API 570 Recertification Requirements Explained (2025)

ByDuane Angell

Your API 570 certification doesn’t renew itself. Whether you’re a piping inspector with years in the field or just hit your first recertification cycle, understanding the API 570 recertification requirements before your deadline is the difference between a smooth renewal and a very expensive retake. Here’s everything you need to know.

API 570 Certification: A Quick Orientation

API 570 is the certification for Piping Inspectors under the American Petroleum Institute’s Individual Certification Program (API ICP). It covers in-service inspection, repair, alteration, and rerating of metallic and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) piping systems. Certification is valid for three years, after which you must recertify to remain credentialed.

API 570 Recertification Requirements

API ICP offers two paths to recertify your API 570:

  • CPD Pathway: Accumulate required Continuing Professional Development hours and maintain qualifying work experience
  • Re-examination Pathway: Retake and pass the full API 570 exam

The vast majority of active inspectors use the CPD pathway. Here’s what it requires:

CPD Hour Requirements

  • 24 total CPD hours over the 3-year certification cycle
  • Minimum 8 CPD hours per year – this annual minimum is enforced, not just the 3-year total
  • Hours must come from qualifying activities relevant to piping inspection

Experience Requirement

You must remain employed in a role that involves piping inspection or a directly related field during your certification cycle. Inspectors who step fully away from relevant work for extended periods may face additional scrutiny at recertification time. If your employment situation changes significantly, review the current API ICP guidelines for specifics.

What Counts as Qualifying CPD for API 570?

CPD hours for API 570 recertification must relate to piping inspection and the technical domains covered by the certification. Qualifying topic areas include:

  • Piping inspection codes and standards (API 570, ASME B31.3)
  • Corrosion and damage mechanisms (API 571)
  • Nondestructive testing – UT, RT, MT, PT, VT, and advanced methods
  • Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) methodology – API 580/581
  • Welding and repair procedures for piping systems
  • Mechanical integrity program management
  • Fitness-for-service evaluations (API 579)
  • Pressure relief systems and safe design principles

Structured online courses with a passing final exam are a fully accepted CPD format – and for most active piping inspectors, the most practical one.

The API 570 Recertification Process: Step by Step

Step 1 – Verify Your Certification Dates

Log into the API ICP portal and pull up your current certification record. Note your issue date and expiration date. Your three-year cycle starts at issuance – not at exam date, not at the date on your certificate in the frame on the wall. Confirm this in the system.

Step 2 – Track Your Annual Hours

Build a simple tracking log. You need 8 hours in year one, 8 in year two, and 8 in year three. Earning 16 hours in year two and 8 in year three doesn’t satisfy year one’s requirement retroactively. Consistent annual accumulation is the cleanest path.

Step 3 – Take Qualifying Training

Choose courses that cover API 570 knowledge domains. Online structured learning – courses with final exams and certificates – counts for your full 24 hours if you want it to. You don’t need to travel to a classroom.

Step 4 – Maintain Your Documentation

For each CPD activity, keep:

  • Certificate of completion or official attendance record
  • Provider name and course description
  • CPD hours claimed
  • Completion date

API ICP may audit your records. Keep documentation for a minimum of 3 years after the certification cycle ends. Digital backups are your friend.

Step 5 – Submit Your Application

Submit your recertification application through the API ICP portal before your certification expiration date. Late applications are not guaranteed to be processed, and an expired API 570 means starting the exam process from scratch – a scenario no working piping inspector wants.

Step 6 – Complete the Web Quiz at the Six-Year Mark

At every second recertification cycle (every six years), you must also complete the API ICP Web Quiz. This is a knowledge-based online assessment on current standards and is required for renewal at that milestone. Plan ahead for it if you’re approaching year six.

API 570 Recertification: Key Deadlines to Know

  • Certification cycle: 3 years from issue date
  • Annual CPD minimum: 8 hours per certification year
  • Application window: Submit before expiration – no grace period
  • Web quiz requirement: Every 6 years (every other recertification)
  • Record retention: 3 years after cycle end

Frequently Asked Questions

Can online courses satisfy all of my API 570 CPD requirements?

Yes. Structured online learning with a final exam and passing score is a fully qualifying CPD format under API ICP rules. You can satisfy your entire 24-hour requirement through online courses if they cover qualifying topics.

What happens if I miss the annual 8-hour minimum?

The annual minimum exists per certification year. If you miss a year and try to make it up in subsequent years, your total may hit 24 but you’ll still be short for the year you missed. This can cause complications when you submit your application. Stay on track annually.

Does attending industry conferences count for CPD?

Attending qualifying conferences and technical sessions can count as CPD hours. You’ll need documentation from the event – a certificate of attendance and a description of the technical content. Keep that paperwork.

Can I hold both API 510 and API 570 and count the same hours for both?

Some CPD activities may be relevant to multiple certifications, but you should review API ICP’s current policy on this. The safest approach is to treat each certification’s CPD requirements separately unless ICP explicitly permits sharing of hours for a given activity.

Keep Your API 570 Active – Start Earning CPD Hours Now

The inspectors who stress the least about recertification are the ones who treat CPD as an ongoing habit, not a last-minute sprint. Eight hours a year isn’t much – that’s roughly one or two solid online courses.

Explore API 570-qualifying CPD courses at Integrity Inspector Academy. We offer courses on corrosion and damage mechanisms, NDT methods, RBI, and more – all relevant to piping inspection and designed for working inspectors who don’t have time to waste.

Your credential is too hard-earned to let it lapse. Stay current, stay credentialed.