Exam Result
Number of Exam Questions
There are 170 questions in the core exams, of which only 140 are scored.
The remaining 30 are pre-test questions and not marked towards your score, meaning these pre-test questions do not affect your score whether you have answered them correctly or incorrectly. API does not tell you which ones these questions are.
The reason for these non scored pre-test questions is that API frequently adds up new questions to their existing question bank.
API needs to ensure that these questions are not significantly challenged by the candidates and also answered by a reasonable number of people before adding them to their question bank as scored questions.
Exam Result
Immediately, after completion of the exam, you shall receive an email notifying you whether you have passed or failed. Your preliminary exam result may be a ’’preliminary pass’’ which is normally a pass; a ‘’Preliminary Marginal’’ which is too close to call or a ‘’Preliminary Not Pass’’ which is a fail.
API Exam comes with Instant Final Scoring
As of April 2024; all candidates appearing for API exam shall receive confirmed score maximum within 24 hours after exam from prometric.
That is not all.
Candidates shall also receive their downloadable certificate in their API account within 3 working days.
You shall then receive your hard copy of certificate card by post within 2-4 weeks. In the meantime, you can dowload your card and cerificate from your API account within 3 business days after you passed the exam.
This is a huge difference of previously waiting for final score for upto 8 weeks and another 8 weeks to receive your certificate. To read more, click on link:
Instant Scoring
Certification & Recertification; and Cost
API 510 certification is valid for a three-year term and cost USD 1125 $ each.
After 3 years, you need to apply for recertification demonstrating that you still work as an API 510 inspector for 20% of the time. Recertification cost USD 855 $.
You may apply for recertification 90 days prior to the certification expiration date, and for a 90-day grace period after. If an application is not submitted by the end of the 90-day grace period, the certification will expire. A new application and the full fee must be submitted, and you will need to pass the full version of the examination in order to be recertified.
Late application fee for both new certification and recertification is 200 $.
API inspectors are required to take an on-line, open-book quiz every six years in order to recertify.
Each quiz has 25 questions that address the changes in the relevant API codes over the past six years.
You have a total of four hours or 240 minutes to complete the quiz, and it may be paused or interrupted up to two times.
If you fail the quiz once, you will be able to take it again. If you fail the quiz a second time, you will not be able to recertify. You will need to submit a new application and take the full version of the exam to certify again.
Area of examination scores
Below please find a sample score sheet showing the maximum number of score you could achieve for each area. This should give you a fair idea of importance and weightage of each area of knowledge.
Content Area Maximum Score
Scope and General Application of 570 5
Damage Mechanisms 15
Repairs 15
NDE 15
Welding 15
Design 10
Planning 20
Inspection and Testing Practices 15
Pressure Relief Devices 5
Data Evaluation 20
Roles and Responsibilities 5
Total Score 140
Typical Score Card
Click to go to:
All you need to know about API 570 Piping Inspector Exam – YouTube
API 570 Piping Inspector; Training Course Introduction – YouTube
API 570 Piping Inspector Examination – Basic Facts – YouTube
Exam Tips
Thickness Calculations: Round to the third decimal place, and don’t round-up/down. The right answer will be far apart from the wrong answers so as not to pose a problem.
Example #1) “.0075” – is “.007” – (same as on test).
Example #2) “.0993” – is “.099” – (may be shown as “0.100” on test).
Example #3) “.9998” – is “.999” – (may be shown as “1.00” on test).
Example #4) “239.3 psi” – is “239 psi” (same as test).
Example #5) “1007.9 psi” – is “1007 psi” – (may be shown as “1008 psi” on test).
Example #6) “999.99 psi” – is “999 psi” – (may be shown as “1,000 psi” on test).
Since both metric and US units are used; sometimes, the data are given in inches or foot but the multi choice answer is in mm or meter. So, be careful on unit conversion.
API Exam NEVER uses the following type of answers:
All of the above
Both A & B
None of the above
A lot of questions are derived from basics; definitions, meaning, scope, exclusions.
Try using the PDF copy of reference documents as much as possible when solving open book questions; it helps navigate through documents more easily during the exam.
Sitting for an exam can be stressful specially for such day long gruesome exam, so, try to sleep early the night before and stop reading on the exam day; just peruse the important parts of the reference documents or look at the figures and charts for around half an hour maximum. Let your brain rest. You need to be alert and full of energy to endure the day long core exam.
Significant number of questions is aimed at verifying your comprehension of principles and theory, so try to understand the basics rather than simply memorizing the numbers as it would be of little help. Remember, API does not normally want you to memorize the numbers or formulas during the closed book examinations unless extensively used in the industry, is of everyday use or specifically mentioned in the body of knowledge. During the remaining modules, we shall show you which figures you may need to remember.
Some questions include irrelevant information that might look confusing. API wants to verify that you can differentiate between the relevant and non relevant information. The trick is to understand the question (what is wanted) and then look at the relevant formula to find out what information is required to calculate the answer. Make a quick list of known and unknown parameters dismissing the irrelevant information; then simply use the formula to solve the equation.
Pay particular attention to charts, tables, figures, and also the footnotes within the reference books and try to understand the rationale. We shall explain major tables, chart and figures and shall point out those important footnotes during our e-learning course and classroom trainings.
During open book examination, if you can’t find a topic within a code, look at the table of content, the list of figures and the list of tables, if you still can’t find it within 1-2 minutes; then flag it off, make a note of question number on the paper and go to next question; there is high chance of encountering the topic when looking for other topics on subsequent questions in which case you can go back to the flagged off question and solve it within seconds.
More exam tips are discussed during other modules and also the classroom trainings if you have opted for the blended package.
During the exam, you can increase your chances of choosing the correct answer by eliminating the obvious wrong answers. To eliminate the wrong answers, hold the mouse on the answer you think is wrong and right click, it will cross it helping you to concentrate on the remaining possible answers. You can challenge any question you may wish by writing on its comment sheet but please note that the clock keeps running so you shall be spending from your allocated time.