Pass the Mississippi Welding Contractor Exam in 2026
You've put in the hours at the torch. Now it's time to put in the hours at the desk. The Mississippi Welding exam is the final gate between you and a welding contractor license — and knowing what's on it makes a huge difference. This guide breaks down everything you need to know: the exam format, the topics, approved reference books, study strategies, and sample questions straight from the content outline. Start with our free practice exam to see where you stand right now.
Mississippi Welding Exam Overview
The Mississippi Welding exam contains 60 scored questions and has a 120-minute time limit. To pass, you need to answer at least 70% correctly — that's 42 out of 60 questions.
This is an open-book exam, which is good news. You're allowed to bring two approved references into the test center: Modern Welding (2013, 11th Edition) by Althouse, Turnquist, and Bowditch, and Pipe Welding Procedures (2003) by Hoobasar Rampaul. You must bring your own copies — the test center does not provide them.
The exam is administered by PSI at approved testing centers. You can check the official exam bulletin for location and scheduling details, or visit the state licensing website for general contractor licensing information.
One key rule: you may highlight and tab your books before the exam, but you cannot write notes in them or bring any loose papers. More on that in the FAQs below.
Topics Covered on the Mississippi Welding Exam
Here's how the 60 questions are distributed across the eight topic areas. Focus your study time in proportion to how heavily each topic is tested.
- Materials (10 items) — The heaviest single topic. Expect questions on ferrous metal classification, mechanical properties, the iron-carbon phase diagram, SAE/AISI/ASTM numbering systems, and stainless steel weldability.
- Oxyacetylene Welding and Cutting (11 items) — The most items on the exam. Covers equipment setup, flame types, cylinder safety, pressure regulators, and torch procedures.
- SMAW (9 items) — Electrode classification, current and polarity, arc striking, bead types, and electrode motion techniques.
- GTAW (9 items) — Tungsten electrode types and prep, shielding gas selection, polarity effects, equipment setup, and welding techniques by position.
- Blueprint and Plan Reading (6 items) — AWS welding symbols, the five basic joint types, welding positions (1G–4G, 1F–4F), and reading groove and fillet weld dimensions.
- Pipe Welding (6 items) — Joint preparation, pipe welding positions (1G, 2G, 5G, 6G), root pass technique, the keyhole method, and GTAW root bead procedures.
- Brazing (5 items) — Capillary action, joint design, base metal cleaning, flux selection, and filler metal classification.
- Testing and Inspection (4 items) — NDE methods, destructive testing, WPS and PQR requirements, and welder performance qualification.
Oxyacetylene and Materials together account for 21 of the 60 questions — more than a third of the exam. Don't overlook them.
Sample Mississippi Welding Exam Questions
Here are five sample questions that reflect the style and difficulty you'll see on the real Mississippi Welding exam. We're not giving away the answers — that's your job. Take a shot at these, then check yourself with our free practice exam.
Question 1 — Oxyacetylene Welding and Cutting (Medium)
When lighting and adjusting an oxyacetylene welding torch, how far should the acetylene torch valve initially be opened before igniting the gas?
- A) Approximately 1/4 turn
- B) Approximately 1/2 turn
- C) Approximately one full turn
- D) Approximately 1/16 turn
Question 2 — Testing and Inspection (Hard)
Which category of welding procedure specification does NOT require a supporting procedure qualification record (PQR)?
- A) Only a qualified WPS
- B) Only a standard WPS
- C) Both prequalified and standard WPSs
- D) Only a prequalified WPS
Question 3 — SMAW (Hard)
When welding a root bead in the horizontal (2G) position, the whipping motion should move the arc out of the puddle and then return it to which specific location?
- A) The bevel face of the upper pipe
- B) The center of the molten puddle
- C) The edge of the keyhole adjacent to the weld bead
- D) The lower edge of the root face
Question 4 — Blueprint and Plan Reading (Medium)
A flange joint is formed by which of the following methods?
- A) Overlapping two pieces so the top surface of one contacts the bottom surface of the other
- B) Placing two pieces edge-to-edge with squared ends and no additional preparation
- C) Bending the edge of one or more pieces to form a flange, then aligning and welding the edges
- D) Placing two pieces perpendicular so the edge of one intersects the surface of the other
Question 5 — SMAW (Hard)
A welder holds the electrode at an excessive upward angle when welding from the 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock positions on a pipe joint. What defect is most likely to result?
- A) Excessive root penetration and burn-through at the root face
- B) Slag inclusions and improper fusion at the edges of the weld
- C) Hydrogen-induced cracking in the heat-affected zone
- D) Excessive spatter buildup on the pipe surface above the joint
Notice how questions 3 and 5 require you to know not just definitions, but the why behind technique — that's the level of depth this exam demands.
What Types of Questions to Expect
Our Mississippi Welding practice test pool includes 311 questions across all eight topic areas. Here's what each section looks like in practice:
- Oxyacetylene Welding and Cutting: Equipment assembly sequences, flame identification, cylinder handling rules, regulator settings, and step-by-step torch startup and shutdown procedures.
- Blueprint and Plan Reading: Interpreting AWS symbols on drawings, identifying joint types from illustrations, reading position designations, and calculating groove or fillet weld dimensions from a drawing.
- Brazing: Distinguishing brazing from braze welding, selecting the right flux or filler metal for a base metal combination, and understanding joint clearance and cleaning requirements.
- Pipe Welding: Bevel and root face dimensions, position-specific technique variations for 1G through 6G, keyhole method application, and GTAW root bead setup.
- Materials: Carbon content ranges for steel classifications, reading the iron-carbon phase diagram, identifying microstructural constituents, SAE/AISI/ASTM numbering, and stainless steel weldability considerations.
- SMAW: Decoding AWS electrode numbering, selecting current type and polarity for specific joints, arc length effects, and bead motion patterns like weave, whip-and-pause, and Z-weave.
- GTAW: Tungsten color codes and preparation geometry, shielding gas choices by base metal, polarity effects on cleaning action versus penetration, and torch assembly details.
- Testing and Inspection: Matching NDE methods to defect types, distinguishing destructive test purposes, and understanding the relationship between WPS, PQR, and welder qualification records.
Required Study Materials for the Mississippi Welding License
Because this is an open-book exam, your reference books are tools — not just background reading. Knowing where to find answers quickly is as important as knowing the material.
Required Reference Books
- Modern Welding (12th Edition) — This is the core reference covering oxyacetylene processes, SMAW, GTAW, brazing, materials science, testing, and blueprint reading. Tab and highlight heavily before exam day.
- Pipe Welding Procedures (2nd Edition) — Essential for the pipe welding section. This book covers joint prep, welding positions, pass sequences, and technique details that show up directly in exam questions.
Tools to Prepare Your Books
- Sharpie Tank Highlighters — Bright fluorescent colors, a wide barrel for a comfortable grip, and a chisel tip that works for both highlighting and underlining. The large ink supply means you won't run dry halfway through a 400-page reference. Includes 12 highlighters in assorted colors.
- Redi-Tag Permanent Colored Tabs — 100 tabs in five colors so you can color-code by topic (one color for SMAW, another for pipe welding, and so on). The permanent adhesive stays put, and they work on the thicker pages of technical reference books.
A well-indexed book can save you two or three minutes per question on test day. Over 60 questions, that adds up fast.
Study Tips for the Mississippi Welding Exam Prep
Start 3–6 weeks out. That's enough time to work through both references, build your tabbing system, and run multiple practice rounds without cramming.
Use the Candidate Information Bulletin as your roadmap. Every topic and subtopic on the exam is listed there. Compare it against the topic weights above and allocate your study time accordingly — more time on Oxyacetylene and Materials, proportionally less on Brazing and Testing.
Practice finding answers fast, not memorizing them. Open-book means the information is there. Your edge is knowing which tab and which page to flip to in 30 seconds or less.
Set your practice target at 80%, not 70%. Aim higher than the cut score so you have a real buffer. When you consistently hit 80% or better on practice attempts, you're in a solid position.
Work through the exam in one clean pass. Answer what you know, skip what you don't, and flag the uncertain ones. Go back for the flagged questions after your first pass — our full practice exam includes a bookmarking feature so you can practice this exact strategy.
Manage test-day nerves. A little anxiety is normal. If you get stuck on a question and feel the pressure building, take a few slow breaths before moving on. Don't spend too long on any single question — the clock keeps running.
Start Your Mississippi Welding Exam Prep Today
The Mississippi Welding license is within reach. You have 60 questions, two hours, and your reference books beside you — that's a manageable format when you know the material and know your books.
Start with our free practice exam — 10 questions, no account required, no pressure. It's a fast way to find out which topics need the most work. When you're ready to get serious, upgrade to the full practice exam: 60 questions, same time limit, same topic breakdown as the real thing, with a detailed score report by topic area.
Grab your reference books, tab them up, and get to work. You've got this.