Dates
API 1169 exam dates, deadlines and fees for 2027
API 1169 exam dates for 2027 are three testing windows: April 9 to 30, 2027 (apply by February 4); August 6 to 27, 2027 (apply by June 4); December 3 to 24, 2027 (apply by September 30). An application filed today is for one of them, at $445 for members and $590 for non-members (initial certification, 2027 fee schedule). Every 2026 window is past its apply-by date. Dates and fees are API's, checked October 2026.
2027
2027 testing windows and application deadlines
API runs API 1169 in three windows a year, in spring, late summer and December, and each one stays open for about three weeks (22 days in 2027). You do not pick a day when you apply. You pick a window, and the deadline in the third column is the last day API takes the application for it.
| Window | Test dates | Apply by | Deadline to first test day |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2027 | April 9 to 30, 2027 | February 4, 2027 | 64 days |
| August 2027 | August 6 to 27, 2027 | June 4, 2027 | 63 days |
| December 2027 | December 3 to 24, 2027 | September 30, 2027 | 64 days |
The 2026 rows are here only so you can see the pattern hold from year to year. Every 2026 apply-by date has passed, so plan a new application for a 2027 window.
| Window | Test dates | Apply by | Status, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | April 10 to May 1, 2026 | February 6, 2026 | Apply-by date passed |
| August 2026 | August 7 to 28, 2026 | June 5, 2026 | Apply-by date passed |
| December 2026 | December 4 to 25, 2026 | October 2, 2026 | Apply-by date passed |
API 1169 exam cost: 2027 against 2026
Applying now means paying $445 for members and $590 for non-members (initial certification, 2027 fee schedule). The 2026 schedule was $435 for API members and $580 for non-members (initial certification, 2026 fee schedule), so a page that quotes $10 less than the table below is quoting the 2026 schedule. Source: API ICP: schedules and fees.
| Fee | Member, 2027 | Non-member, 2027 | Member, 2026 | Non-member, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial certification | $445 | $590 | $435 | $580 |
| Recertification | $315 | $445 | $310 | $435 |
| Reschedule application | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 |
| Late application | $200 | $200 | $200 | $200 |
The member discount is $145 in both schedules. Weigh it against what API membership costs you, not against the exam fee alone. The two change fees, a $200 reschedule application and a $200 late application fee, are API's and sit on the same page; the late fee is the one the trap above warns about. The Prometric move fees further down are a different ladder, charged by a different party.
Fees
Apply
How to apply and register
Registration for API 1169 is two transactions with two organizations, in this order. Most scheduling mistakes come from doing the second one in your head before the first is done.
Rule out the windows you cannot make
Strike any 2027 window whose deadline is too close to assemble your work history, and any whose three weeks clash with a job. What is left is usually one window, sometimes two.
Apply to API in the ICP Portal before the deadline
The application has to document your work history against one of API's five experience categories, and API verifies it. Those records take longest, so start them first. The categories and the full route are on how to become a pipeline inspector.
Wait for API to accept the application
Nothing can be booked until API has reviewed and accepted it. Use the gap to start drilling rather than waiting on email: the free practice test works from day one.
Book the seat with Prometric
Once accepted, you pick a test center and a day inside your window. Book early: the window is only 22 days long, and the move-fee clock starts from the seat date you choose.
Sit the exam and watch two inboxes
You get a score report from Prometric within 24 hours. Certificates are issued digitally (since June 2025), with results in the ICP Portal in about 3 business days, per API as of October 2026.
Testing locations: Prometric centers only
API 1169 is delivered in person, on computer, at a Prometric test center; API 1169 is not offered with remote proctoring. You choose the center when you book, from those Prometric lists for API exams. At the center the listed CFR parts and the FERC procedures come up on screen as PDFs you cannot search; the exam format page covers how to work with them.
Picking a center
- Rule out centers by seat availability inside your window first, distance second. A closer center with no seats left is not an option.
- Check the drive at the time of day you are booked. Arriving rushed costs you the first questions, which count the same as the last.
- Book the first acceptable seat, then decide whether to move it. Moving early is free; searching late is not.
Prometric
Moves
Moving a seat, missing a window
Once you hold a seat, Prometric runs the changes, and the price depends only on how far ahead you move. The ladder is API's description of Prometric's rules; see API ICP: scheduling exams.
| When you move the seat | Prometric fee |
|---|---|
| 60 or more days before the seat | Free |
| 30 to 60 days before | $35 |
| 5 to 29 days before | $70 |
| Inside 5 days | No move allowed |
| To a different window | Not through Prometric |
Do this one on a calendar. A seat on April 9, 2027, the first day of the spring window, can be moved free only until February 8: 4 days after the application deadline, possibly before API has even accepted your application. If you want room to move, take a seat later in the window.
Prometric moves your seat inside a window. Anything that crosses a window, a retake or a no-show is API's, on API's terms.
That split is the same distractor pattern the exam uses: the right fact from the wrong document. When you read a fee, ask whose page it came from before you trust it. On the API side, how long an application stays valid and what a retake costs are set on API's policies page, which changes; read it there before you book: API ICP: policies. Third-party pages disagree with API's own page on how long an application lasts, so take that number from API only.
Work backward from the deadline
Pick the window, then read the calendar right to left. Every step below is anchored to a date in the 2027 table, so nothing depends on a promise to start studying soon.
Deadline minus a few weeks: paperwork
Experience letters, certificates that count toward your category, employer contacts. This is the step that slips, and slipping it costs a whole window.
Deadline: application filed
File with days to spare, not hours. The next deadline after February 4 is June 4, 2027, and nothing sits between them.
Deadline to window: drill
The gap of about 9 weeks is study time nobody can take from you. Work through the study guide by category, then switch to full mixed sets.
Window: the sitting
Your seat date fixes the move fees from here on; leave it alone unless something real comes up.
Before you move on
- Plan on 2027: the next apply-by date is February 4, 2027.
- Budget the 2027 fee, $445 member or $590 non-member, not the 2026 one.
- API owns the application and the window; Prometric owns the seat and the day.
- Book early in the process, late in the window, if you want free moves.
Plan
FAQ
Dates, fees and seats: questions people ask
When is the next API 1169 exam?
The next window is April 9 to 30, 2027, and API takes applications for it until February 4, 2027 (API, checked October 2026). The other two 2027 windows are August 6 to 27, 2027 and December 3 to 24, 2027, with deadlines of June 4, 2027 and September 30, 2027; see API ICP: schedules and fees.
How much does it cost to take the API 1169 exam?
$445 for members and $590 for non-members (initial certification, 2027 fee schedule), per API as of October 2026. The 2026 schedule was $435 for members and $580 for non-members. Prometric seat moves are extra and depend on how close to the seat you move. Check API ICP: schedules and fees before you pay.
Where can I take the API 1169 test?
API 1169 is delivered in person, on computer, at a Prometric test center, with no remote sitting. You choose the center when you book your seat, after API accepts the application.
What happens if I miss my window or need to change my date?
Inside the window, Prometric can move the seat: free moves 60 or more days out, $35 at 30 to 60 days, $70 at 5 to 29 days, no moves inside 5 days, and no moving to another window once scheduled, per API as of October 2026. Missing the window, failing, or switching windows goes back to API. How long an application stays valid and what a retake costs are set on API's policies page, which changes; read it there before you book: API ICP: policies.
End of the spread: keep ruling answers out
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