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National Board

Effective January 01, 2010, the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors has introduced two separate commissions: the National Board Inservice Commission and the National Board New Construction Commission.  The two commissions can be attained independently of each other.  A National Board Commission earned prior to January 01, 2010, is now considered a National Board Inservice Commission.

 

  • Application for National Board In service Commission Examination (ABSA Form AB-089) or specially arranged Endorsement Examination (AB-089a) must be submitted to ABSA Edmonton Office at least 6 weeks prior to the examination date.
  • A non-refundable application fee, as indicated on application form AB-089 or AB-089a, must accompany the application.
  • Candidates will be notified of the time and location of the examination 2-3 weeks prior to the examination date.
  • The reference materials permitted at the commission examination are listed in the Body of Knowledge. Note that “All reference materials must be free of any insert pages, notations, answers or crib sheets. Sharing of reference materials with any other candidates is not permitted. Candidates are responsible for providing for their own needs.”
  • The examination administration fee is non-refundable.However, if a candidate cancels his/her appointment or fails to appear, the administration fee may be credited towards any examination date at the discretion of the Chief Inspector and Administrator, provided at least one of the following conditions are met:
    • The candidate is ill: a doctor’s certificate will be required.
    • The candidate appears at the examination and the examiner is satisfied that the candidate is too ill to write.
    • There is a death in the candidate’s immediate family: an obituary notice is acceptable as proof.

    In all other cases, the following conditions apply:

    • If a candidate cancels the examination a minimum of 5 business days prior to the examination, the application fee will be retained by ABSA one time only.  The candidate will be required to pay an additional administration fee, as indicated on the application form, to reschedule. For subsequent cancellations, the application fee will be forfeited.
    • If a candidate fails to show up for the examination or cancels the examination less than 5 business days prior to the examination, the application fee will be forfeited.  The candidate may re-apply to write the examination at a later date, but will be required to pay an additional application fee.
  • ABSA will notify candidates approximately 4-6 weeks after the examination, when results have been received from the National Board.
National Board Examinations – Edmonton
2018 Edmonton
Mar 7 Jun 6 Sep 5 Dec 5
2019 Edmonton
Mar 6 Jun 5 Sep 4 Dec 4
API 510 & 570 Examinations – Edmonton
Please note that starting from 2013, ABSA will no longer proctor API examinations. Please see the announcement in The Pressure News, December 2012. For information regarding API examinations, please contact API direct.

The National Board Inservice Commission examination is one of the third party requirements for the Alberta In-service Pressure Equipment Inspector Certification Program.  The National Board New Construction Commission examination, as it is specifically for new construction and not for inservice inspection of equipment, will not be considered for the Alberta In-Service Inspector Certifications.

ABSA administers examinations for the National Board on the first Wednesday of March, June, September and December.  The National Board has also partnered with Applied Measurement Professionals (AMP) to administer an on-demand computer-based examination.  More information is available on the National Board website and AMP’s website.

Note that there is no transferability of approval or fees between ABSA and AMP.  But ABSA will recognize successful completion of the In service Commission examination administered by other jurisdictions and AMP.  To write an ABSA administered examination, you must submit a completed application to, and be approved by, ABSA’s Chief Inspector, as defined below.

Detailed information about the National Board Commissioned Inspector Program, the certification process and the Body of Knowledge (NB-331-I In-Service Inspectors or NB-331-NC New Construction/Authorized Inspectors) is available on the National Board web site.