ASNT-CP-189: ASNT Standard for Qualification and Certification
Standard for NDT personnel qualification and certification in the United States. ASNT-CP-189 defines training, experience, and examination requirements for Level 1, 2, and 3 certifications.
The American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) publishes the personnel qualification and certification framework (SNT-TC-1A, CP-189) that almost every U.S. employer-based NDT program follows.
ASNT recommended practices are not law but become contractually binding the moment they are cited by a customer specification or referenced by a code such as ASME Section V.
ASNT-CP-189 is invoked when the scope of work matches its title — asnt standard for qualification and certification — and when the contract or regulatory regime cites it as the controlling document.
Methods covered
Industries
- All Industries
- Personnel qualification: examinations under ASNT-CP-189 must be performed by inspectors qualified and certified to a recognised scheme (typically ASNT SNT-TC-1A, CP-189, or ISO 9712 depending on jurisdiction), with documented training hours, vision tests, and a controlling written practice.
- Written procedure: every examination requires a written, controlled procedure that names the method, equipment, calibration steps, scanning pattern, and acceptance criteria — and is qualified before first use.
- Acceptance criteria: indications are evaluated against the standard's tabulated limits (length, depth, alignment, frequency); any indication exceeding the criteria is recorded, dispositioned, and either repaired or evaluated for fitness-for-service.
- Documentation: examination reports must include enough information for a third party to reproduce the inspection — equipment serial numbers, calibration records, inspector ID, sketches of indications, and the controlling procedure revision.
- Latest Edition
- ANSI/ASNT CP-189-2020
- First Published
- 1989
- Scope
- Standard for qualification and certification of NDT personnel — the *standard* form of SNT-TC-1A's recommended practice (mandatory language, employer-based).
- Acceptance Criteria
- Pass mark per part ≥ 70%, composite ≥ 80%; recertification 5-year cycle.
- Calibration / Qualification
- Vision Jaeger #2 + colour annual; experience hours documented per Annex A; Level III via ASNT NDT Level III certificate.
Key Clauses Inspectors Cite
- Sec. 6 — Levels of qualification
- Sec. 7 — Education, training, experience
- Sec. 8 — Examinations
- Sec. 9 — Certification
- Sec. 10 — Recertification
Companion / Parent Standards
ASNT SNT-TC-1A (recommended practice) · ANSI/ASNT CP-105 (topical outlines) · ISO 9712 (third-party comparison)
Sample Contract Language
“All NDT personnel shall be qualified and certified per ANSI/ASNT CP-189-2020, Level II minimum, in the applicable method.”
ASNT-CP-189 is maintained on its publishing organisation's revision cycle. The version cited in any contract or written inspection program should be tracked so that revisions can be reviewed against the existing inspection plan and any clause changes worked into the next procedure update.
On a typical All Industries job, ASNT-CP-189 is reproduced inside the inspection company's written procedure, the procedure is qualified for the customer, and each examination report cites the procedure revision back to the controlling clause of the standard.
What does ASNT-CP-189 cover?
ASNT-CP-189 (ASNT Standard for Qualification and Certification) is published by ASNT (American Society for Nondestructive Testing). Standard for NDT personnel qualification and certification in the United States.
Is ASNT-CP-189 mandatory or voluntary?
ASNT-CP-189 is a consensus standard. It becomes mandatory when invoked by a contract, by another code that cites it (for example ASME Section V calling out an ASTM practice), or by a regulator that has adopted it into law in a specific jurisdiction.
Who is qualified to perform inspections under ASNT-CP-189?
Inspections under ASNT-CP-189 must be performed by personnel qualified and certified to a recognised NDT certification scheme — most commonly ASNT SNT-TC-1A or CP-189 in the United States, ISO 9712 in much of the rest of the world, and NAS 410 for aerospace work. The written practice that controls qualification must be in place before any examination is started.
Which other standards are commonly cited alongside ASNT-CP-189?
ASNT-CP-189 is most often cited together with the parent code that brings it into the contract — typically ASME Section V or VIII for U.S. pressure equipment, AWS D1.1 for structural welding, API 510/570/653 for in-service petroleum equipment, or the matching EN/ISO standard for European and international work.
Standard Code
ASNT-CP-189
Organization
ASNT (American Society for Nondestructive Testing)
Methods Covered
1 method(s)
Industries
1 sector(s)
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