Standards and qualification
WPS, WPQR, EN ISO 9606, EN 1090 — what a welder certificate actually covers.
The section about the paperwork that decides whether your weld counts. Three documents come up most often and they are routinely confused.
The WPS is the instruction for one joint: process, material, thickness, consumable, parameters, position, run sequence. The technologist issues it and the welder works to it. The WPQR is the report proving that instruction was tested to EN ISO 15614. The EN ISO 9606 certificate is a document about a person, not a procedure: it says which joints that welder is entitled to make.
The point to absorb early: a qualification does not license you to weld "anything". It defines a range — process, material group, thickness, diameter, position. Working outside that range means the joint was formally made by an unqualified welder, with everything that implies at handover.
All of it is European. EN ISO 9606-1 is a European standard, and a certificate from an accredited body in one member state is valid in the rest.
- WPS, pWPS and WPQR What a WPS contains, how it relates to the pWPS and the WPQR, and why a welder should be able to read one without help.
- Test to EN ISO 9606 How the qualification test runs: the test piece, the examinations, what the certificate code means and how long it stays valid.
- Qualifications in Poland Who issues welder certificates in Poland, what a course costs and how long it takes, and how certificates from abroad are recognised.
Frequently asked questions
How does a WPS differ from a welder qualification?
The WPS qualifies the procedure, the certificate qualifies the person. The WPS says how a particular joint is to be welded: material, consumable, parameters, preheat. The certificate says that this welder can weld within a given range. Both are needed, every time.
How long is a welder certificate valid?
Three years, provided the employer confirms every six months that the welder has been working within the range. A missed confirmation ends it early, and that is the most common reason a certificate turns out to be invalid.
Is a certificate from one EU country valid in another?
Yes. EN ISO 9606-1 is a European standard and a certificate from an accredited body works across the Union. Procedure qualification and factory production control stay with the manufacturer and do not travel with the welder.