What Is A AI?

What an Authorized Inspector Commission Actually Is

If you searched "What is a AI?" and landed here, you may have expected something about software. On this site, AI means one specific thing: the National Board Authorized Inspector Commission. It is a credential for inspectors who verify that boilers and pressure vessels are designed, built, tested and documented in accordance with the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and related requirements.

A commissioned Authorized Inspector is the independent, third-party set of eyes on pressure equipment construction. When a manufacturer builds a boiler or a pressure vessel under code rules, a commissioned inspector is the person who confirms the work meets those rules before the data report is signed and the code stamp is applied. The Commission is the formal recognition of that authority, which is why employers and jurisdictions take it seriously.

If you want the broader picture of how the credential is positioned and named, our pages on what AI certification is and what AI stands for cover the terminology in more detail. This article focuses on what the Commission means in practice and what the exam expects you to know.

Who Governs It and What the Exam Covers

The governing body is The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. The examination content is defined in the National Board's detailed outline document, NB-331-NC Revision 6. That outline contains 12 numbered headings. There is also a shorter introductory summary organized into 11 objectives, but it groups content differently and does not replace the detailed 12-heading hierarchy. When you plan your preparation, build it from the detailed outline.

For a domain-by-domain walkthrough, see our complete guide to all 12 AI content areas. The sections below give you the shape of the exam and the logic connecting the pieces.

What a Commissioned Inspector Does

The first domain, Responsibilities and Duties of the AI, frames everything else. It is built around the roles described in RCI-1 and ASME QAI-1: the responsibilities of authorized inspection agencies, of inspection supervisors, and of the inspectors themselves. The exam also expects you to recognize duties that are scattered throughout the required references, not only in those two documents.

In practical terms, a commissioned inspector works within an authorized inspection agency and exercises authority that comes with obligations. The role is not simply "looking at welds." It includes verifying that the manufacturer's quality control system is being followed, witnessing and reviewing required tests, confirming material certifications, and signing off documentation. The candidate who understands the why behind each duty, rather than memorizing a list, handles scenario questions far better.

Why Duties Come First

Questions in this area often test whether you know who is responsible for what. Is a particular check the manufacturer's job, the inspector's job, or the agency's job? Confusing those boundaries is a classic way to miss points, because the Code assigns responsibilities carefully and the exam rewards precision.

The 12 Content Areas at a Glance

The detailed outline breaks the exam into twelve areas. Here they are with a plain-language description of what each demands.

The Technical Core: Design, Materials, Fabrication, NDE

Domains 5 through 8 are where the engineering content lives, and where candidates without a fabrication or design background feel the steepest climb. Our breakdown of how hard the AI exam is explains why these areas tend to be the sticking point.

The Paperwork Domains: Calibration, Data Reports, Records

Candidates sometimes underestimate the last three areas because they feel less "technical." That is a mistake. They are where inspectors ultimately prove that the work was done properly, and they reward careful reading.

Calibration of Measurement and Test Equipment

Domain 10 covers calibration frequencies, methods, tolerances, master standards, identification and records. It distinguishes between working equipment and master measurement and test equipment. The questions typically reward a clear mental model of how a calibration chain works: what gets calibrated against what, how often, and what must be documented.

Data Reports and Stamping

Domain 11 asks you to know the data reports and stamping requirements for the construction type in question. Because the requirements differ among power boilers, heating boilers and pressure vessels, this is an area where mixing up the rules of one section with another costs points.

Record Retention

Domain 12 covers retention requirements under ASME Sections I, IV and VIII. It is compact, but it is easy to lose points through vague recall. Build a simple comparison of what each section requires you to retain and who is responsible for retaining it.

Our one-page AI cheat sheet is a handy place to consolidate these cross-section comparisons once you have studied the source documents.

The Required Reference Library

The Commission exam is an open-reference-style discipline in spirit: you are expected to know the Code well enough to find and apply it. The required references named in the outline are:

• ASME Section I (power boilers)
• ASME Section IV (heating boilers)
• ASME Section V (nondestructive examination)
• ASME Section VIII, Division 1 (pressure vessels)
• ASME Section IX (welding and brazing qualifications)
• ASME B31.1 (power piping)
• QAI-1 (qualifications for authorized inspection)
• RCI-1 / NB-263 (rules for commissioned inspectors)

Domain 3, Code Structure and Content, exists precisely because these documents are large and interlinked. A candidate who knows where the answer lives, and which section governs which equipment, has a structural advantage over one who tries to memorize content without a map.

Exam Format, Registration and Unverified Details

From the issuer's examination information, the verified facts are limited but clear: the examination consists of 85 questions, and the pathway involves attendance at the AI Commission course with a passing examination. In other words, the exam is tied to a training course rather than being something you simply schedule in isolation.

What is not verified here, and which you should confirm directly with the National Board before planning around it:

• The exact exam timer
• The current fee
• The numerical pass mark

We will not guess at those numbers. For discussion of how scoring works and how to frame your target, see our pages on the AI passing score and AI certification cost, and check the issuer for current figures. Eligibility questions, such as experience and employer sponsorship, are covered in our AI requirements guide.

Who Hires Commissioned Inspectors

Commissioned inspectors work within authorized inspection agencies, the organizations that provide third-party inspection services to manufacturers and owner-users of pressure equipment. Because the Commission is tied to the authority to inspect, it is generally held in the context of employment with such an agency rather than as a purely independent credential.

Beyond agencies, the broader ecosystem that values this knowledge includes boiler and pressure vessel manufacturers, repair organizations, and jurisdictions that oversee pressure equipment. The common thread is code-compliance work where independent verification is required.

For earnings context and whether the investment makes sense for your situation, read our AI salary guide and the ROI analysis of the AI certification. Those pages discuss career value qualitatively; this article intentionally avoids quoting figures we cannot verify.

Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain

Because the 12 areas build on one another, order matters more than total hours. The following sequence ties each stage to specific domains and explains why.

This ordering reflects how the material depends on itself: you cannot reason about fabrication limits without design vocabulary, and you cannot answer data report questions without knowing what was built and how it was tested. For a fuller plan, see our AI study guide, and when you are ready to test yourself against realistic question styles, use the AI Exam Prep practice tests.

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