- The 70-Point Line: What the Passing Score Actually Is
- How 100 Points Are Built From 28 Questions
- Passing Score Is Not a Pass Rate
- Where the Points Hide: The 15 Objectives
- Two Hours, No Pause: Pacing Against the Clock
- A VBA-First Path to 70 Points
- Scheduling Your Prep Around the Score
- Fee and Retake Math If You Miss 70
- Frequently Asked Questions
- You need 70 of 100 points to pass the CSWP-API, which is a 70% passing grade.
- The exam has 28 questions: 18 hands-on automation tasks and 10 multiple-choice questions, in 120 minutes.
- The exam cannot be paused, and a retake needs a new CSWP-API credit plus at least a 14-day wait.
- The official sample contains only four multiple-choice questions, so hands-on VBA practice must come from your own macros.
The 70-Point Line: What the Passing Score Actually Is
The Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional API (CSWP-API) exam is scored out of 100 total points, and you need 70 points to pass. SOLIDWORKS states the same threshold on its exam page as a 70% passing grade, alongside a two-hour time limit and a focus on Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). There is no separate sectional minimum published for individual topics, so the number that matters is the single total.
That simplicity is useful, but it hides a practical reality: most of the points come from writing or editing working VBA code against a live SOLIDWORKS model. If you have been wondering how hard the CSWP-API exam is, the passing score is only half the answer; the other half is how those 70 points are earned under time pressure.
How 100 Points Are Built From 28 Questions
The exam guide describes 28 questions in two formats:
- 18 hands-on automation tasks, where you write, correct or complete VBA code that drives SOLIDWORKS to produce a result.
- 10 multiple-choice questions, which test API knowledge, object model understanding and troubleshooting judgment.
The issuer does not publish a per-question point breakdown, and this article will not invent one. What you can reason about is the shape of the exam: 18 of the 28 questions are practical, so a candidate who is comfortable only with theory is working against the format. Conversely, a candidate who can automate fluently but ignores the multiple-choice items is leaving a meaningful block of questions to chance.
| Element | What the issuer states |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 28 |
| Hands-on automation tasks | 18 |
| Multiple-choice questions | 10 |
| Total points | 100 |
| Points required to pass | 70 (70%) |
| Time limit | 120 minutes |
| Language focus | Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) |
| Delivery | Non-proctored online, your own SOLIDWORKS and internet connection |
Passing Score Is Not a Pass Rate
It is easy to confuse these two ideas. The passing score is the threshold you must reach: 70 points. A pass rate is the share of all candidates who clear that threshold. SOLIDWORKS publishes the first; no verified population pass rate for the CSWP-API has been published, and you should be skeptical of any site quoting a precise figure without a source.
For a fuller treatment of what is and is not known, see our breakdown of the CSWP-API pass rate and what the data shows. The takeaway for planning is straightforward: do not take comfort or alarm from a rumored percentage. Prepare to the 70-point standard directly.
Key Takeaway
Treat 70 as a floor, not a target. Because the exam is non-proctored and uses your own machine, small environmental problems (a macro that will not run, a missing reference) can cost points. Aim for a comfortable margin above 70 in your practice, not exactly 70.
Where the Points Hide: The 15 Objectives
The issuer lists 15 exam objectives, unweighted, and describes the task list as non-exhaustive. Because no percentage weights exist, the honest approach is to cover all of them and give extra repetition to the ones that appear in multiple forms. The objectives, as listed, are:
- Understanding the API Object Model
- Troubleshooting
- Part design automation
- Drawing Automation
- Assembly automation
- Adding sketch entities and dimensions
- Feature creations such as extrudes and cuts
- Selection and traversal techniques
- Hide/Suppress/Resolve components
- Creation of drawings
- Insert drawing views
- Insert a BOM
- Save drawings in different file formats
- Add custom properties
- Save and close documents
Several of these overlap, particularly the drawing headings (Drawing Automation, Creation of drawings, Insert drawing views, Insert a BOM, Save drawings in different file formats). The overlap is the issuer's own wording, so a drawing-heavy exam is plausible. For deeper per-objective guidance, read our complete guide to all 15 CSWP-API content areas.
Object Model and Troubleshooting
These two objectives support every other task, because every hands-on question assumes you can find the right object and diagnose why a call fails.
- Navigate from the application object to documents, models, features and selections without guessing.
- Use API Help to confirm method signatures, return types and parameters.
- Recognize that the macro recorder produces code that often needs cleanup and does not capture every needed call.
- Read error behavior: a method that returns False or Nothing is a clue, not a crash.
Part, Sketch and Feature Automation
Covers part design automation, adding sketch entities and dimensions, and feature creations such as extrudes and cuts.
- Select a plane, open a sketch, add entities, add dimensions, close the sketch, then create the feature.
- Understand why order of operations matters: selections must be set before a feature call.
- Verify results by checking that the returned feature object is not Nothing.
Assembly, Selection and Component States
Covers assembly automation, selection and traversal techniques, and Hide/Suppress/Resolve components.
- Traverse components and features rather than relying on hard-coded names.
- Know the difference between hiding, suppressing and resolving a component, and how each is set through the API.
- Practice selecting by name, by type and by traversal so you can adapt when the task changes the approach.
Drawing and Output Tasks
Covers drawing automation, creating drawings, inserting views, inserting a BOM, saving in different formats, adding custom properties, and saving and closing documents.
- Create a drawing from a template, insert standard views, and place a BOM.
- Write custom properties and confirm they were written.
- Save to alternative file formats and close documents cleanly to avoid leaving the session in a bad state.
Two Hours, No Pause: Pacing Against the Clock
You have 120 minutes for 28 questions, and the exam cannot be paused. A rough average is a little over four minutes per question, but the 18 hands-on tasks will not take equal time. Some tasks (saving a document, adding a custom property) are short; others (building sketch geometry and a feature, or placing a BOM) take longer and invite debugging.
- Bank the quick wins first. Short, well-practiced tasks protect your path to 70 points.
- Cap your debugging time. If a macro will not run after a few focused attempts, move on and return if time allows.
- Do not neglect the 10 multiple-choice questions. They are generally faster than coding tasks and are efficient points.
- Keep a clean environment. Close unrelated models and confirm SOLIDWORKS is stable before you start, since the exam runs on your own software and connection.
Follow the current VirtualTester Web Client instructions for the delivery details. The exam guide's older TesterPRO installation and crash language is legacy; the current browser-client and recovery instructions take precedence. Our page on CSWP-API requirements and eligibility covers the setup side, including the SOLIDWORKS 2017 or later software minimum.
A VBA-First Path to 70 Points
Many CSWP-API candidates are CAD users, not programmers. The exam focuses on VBA, so a VBA-first path is the efficient route. You do not need C# add-in development or PDM API knowledge for this exam; those are separate skill sets and should not crowd out VBA drills.
Build fluency in this order
- Macro basics. Learn the VBA editor, how a SOLIDWORKS macro is structured, and how to run and step through it.
- The object model. Practice reaching a document, then its features, then its selection manager. Use API Help constantly until lookup becomes habit.
- Record, then rewrite. Record a macro, then clean it up by removing noise and fixing hard-coded values. This teaches you where the recorder falls short.
- Selection and traversal. Write loops that walk features or components and act on what they find.
- Drawings and outputs. Automate a drawing, insert views, add a BOM, write custom properties, save in more than one format, and close.
Recommended preparation includes SOLIDWORKS Design Essentials and the API Fundamentals course. The public API Fundamentals curriculum (course PMT2615-ENG, copyright 2025) is a three-day course, but that length is separate from the two-hour exam and is not an exam requirement. Training courses are recommended, not mandatory for admission. For a structured plan beyond this article, see the CSWP-API study guide for passing on your first attempt.
Scheduling Your Prep Around the Score
Generic study scheduling is not the point here; the point is mapping your weeks to the objectives that most affect whether you cross 70. This is an illustrative plan, not an official one.
Object model and API Help
- Practice navigating from application to document to feature.
- Learn where the macro recorder helps and where it misleads.
Parts, sketches, features
- Automate a sketch with entities and dimensions, then an extrude and a cut.
- Add result checks that confirm each feature was created.
Assemblies, selection, component states
- Traverse components and toggle hide, suppress and resolve.
- Write selection code by name and by type.
Drawings, BOM, properties, saving
- Create drawings, insert views, place a BOM and write custom properties.
- Save in multiple formats and close documents cleanly.
- Run a timed, two-hour full-length rehearsal.
When you are ready to test yourself under conditions closer to the real thing, try the practice resources on the CSWP-API Exam Prep practice test site. If you want a one-page refresher before exam day, the CSWP-API cheat sheet condenses the must-know facts.
Fee and Retake Math If You Miss 70
The current North American price is US$49 for one attempt, excluding software and training. Falling short of 70 points has a direct cost: a retake requires a new CSWP-API credit and at least a 14-day wait. That makes a deliberate first attempt more economical than a rushed one, and it gives you a built-in window to fix weak areas before trying again. For the full pricing picture, see the CSWP-API certification cost breakdown.
There is a long-term benefit once you do clear 70: the issuer's 2020 Certification Program Q&A states that customer and student certifications do not expire. Whether the credential is worth the effort depends on the automation value you can demonstrate, not on an unsupported salary claim; our ROI analysis of the CSWP-API certification takes that approach.
Key Takeaway
Your goal is not 70 exactly; it is a repeatable ability to complete the common automation tasks (sketch, feature, selection, drawing, BOM, properties, save) without looking up every call. If you can do those reliably under a two-hour limit, the 70-point threshold stops being a worry.
Frequently Asked Questions
You need 70 out of 100 total points, which the exam page describes as a 70% passing grade. The exam has 28 questions (18 hands-on automation tasks and 10 multiple-choice) and a 120-minute limit.
No. The passing grade is the threshold you must reach. A pass rate would be the percentage of candidates who succeed, and no verified population pass rate has been published for this exam.
No. The exam cannot be paused. Follow the current VirtualTester Web Client and recovery instructions, which take precedence over the legacy TesterPRO language in the older exam guide.
A retake requires a new CSWP-API credit and at least a 14-day wait. The current North American price for one attempt is US$49, excluding software and training.
Only partly. The linked guide's sample includes just four multiple-choice questions, not a full 28-question mock, so you should build your own hands-on VBA practice for the 18 automation tasks.
For a broader introduction to the credential itself, you can also read what the CSWP-API certification is and plan your testing date using the guide to CSWP-API exam dates and scheduling.