WPQ — Welder Performance Qualification
The record that a specific welder demonstrated the ability to produce sound welds within a defined range. Sometimes called a welder certificate or, under ISO, a qualification certificate.
The qualification covers a range, not a job: process, material group, thickness, diameter, position and weld detail. Two welders holding certificates for “the same” process may cover very different work.
Validity depends on continuity as well as on date. A certificate inside its expiry window can still lapse if the required continuity evidence does not exist.