Exam
The API 1169 exam, explained: format, references and scoring
The API 1169 test is 115 multiple-choice questions, of which 100 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest items, answered in 3 hours on a computer at a Prometric center. The format is mostly single-answer multiple choice; API says alternative item types (drag-and-drop, ordered response, multiple response, matching) are being introduced gradually across its certification exams. What decides most results is not the format but one skill: knowing, from the four answers alone, whether a question is a look-up on the screen or a call you make from memory.
Format
The API 1169 exam at a glance
- Questions
- 115 multiple-choice questions, of which 100 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest items
- Time
- 3 hours
- Delivery
- in person, on computer, at a Prometric test center; API 1169 is not offered with remote proctoring
- Scoring
- a scaled score from 200 to 500, with 400 needed to pass; the raw cut can differ between exam forms
- Score report
- a score report from Prometric within 24 hours
API 1169 exam format. Source: API 1169 Body of Knowledge (PDF), API ICP: scheduling exams; checked October 2026.
Two details change how you work. First, the 15 pretest items look exactly like the scored ones, so there is no question you can safely skim: each one gets the same read-the-answers-first treatment. Second, the item shape. Nearly everything you meet is one stem and four options, and four options is the shape elimination is built for: strike two on scope, then split the last pair on a single word or number.
Is the API 1169 exam open book?
No, and not quite closed either. You bring nothing into the room, but part of the reference library is handed to you on screen. API's rule: the exam is closed book (no personal notes or books), with the listed parts of 49 CFR 192 and 195, 29 CFR 1910 and 1926, 50 CFR 21 Subpart B and the FERC Wetland and Waterbody Procedures (May 2013), or the Canadian equivalents, shown as on-screen PDFs without Ctrl+F search; a calculator and scratch paper are provided.
| Reference | During the exam | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Listed parts of 49 CFR 192 (gas) and 49 CFR 195 (liquid) | On screen, PDF | Look the number up; spend your memory on where each rule sits |
| Listed parts of 29 CFR 1910 and 1926 (OSHA) | On screen, PDF | Trench, ladder and fall-protection figures can be checked, not guessed |
| 50 CFR 21 Subpart B and the FERC Wetland and Waterbody Procedures | On screen, PDF | Waterbody classes, setbacks and revegetation tests are on the page |
| API RP 1169, RP 1110, Spec Q1, CGA Best Practices, INGAA CS-S-9, API 1104 or CSA Z662 | Not shown | Closed book: roles, sequences and acceptance rules from memory |
The closed-book list, with editions, is API RP 1169 (2nd ed., 2020), API RP 1110 (7th ed., 2022, appendices excluded), API Spec Q1 (10th ed., Sections 3 to 5), CGA Best Practices, INGAA CS-S-9 Pressure Testing Safety Guidelines (2018), and either API Std 1104 (22nd ed., Sections 3 to 11) or CSA Z662:23 (listed chapters), per API as of October 2026; check it against API 1169 effectivity sheet (PDF) before you buy anything. Look-up items are a minority of the exam. Most questions test judgement drawn from RP 1169: who verifies, who performs, what happens first, when the inspector escalates.
Read the four answers before the stem
Units and wording tell you which document you need. Four depths in inches point to a cover table; four inspector actions point to RP 1169, which is not on screen.
Strike two before you open a PDF
There is no Ctrl+F, so every scroll costs time. Remove the options from the wrong pipeline type and the ones that describe the contractor's job, not yours.
Open the reference for the last pair only
With two values left you are looking for one line in one section. Find it, pick, and close the PDF.
Refs
US/CA
US or Canadian references
You may work from US or Canadian references; questions target the content the two overlap on, and items marked 'according to OSHA' are answerable only from 29 CFR 1910/1926. In practice that gives you a clean elimination rule. When the stem opens with "according to OSHA", every option that would need a Canadian provincial rule or a company specification is out, and the answer lives in the listed parts of 29 CFR 1910 or 1926 on your screen.
Which editions: the effectivity sheet
API names exact editions on the effectivity sheet for exams from December 2026 to August 2027. That sheet, not a training vendor's list, decides what you study (API 1169 effectivity sheet (PDF)). A code that is not on it never carries a question on its own, which makes it a fast strike when it shows up in an option. The study guide lays the sheet out document by document.
One caution if you are aiming late: the December 2027 window falls after the period this sheet covers, so check whether API has issued the next effectivity sheet before you settle on editions for that sitting.
EKS
5 categories
What the 115 questions cover
The exam draws on five main categories: inspection and management knowledge areas, front-end construction, installation construction, back-end construction and post-construction; at least one question comes from each, and API publishes no weights. The chart is our estimate of each category's share, built from the Body of Knowledge; it is not API's weighting. The first category, inspection and management, is the largest by our estimate, and it is where the role questions live: the inspector observes, verifies and documents, the contractor performs the work. The inspection and management guide works through it.
- 1. Inspection & management35–45%
- 2. Front-end construction8–12%
- 3. Installation construction25–36%
- 4. Back-end construction15–22%
- 5. Post-construction3–10%
How API 1169 is scored
You receive a scaled score from 200 to 500, with 400 needed to pass. The scale exists because forms differ: one form may carry a slightly harder set of items than another, and the scaled score lets API hold every candidate to the same standard. That is why no fixed count of correct answers, and no percentage, converts into a pass. Read the rule on API ICP: scheduling exams.
| Point on the scale | Score |
|---|---|
| Lowest reportable | 200 |
| Pass | 400 |
| Highest | 500 |
The pass mark is a point on a scale, not a percentage of questions. Treat every item as if it counts, because you cannot tell which 15 do not.
Score
Prometric
Test day at Prometric
There is no remote option, so plan on travel to a test center (Prometric runs the sites). Personal notes and books stay outside; the calculator and scratch paper you use are provided.
Book inside your window
API approves you for a testing window, and you then book a seat with Prometric. Anyone applying now sits a 2027 window: 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), per API as of October 2026; see API ICP: schedules and fees. The 2026 comparison, fees and Prometric's rules for moving a seat are on the exam dates page.
Sit the three hours
Work in passes: answer what you can place on sight, return to items where you have already struck two, and leave the PDFs for the pairs that need them.
Read the results
Expect a score report from Prometric within 24 hours. After that, certificates are issued digitally (since June 2025), with results in the ICP Portal in about 3 business days. The certificate is valid for 3 years; the recertification page covers renewal.
Four management items to try
These come from the inspection and management category. One is a look-up from the FERC procedures you would have on screen; the other three are closed-book conduct calls from RP 1169, where two options describe somebody else's job. Read the answers first and find which is which. The full set is on the API 1169 practice test.
Press × to strike an answer you have ruled out, then pick from what is left. Keys: A–D or 1–4 pick, Shift+1–4 strikes. The verdict, the reasoning and a note on every option open in place.
Category 1 · Inspection & management4 questions
Q 01Cat 1 · Inspection & management
Under the FERC Procedures, wetland revegetation is successful when vegetative cover is at least ___ of the cover in adjacent undisturbed wetland.
Q 02Cat 1 · Inspection & management
At the pre-job meeting, which item should the inspector and contractor agree on in advance?
Q 03Cat 1 · Inspection & management
A coating crew plans to keep coating field joints after the inspector's usual quitting time. What should the inspector do?
Q 04Cat 1 · Inspection & management
An inspector learns that a close relative owns the NDT subcontractor on the spread. The inspector should:
Drill
FAQ
API 1169 exam questions people ask
How many questions are on the API 1169 exam?
115 multiple-choice questions, of which 100 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest items, with 3 hours to finish. You cannot tell the pretest items from the scored ones.
Is the API 1169 exam open book?
Not for your own material: notes and books stay outside. The listed parts of 49 CFR 192 and 195, 29 CFR 1910 and 1926, 50 CFR 21 and the FERC procedures appear on screen as PDFs you cannot search with Ctrl+F. RP 1169, RP 1110, API 1104 and the rest are closed book.
What is the passing score for API 1169?
400 on a scale from 200 to 500. The number of correct answers behind it can change from one exam form to the next, so there is no fixed percentage.
What is the API 1169 pass rate?
API does not publish one, and the figures that circulate online cite no source. The useful number is the scaled pass mark, explained above.
Can I take the API 1169 exam online?
No. API does not offer API 1169 with remote proctoring; you sit it on a computer at a Prometric test center.
How long does it take to get API 1169 results?
A score report from Prometric within 24 hours. Then certificates are issued digitally (since June 2025), with results in the ICP Portal in about 3 business days, per API as of October 2026.
What does API 1169 stand for?
API is the American Petroleum Institute, which runs the certification. 1169 is the number of API Recommended Practice 1169, on inspection of new pipeline construction, the document most of the exam is built on.
What does an API 1169 inspector do?
Acts for the pipeline owner on non-financial matters: observes, verifies, witnesses, documents and reports, and escalates when work departs from the specification. The contractor performs the work and the tests. Inspectors certified under API 510, 570 or 653 do a different job, inspecting vessels, piping and tanks already in service.
How do you become API 1169 certified?
Qualify on experience, apply to API for a testing window, book Prometric once approved, and reach 400 on the scaled score. The certificate then runs 3 years before renewal.
What is the API standard for pipeline inspection?
For new construction it is API RP 1169, backed on welding by API Std 1104 (or CSA Z662 in Canada). In-service process piping falls under API 570, a separate certification.
Which API exam is the hardest?
API publishes no pass rates, so no ranking holds up. API 1169 is hard in its own way: it covers every construction phase from survey to turnover, and its look-up items reward knowing where a rule sits in an unsearchable PDF. Try the practice test to see where you stand.
End of the spread: keep ruling answers out
END