How to Get Your Welding Certificates Recognised in Europe (2026)

The most common question experienced welders ask about Europe is not about visas - it is about paperwork: 'I have ten years of experience and AWS (or national) certificates. Will Europe accept them?' The honest answer: usually not directly, but requalifying is a solved, routine process, and understanding it puts you ahead of most candidates.

The European system in a nutshell

European industry qualifies welders to EN ISO 9606-1 (steels; other parts cover aluminium and more). A 9606 certificate is specific to:

• Process: 111 (stick/MMA), 135 (MAG solid wire), 136 (flux-cored), 141 (TIG) and others.
• Material group, thickness and pipe diameter ranges.
• Positions: PA, PB, PF (vertical-up), PE (overhead), H-L045 (fixed pipe 45 degrees - the 6G equivalent, which covers the rest).

On top sit application standards: EN 1090 for structural steel (execution classes), the Pressure Equipment Directive for pressure pipework, and classification societies (DNV, Lloyd's, Bureau Veritas) for marine work. Employers do not ask 'are you certified' - they ask 'which process, which positions, which material group, who witnessed it, and is it still valid'.

Why AWS and other foreign papers do not transfer automatically

AWS D1.1 or ASME IX qualifications are respected as evidence of skill, but European fabrication codes require qualification under the European system, usually witnessed by an accredited examiner or notified body. The same applies to most national certificates from outside Europe. There is no formal 'conversion' - you take a European test. The good news: for a genuinely skilled welder, the test is a formality of an afternoon, and your foreign papers help employers decide to invest in testing you.

How and where to requalify

• Through an employer: the most common path - many European employers test candidates in-house and then arrange the official 9606 exam with a certification body. Ask about this in interviews; it signals professionalism, not weakness.
• At a testing body yourself: TUV branches, national welding institutes (SLV in Germany, the Lukasiewicz institute network in Poland, IIS in Italy and others) and accredited private centres run exams. Costs vary by country - testing in Poland, Romania or the Baltics is markedly cheaper than in Germany or Scandinavia, and certificates are equally valid EU-wide, which is why many welders qualify in Central Europe first.
• Via training centres: if you need to add a process (say TIG root work), short courses ending in a 9606 exam exist across Europe, including EWF/IIW-affiliated schools.

Validity - the trap that catches people

A 9606 certificate is not forever. Confirmation of validity typically works in six-month cycles (your employer or examiner confirms you kept welding in the qualified range), with revalidation or retesting after two to three years depending on the confirmation regime chosen. An expired certificate means retesting - so keep signed weld logs and employer confirmations, and bring every original document plus certified translations when you move country.

Practical checklist before applying to European jobs

• List your processes in EN numbers (111/135/136/141), not just trade names.
• State positions in EN codes (PF, PE, H-L045) and material groups.
• Scan certificates, weld logs and employer references; get English translations.
• Be upfront about what is expired - and willing to test on arrival.

What a test day actually looks like

A 9606 exam is not a mystery. You weld one or more test pieces - typically a plate or pipe in the positions you want qualified - under the eye of an examiner, following a written procedure. The pieces then go to visual inspection and, depending on the scope, bending, fracture or radiographic testing. Book a practice day beforehand if you have been off the tools, bring your own tested helmet if allowed, and ask the centre in advance which filler metals and machines they stock so nothing surprises you at the bench.

Recognition of formal vocational diplomas (for permit purposes, as in Norway or Germany's Anerkennung) is a separate, parallel track from welder qualification - see our EU work permits and visas guide for that side. This article is general information, not legal or certification advice: confirm requirements with the certification body or the national authority in your target country, and never pay anyone who promises 'certificate conversion' without a real, witnessed test - and never pay for a job offer either.

Employers on Workuro search by exactly these details - process, position, validity. Create your free profile, list your certificates precisely, and let employers contact you directly - free, no credit card. Create your free profile today.