Read the official calendar
API runs the piping inspector exam in windows rather than on a single day, and the calendar published with the certification programme lists each window alongside its application deadline. The same document usually carries the fee schedule, so one page answers both the when and the how much.
- The exam calendar is published by API with the certification programme.
- Each window carries its own application deadline, earlier than the window.
- The fee schedule is usually published with the same calendar.
- Appointments inside a window are booked through Prometric.
Apply and arrange the test
Registration happens in two moves with two owners. You apply to API, which checks your eligibility and approves you for a window. Once approved, you arrange the appointment with Prometric, which runs the test centres and sets the rules for the room.
Read those rules before the day rather than at the door: identification, arrival time, what you cannot bring, and how the applicable documents are made available on screen. They come from Prometric and from the API candidate instructions, and they change independently of anything we publish.
Availability by location#
A window being open does not mean a seat is free near you. Centre capacity varies by city and the convenient slots go first, so book as soon as your approval allows. If you work a rotation or offshore, confirm with Prometric which locations are realistic before you commit to a window.
Plan backwards
Pick the window first
Pick the window first, then build the preparation towards it. Working back from the appointment: a diagnostic session to find your weak domains, blocks of study on those domains with practice between them, then timed mock exams in the final stretch.
Leave the last block light
Leave the last block light. Candidates who schedule their heaviest study for the week of the exam arrive tired, and fatigue costs more marks in the open-book section than one more read of a code chapter earns. What no plan can give you is a number of weeks: that depends on your starting point and the hours you can protect.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next API 570 exam?#
API publishes the current windows and their application deadlines with the certification programme on api.org. We do not list dates here on purpose: they change per cycle, and a date copied into a preparation page goes stale without anyone noticing.
How far ahead should I apply?#
Early enough to clear the application deadline comfortably, because employer confirmation of your experience is usually the slow part. The deadline falls before the window opens, so count back from it rather than from the exam.
Do I choose my exam day?#
Within limits. API approves you for a window; you then book an appointment inside it with Prometric, subject to the capacity of the centre you choose. Convenient slots go early.
Can I change my appointment?#
There are official rules for rescheduling, with their own deadlines and possible charges, published by API and Prometric. Read them before you need them, and act as soon as you know your dates have moved.