- What This Certification Actually Is
- Exam Format and Delivery at a Glance
- The 12-Topic Blueprint and Its Weights
- Technical Core: Technologies, Anomalies and Sizing
- Alignment and Correlation: Markers, Girth Welds, Pipe Tally
- Data Quality, Classification and Interaction Rules
- Reporting and Field Verification
- Fees, Eligibility and Renewal Numbers
- Scheduling Your Review Around the Weights
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The exam is 40 multiple-choice questions in English, delivered through TestReach with remote proctoring.
- Topics 3, 7, 9 and 12 carry 10% each; the other eight topics carry 7.5% each.
- Total cost is $150 application plus $350 exam, $500 USD, excluding training and mentoring.
- Foundation prerequisites: 18 training hours, 36 mentoring hours, and 100 hours of experience or supervised self-learning.
What This Certification Actually Is
CS026F, here, is the Certified in In-Line Inspection Data Analysis & Reporting credential. It is a Foundation-level individual competency administered by ROSEN (UK) Limited under the Qualification Panel for the Pipeline Industry (QPPI) Certification Board. It is not CS022F, and it is not the umbrella Pipeline Integrity Engineer certification. The exam topics come from section 5.6, page 14, of the Pipeline Integrity Engineer Certification - Candidate Handbook 2025, and the weights below are the handbook's own, not a third-party reinterpretation.
If you need background on the name itself, see What Is CS026F? and What Does CS026F Stand For?. This page is the compressed version: the facts you should be able to recite before you sit down for the assessment. For a fuller study plan, pair it with the CS026F Study Guide.
Exam Format and Delivery at a Glance
| Item | What to know |
|---|---|
| Question count | 40 multiple-choice questions |
| Language | English |
| Delivery platform | TestReach |
| Proctoring | Remote: identity and environment checks, webcam/audio monitoring, screen oversight |
| Reference materials | Prohibited unless the applicable examination instructions expressly authorize them |
| Writing materials and calculators | Likewise prohibited unless expressly authorized |
Because calculators are off the table by default, the exam tests reasoning about ILI data more than arithmetic grind. Expect scenario-style stems built around inspection concepts: what a signal pattern implies, which comparison method fits a situation, or which factor limits sizing confidence. For difficulty context, see How Hard Is the CS026F Exam?.
The 12-Topic Blueprint and Its Weights
The handbook's twelve topics total 100%. Four of them (3, 7, 9 and 12) are jointly the largest at 10% each. The remaining eight sit at 7.5% each.
| # | Topic | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pipe materials and pipeline components | 7.5% |
| 2 | Pipeline anomaly categories | 7.5% |
| 3 | ILI technologies, NDE theory and performance specification | 10% |
| 4 | Pipeline tracking and assessment of AGM marker | 7.5% |
| 5 | Correlation of ILI runs by girth weld list comparison | 7.5% |
| 6 | Correlation of inspection pipe tally to pipeline data | 7.5% |
| 7 | Assessment of ILI data quantity and quality | 10% |
| 8 | Interpretation and classification of anomalies and components | 7.5% |
| 9 | Sizing of anomaly dimensions | 10% |
| 10 | Anomaly interaction rules and failure pressure assessment standards | 7.5% |
| 11 | Compilation of standard ILI reports | 7.5% |
| 12 | Cataloging field verification results and comparison to ILI results | 10% |
Forty questions against a 100% blueprint means each 10% topic maps to roughly four questions and each 7.5% topic to roughly three, though the exam does not publish an exact per-topic question count. For the longer treatment of each area, see the CS026F Exam Domains Guide.
Technical Core: Technologies, Anomalies and Sizing
Topics 1 and 2: the vocabulary layer
Pipe materials, components and anomaly categories (7.5% each)
These topics supply the language the rest of the exam assumes. You need to read a pipeline like an inspector: what it is made of, how it was joined, and what can be wrong with it.
- Steel grades and design parameters, and how they influence what an anomaly means
- Weld types and installation features that appear as signals in ILI data
- Anomaly categories: geometrical, volumetric and planar. Be able to sort any described defect into one of the three
Topic 3: ILI technologies and performance specification (10%)
ILI technologies, NDE principles, performance specification
One of the four heavyweight topics. The exam wants you to connect a technology to the physics behind it and to what the vendor's specification promises.
- The theoretical base of the underlying non-destructive evaluation principles for each tool type
- Which anomaly categories each technology detects well and which it handles poorly
- What a performance specification states about detection and sizing, and why it is a stated expectation rather than a guarantee for every feature
Topic 9: sizing (10%)
Sizing of anomaly dimensions
Another 10% topic. Sizing covers depth, length, width and related dimensions, and the exam rewards understanding of what limits sizing quality.
- How reported dimensions relate to the underlying signal and the tool's specification
- Why sizing uncertainty matters downstream for assessment and for field comparison
- How sizing links forward to interaction rules (Topic 10) and back to data quality (Topic 7)
Topics 3 and 9 reinforce each other. A question about sizing often hinges on a technology limitation, so study them together rather than as isolated chapters.
Alignment and Correlation: Markers, Girth Welds, Pipe Tally
Topics 4, 5 and 6 (7.5% each, 22.5% combined) are the "where is this feature, really?" cluster. They are easy to underweight because they feel procedural, but together they outweigh any single heavyweight topic.
- Topic 4, tracking and AGM markers: pipeline tracking and the assessment of AGM (above-ground marker) data, which anchors the inspection to known positions on the ground.
- Topic 5, girth weld list comparison: correlating different ILI runs by comparing girth weld lists, the foundation for tracking features over time.
- Topic 6, pipe tally to pipeline data: correlating the inspection's pipe tally to existing pipeline records so that feature locations match the asset's documented reality.
Data Quality, Classification and Interaction Rules
Topic 7: data quantity and quality (10%)
The third heavyweight. It covers assessing how much data was captured (data loss) and how good it is (for example, signal strength). The practical question behind every item is: can this dataset support the conclusions someone wants to draw from it? Know how data loss and weak signal affect confidence in detection and sizing, and how they should be reflected in reporting.
Topic 8: interpretation and classification (7.5%)
This is the discrimination skill: telling real anomalies and components apart from indications that originate elsewhere. The blueprint explicitly names origins such as dirt, debris, objects and noise. Expect items asking what a signal most plausibly represents and how it should be classified.
Topic 10: interaction rules and failure pressure standards (7.5%)
Here the exam moves from detection to consequence. You should understand why neighboring anomalies may need to be treated together instead of independently, and that failure pressure assessment follows established standards. Know the logic of the rules and where they fit in the workflow rather than hunting for obscure constants, especially since calculators are not permitted by default.
Key Takeaway
Topics 7, 8 and 10 form a decision pipeline: judge whether the data is good enough, classify what you see, then decide how features combine into an assessment. Questions often hide the tested topic inside a scenario that touches two of the three.
Reporting and Field Verification
Topic 11: standard ILI reports (7.5%)
Compilation of standard ILI reports with statistical charts and tables. Know what a standard report contains, how summary statistics communicate the overall picture, and what makes a table or chart an honest representation of the data rather than a misleading one.
Topic 12: field verification (10%)
The fourth heavyweight and the closing loop of the whole workflow: cataloging field verification results and comparing them to the ILI results. Be ready for questions on how excavation findings are recorded, what a meaningful comparison against reported dimensions looks like, and how disagreement between field and ILI data should be interpreted. This topic leans on everything above, because a mismatch might trace back to sizing limits, data quality, or alignment errors.
| Cluster | Topics | Combined weight |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | 1, 2 | 15% |
| Technology and sizing | 3, 9 | 20% |
| Alignment and correlation | 4, 5, 6 | 22.5% |
| Data quality, classification, interaction | 7, 8, 10 | 25% |
| Reporting and verification | 11, 12 | 17.5% |
Fees, Eligibility and Renewal Numbers
Fee mechanics
- Application: $150 USD
- Examination: $350 USD
- Total: $500 USD, excluding training and mentoring
- Retake: $250 USD
- Recertification: $350 USD
The fee schedule is in section 15 of the handbook. A fuller breakdown lives in the CS026F Certification Cost guide, and the career-payoff question is covered in Is the CS026F Certification Worth It?.
Foundation prerequisites
Foundation candidates need 18 training hours, 36 mentoring hours, and 100 hours of relevant experience or supervised self-learning, all supported by evidence. Separately, the academic/professional pathway requires an accepted degree or professional engineering qualification, and four years of relevant engineering experience may substitute for the degree pathway. ROSEN training is not mandatory when acceptable equivalent preparation is documented. Eligibility is detailed in section 7 of the handbook; the CS026F Requirements article walks through qualifying in more depth.
Validity and renewal
Certification lasts five years. Renewal requires 10 qualifying credits annually, 50 over the five-year cycle, documented against the handbook's activity-credit rules. These are credits, not a blanket requirement for 50 CEUs, so do not describe them that way on a résumé or in an application.
Scheduling Your Review Around the Weights
One short, weight-driven plan is enough for a Foundation exam of this size. The logic: front-load the 10% topics, then clear the correlation cluster, then rehearse the full workflow end to end.
Vocabulary and technologies
- Topics 1 and 2: materials, components, geometrical/volumetric/planar categories
- Topic 3: each ILI technology, its NDE principle and its performance specification
Alignment cluster
- Topics 4, 5 and 6: AGM markers, girth weld list comparison, pipe tally correlation
- Trace one imaginary feature through all three checks
Data judgment and sizing
- Topics 7, 8 and 9: data quality, classification of dirt/debris/noise, sizing limits
- Topic 10: interaction logic and failure pressure standards
Reporting, verification, full rehearsal
- Topics 11 and 12: standard reports, field-versus-ILI comparison
- Timed runs of 40 questions without notes, matching the no-reference-materials rule
Practice under the same constraints you will face: no reference materials and no calculator. The CS026F practice tests are built for exactly that style of drilling, and you can look at CS026F Passing Score and CS026F Pass Rate to see what is and is not publicly known about results. For testing-window planning, check CS026F Exam Dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
The assessment contains 40 multiple-choice questions, delivered in English through TestReach with remote proctoring.
Topics 3 (ILI technologies and performance specification), 7 (data quantity and quality), 9 (sizing of anomaly dimensions) and 12 (field verification cataloging and comparison) are jointly largest at 10% each. The other eight topics are 7.5% each.
Not by default. The general rules prohibit reference materials, writing materials and calculators unless the applicable examination instructions expressly authorize them. Check your instructions before exam day.
The application fee is $150 USD and the examination fee is $350 USD, for $500 USD total excluding training and mentoring. A retake is $250 USD and recertification is $350 USD.
No. ROSEN training is not mandatory when acceptable equivalent preparation is documented. Foundation candidates still need 18 training hours, 36 mentoring hours, and 100 hours of relevant experience or supervised self-learning, with supporting evidence.
It lasts five years. Renewal requires 10 qualifying credits annually and 50 over the five-year cycle, documented under the handbook's activity-credit rules. These are credits, not a blanket 50-CEU requirement.
That is the whole sheet: a 40-question, proctored, no-notes exam, twelve weighted topics from the 2025 handbook, a $500 USD entry cost, and a five-year credit-based renewal cycle. Master the four 10% topics first, treat the alignment cluster as the quiet 22.5% it is, and confirm every logistical detail against ROSEN's current handbook before you book.