CSCS Pipefitting & welding Specialist Test
PFWPipefitters and welders working on building services.
Sitting the PFW test soon? Practise under exam conditions on our timed paper: 50 questions in 45 minutes, 20 on Pipefitting & welding and 30 from the core.
50
questions
45
minutes
45/50
to pass (90%)
£23.50
test fee
What the Pipefitting & welding test covers
The Specialist test combines the five core Operatives knowledge areas with questions specific to HVACR: pipefitting and welding, which is what CITB calls this specialism. Expect the specialist section to focus on:
- Welding fume and respiratory protection
- Hot work permits and fire watch
- Compressed gas cylinder handling
- Eye protection and arc flash
- Working at height with pipework
Practise Pipefitting & welding questions
A practice quiz of 20, drawn fresh each time from 101 exam-style questions with worked explanations, written for the PFW specialist section from the regulations and HSE guidance that govern this work.
Pipefitting & welding (PFW): practice quiz
- 20 questions · 30 minutes · pass mark 90%
- Answers and explanations are shown at the end, with every question to review.
- A fresh 20 questions every time, drawn from all 101 in this bank.
- About 90 seconds a question, against about 54 in the real test, so there is time to think.
10 sample Pipefitting & welding questions and answers
These 10 come from the 101 questions the practice quiz above draws from, written out with the correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read them through when you want to revise rather than test yourself.
1. HSE issued a safety alert about welding fume in February 2019. Which statement matches HSE's position on the health risk?
Answer: All welding fume, including mild steel welding fume, can cause lung cancer.
- A) Only fume from welding stainless steel can cause cancer, so mild steel pipework is safe to weld.
- B) All welding fume, including mild steel welding fume, can cause lung cancer. (correct answer)
- C) Welding fume is only a cancer risk on jobs lasting longer than four hours at the arc.
- D) Welding fume only causes short term irritation of the throat that clears in the fresh air.
Why: HSE safety alert STSU1-2019 states that exposure to all welding fume, including mild steel welding fume, can cause lung cancer, with limited evidence linked to kidney cancer. Mild steel welding fume has been reclassified as a human carcinogen.
2. You need to weld a pipe joint four metres above a plant room floor, and the work cannot be done from the ground. Under regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, what must the employer do?
Answer: Make sure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that nobody can fall a distance liable to cause personal injury, using suitable and sufficient measures.
- A) Make sure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that nobody can fall a distance liable to cause personal injury, using suitable and sufficient measures. (correct answer)
- B) Issue a harness and lanyard to the welder before the work starts, in place of other measures such as guard rails, nets and edge protection at the work position.
- C) Apply the regulations because the work is more than two metres up, as they do not apply to work below that height.
- D) Get written permission from HSE before the work starts, because welding at height counts as notifiable work.
Why: Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires, where work is carried out at height, suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. Regulation 6 sets no minimum height: the test is a fall liable to cause injury.
3. Which respiratory protective equipment does HSE describe as the best option for arc welders?
Answer: A powered air respirator or supplied air respirator that combines respiratory, eye and face protection, with an assigned protection factor of at least 20.
- A) A disposable FFP2 mask, because it is the lightest thing to wear under a welding visor for a full shift at the arc.
- B) A half mask fitted with an A2 organic vapour filter, because A2 is the grade made for the gases in welding fume.
- C) A cloth face covering worn under the welding helmet, washed out at the end of the shift and changed weekly.
- D) A powered air respirator or supplied air respirator that combines respiratory, eye and face protection, with an assigned protection factor of at least 20. (correct answer)
Why: HSE says a powered air respirator or a supplied air respirator which combines respiratory, eye and face protection, with an assigned protection factor of at least 20, is the best option for arc welders. It adds that tight fitting equipment can become uncomfortable, which leads to workers loosening or removing it.
4. You are MMA (stick) welding pipe joints. Which feature of the welding set does HSE say reduces the risk of electric shock from touching the electrode by accident?
Answer: An open circuit voltage limiting device, also called a no load voltage limiting device.
- A) A thermal cut out that trips the welding set out when the duty cycle is exceeded and it overheats.
- B) A wire feed speed control mounted on the front panel of the welding set.
- C) A gas flow meter fitted to the regulator at the top of the cylinder.
- D) An open circuit voltage limiting device, also called a no load voltage limiting device. (correct answer)
Why: HSE says that when MMA welding it is better to use a welding set that has an open circuit voltage (no load voltage) limiting device, because these devices reduce the risk of electric shock from inadvertent contact with the electrode. HSE also notes that the shock risk is lower for MIG, MAG and TIG because the welding current is normally switched on and off by a trigger or foot switch.
5. A powered respirator hood used for pipe welding is found to be damaged. Under regulation 9 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, what must happen?
Answer: The hood is taken out of service and repaired or replaced before it is used for welding again.
- A) It can stay in use until the end of the welding job on the spool and be replaced before the next one starts.
- B) It can be used with tape over the damaged part of the hood until a new one arrives on site from the supplier.
- C) The hood is taken out of service and repaired or replaced before it is used for welding again. (correct answer)
- D) It must be sent away to HSE for inspection before it is used on the weld again.
Why: COSHH regulation 9(5) requires the employer to ensure that personal protective equipment, including protective clothing, is properly stored in a well defined place, checked at suitable intervals, and when discovered to be defective, repaired or replaced before further use.
6. A run of new steel pipework has to be pressure tested. Which test medium does HSE guidance GS4 say should be used wherever possible?
Answer: Water or another liquid rather than a gas, to reduce the energy stored in the pipework during the test
- A) Nitrogen rather than water, because an inert gas cannot hurt anyone even if the pipework fails
- B) The medium that suits the test pump on site, since GS4 treats gas and water as the same risk
- C) Water or another liquid rather than a gas, to reduce the energy stored in the pipework during the test (correct answer)
- D) Compressed air rather than water, because a leak shows up faster and there is then no water to drain down and clean up afterwards
Why: GS4 para 15 says to pressurise with water or another fluid rather than a gas wherever possible, to reduce the stored energy in the assembly under test. A gas test stores far more energy and so a failure is far more violent.
7. Your oxy-fuel cutting torch backfires with a sharp bang. According to HSE leaflet INDG297, what do you shut off first?
Answer: The torch valves, oxygen first and then the fuel gas
- A) The torch valves, oxygen first and then the fuel gas (correct answer)
- B) The torch valves, fuel gas first and then the oxygen
- C) The fuel gas cylinder valve, then the oxygen cylinder
- D) The oxygen cylinder valve, then the fuel gas torch valve
Why: INDG297 says that after a backfire you shut off the torch valves, oxygen first and then the fuel gas, then shut the cylinder valves, cool the blowpipe if needed and check the equipment, particularly the nozzle.
8. An acetylene cylinder has been lying on its side in a van and is stood back up. What does INDG327 say before it is used?
Answer: Leave it upright for an hour to settle
- A) Roll it gently to mix the contents first
- B) Vent a little gas off to clear the valve
- C) Leave it upright for an hour to settle (correct answer)
- D) Use it straight away while it is cool
Why: INDG327 says acetylene cylinders should be kept upright and, if returned to an upright position, left for an hour to settle before use. The gas is dissolved in acetone held in a porous mass.
9. Before fitting a cutting disc to a grinder, which speed check does HSG17 say must be made?
Answer: The speed marked on the machine must not exceed the speed marked on the wheel
- A) The speed marked on the machine must not exceed the speed marked on the wheel (correct answer)
- B) The speed marked on the wheel must not exceed half the speed on the machine
- C) The machine must run faster than the wheel's marked speed so that it cuts well
- D) No check is needed, as any disc that fits the spindle is rated for its speed
Why: HSG17 para 92 says the speed marked on the machine should not exceed the speed marked on the wheel, blotter or label. Over-speeding is one of the main causes of wheel breakage.
10. What does HSE say about how far welding gloves and overalls protect an arc welder from electric shock?
Answer: They are not designed to prevent shock but give some protection, which is reduced if they are damp or contaminated
- A) They give no protection against shock, so it makes no difference whether they are clean, dirty, wet or dry
- B) They protect fully as long as they are slightly damp, because the moisture spreads the welding current over the skin
- C) They are not designed to prevent shock but give some protection, which is reduced if they are damp or contaminated (correct answer)
- D) They are rated to stop shock at welding voltages, so no other precautions are needed while the welder wears them
Why: HSE says welding PPE is not designed to prevent electric shock but does provide some protection, and that the electrical resistance of damp or contaminated clothing may be significantly reduced, raising the risk of shock. That is why welders should wear clean, dry gloves and overalls.
How the Pipefitting & welding test is structured
CITB builds every Specialist test the same way: the five core knowledge areas from the Operatives test, plus questions specific to your specialism. Those core areas are working environment, occupational health, safety, high risk activities and specialist, and they account for the larger share of the 50 questions. The practical consequence is that most of your revision for the PFW test is the same revision every operative on site does, so start there and add the specialist material on top.
Same format as every HS&E test
50 questions in 45 minutes with a 45 out of 50 pass mark. Five wrong answers are allowed and a sixth fails you.
Booked as one exam
The core and specialist questions come in one 45-minute appointment costing £23.50, not as two separate sittings.
Your card decides it
The specialism follows from the CSCS card you are applying for. Confirm with the official Card Finder before booking.
Revising for Pipefitting & welding: fix the core first
Because the core is shared, the fastest way to raise your score on any specialist test is to fix weaknesses in the core knowledge first. Sit a full CSCS mock test for Operatives cold, read the per-topic breakdown, then drill whichever of the CSCS test questions and answers cost you the most marks. Come back to the specialist material once the core is reliable, because a specialist section cannot rescue a weak core: the core is simply the bigger half of the paper.
When you are clearing 45 out of 50 consistently rather than once, read what ID to bring and how to book the CSCS test. Turning up without the right identification means no test and no refund, which is the commonest avoidable way to lose the £23.50.
Related specialist tests
These sit closest to Pipefitting & welding in trade and in hazard. If you are unsure which specialism your card requires, compare them before you book.
Next steps
Confirm this is the right test with the official CSCS Card Finder, then book your Specialist test. Compare the other 11 specialist tests if you are unsure.
Sit a timed 50-question PFW paper, 20 Pipefitting & welding questions and 30 from the core, on the CSCS Specialist mock test.
Topic name and code verified against citb.co.uk, July 2026.