Issued By CAS under its own authority, outside the EGAC accredited scope, with no EGAC or IAF mark.
Standard
EN ISO 9606-1, -2, -3, -4, -5
Service type
By CAS
Issued under
CAS — own authority
What it is
The EN ISO 9606 series sets the qualification test a welder takes to show the skill to make sound fusion welds in a given group of materials. The welder welds a test piece to a welding procedure specification (WPS or pWPS); the piece is examined and tested; and the variables of the test — welding process, product form (plate or pipe), type of weld, material group, filler, thickness, outside pipe diameter, welding position and weld details — define the range of qualification printed on the certificate. A welder qualified on one test piece is qualified only within that range.
Who needs it
Fabricators and manufacturers of steel structures, pressure equipment, piping and pipelines, ships and machinery, construction and maintenance contractors, and the welders they employ — as well as self-employed welders — wherever a code, a contract or a customer asks for welders qualified to EN ISO 9606.
Standards we certify against
EN ISO 9606-1:2017
Steels.
EN ISO 9606-2:2004
Aluminium and aluminium alloys.
EN ISO 9606-3:1999
Copper and copper alloys.
EN ISO 9606-4:1999
Nickel and nickel alloys.
EN ISO 9606-5:2000
Titanium and titanium alloys, zirconium and zirconium alloys.
Qualification test
The welder welds the test piece in the presence of an examiner approved by CAS. The examiner submits the test record with the reports of the visual testing and of the further tests the standard requires for that test piece — for example radiographic testing, bend tests, fracture tests or macroscopic examination — which may be carried out by a testing laboratory approved by CAS. CAS reviews the record and the reports, works out the range of qualification from the standard's own tables (the examiner may narrow it, never widen it) and issues one certificate for each test piece.
Validity and confirmation
Under EN ISO 9606-1 the qualification begins on the date the test piece was welded, and the method of revalidation is chosen at issue and printed on the certificate (clause 9.3): a) a new test every 3 years; b) every 2 years, two production welds made in the last 6 months of the period are tested by radiographic, ultrasonic or destructive testing; or c) validity for as long as it is confirmed, while the welder works for the manufacturer they qualified for, whose quality programme has been verified to ISO 3834-2 or ISO 3834-3 and who documents that the welder has produced welds of acceptable quality to the application standards. Under EN ISO 9606-2 to -5 the qualification is valid for 2 years and may be prolonged by the examiner for further 2-year periods on the evidence the standard lists. Under every part, the welder's work within the range of qualification is confirmed every 6 months; a qualification whose 6-month confirmation is missing lapses.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
Are CAS welder qualification certificates accredited?
No. CAS issues welder qualification certificates By CAS, under its own authority. They are outside CAS's EGAC accreditation, which covers ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, 22000, 50001 and 22301 management-system certification only, and they carry no EGAC or IAF mark. Where a regulation, code or contract requires the qualification to be issued by an accredited body or a notified body, a By CAS certificate does not meet that requirement. For pressure equipment of PED categories II, III and IV, the Pressure Equipment Directive requires the qualification to be approved by a competent third party — a notified body or a recognised third-party organisation — and for simple pressure vessels by a notified body; a By CAS certificate meets neither requirement, and validity method c) is not permitted for PED categories II to IV.
Does one test qualify a welder for every position and thickness?
No. Each certificate covers one test piece, and its range of qualification — positions, thicknesses, diameters, material groups, fillers and weld details — is the range the standard's tables give for that piece. Work outside the range needs another test and another certificate.
What does the certificate show, and how can it be checked?
It shows the welder's identification, the standard and its edition, the test piece and the range of qualification for each variable, the tests performed and their results, the date of welding, the validity and its 6-month confirmations, and the examiner who witnessed the test, in English and Italian. Anyone can check a certificate on CAS CertSearch by its number, which shows the holder's name, the scope and the validity only — no date of birth, identity number or photograph.
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