- The Short Answer: Decoding the Acronym
- Letter by Letter: What Each Part Signals
- Why "API" Changes Everything About This Exam
- What the Name Promises: The 28-Question Exam
- The 15 Objectives Behind the Acronym
- VBA First: Where the Name Meets the Exam Room
- CSWP-API Compared With Other SOLIDWORKS Credentials
- Who Pursues This Credential
- Fees, Delivery and Retakes
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CSWP-API stands for Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional API, a credential issued by SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes).
- The exam has 28 questions: 18 hands-on automation tasks and 10 multiple-choice questions, in 120 minutes.
- You need 70 of 100 points to pass, and the exam focuses on Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
- No prior certification is required, and issuer Q&A states certifications do not expire.
The Short Answer: Decoding the Acronym
CSWP-API stands for Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional API. On the SOLIDWORKS certification page the same credential is listed as "SOLIDWORKS API Professional (CSWP-API)." Both labels describe one thing: a professional-level exam from SOLIDWORKS, part of Dassault Systemes, that tests whether you can automate SOLIDWORKS through its Application Programming Interface rather than only by clicking through the user interface.
If you are looking for a broader orientation after this acronym breakdown, the companion pieces What Is CSWP-API? and CSWP-API Meaning cover the same ground from slightly different angles. This article focuses on what each word in the name implies for how you prepare.
Letter by Letter: What Each Part Signals
The acronym is more informative than most. Each segment tells you something about the exam you will sit.
C: Certified
The credential is issued by the software maker itself. It is not a third-party badge or a course-completion certificate.
- Delivered through SOLIDWORKS using Tangix/VirtualTester
- Taken online, non-proctored, on your own working SOLIDWORKS installation
SW: SOLIDWORKS
The product is the subject. Everything you will be asked concerns the SOLIDWORKS object model and the way its parts, assemblies and drawings are driven by code.
- Minimum software is SOLIDWORKS 2017 or later
- Commercial or student software is acceptable per the exam guide
P: Professional
"Professional" is a tier in the SOLIDWORKS certification ladder. It signals a level above associate-style certifications, with hands-on tasks rather than pure recall.
- No prior certification is required to attempt it
- Recommended preparation: SOLIDWORKS Design Essentials and API Fundamentals
API: Application Programming Interface
This is the segment that defines the exam. The API is the programmatic doorway into SOLIDWORKS. You call its methods and read its properties to create sketches, features, drawings, bills of materials and saved files.
- The exam centers on Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
- Success depends on navigating the object model and API Help, not memorizing menus
Why "API" Changes Everything About This Exam
Most SOLIDWORKS candidates arrive from design work. They know sketches, mates and drawing standards. The "API" suffix means those skills are necessary but no longer sufficient: you must express them as code.
That shift reshapes preparation in three ways:
- You are tested on doing, not just knowing. Eighteen of the 28 questions are hands-on automation tasks. You write and run working code against SOLIDWORKS.
- The object model is your map. Knowing that an application object leads to a model document, which leads to a feature manager, a selection manager or a drawing view, is the core mental skill.
- Reading documentation is part of the exam. Strong candidates are fluent in API Help navigation, so they can find the right method and its arguments quickly.
For a candid look at how this code-first demand affects difficulty, see How Hard Is the CSWP-API Exam?
What the Name Promises: The 28-Question Exam
The issuer-linked SOLIDWORKS Certification Exam Guide & Practice Test, CSWP-API lays out the structure plainly.
| Element | CSWP-API Detail |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 28 |
| Hands-on automation tasks | 18 |
| Multiple-choice questions | 10 |
| Total points | 100 |
| Points required to pass | 70 |
| Time allowed | 120 minutes (two hours) |
| Language focus | Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) |
| Delivery | Non-proctored online, via Tangix/VirtualTester |
| Pausing | Not permitted |
The 70-point threshold is a passing grade, not a pass rate. Published population pass rates were not verified, so beware of any site that quotes one as fact. For the scoring details, read CSWP-API Passing Score, and for what data does and does not exist, see CSWP-API Pass Rate.
The 15 Objectives Behind the Acronym
The issuer publishes 15 exam objectives, unweighted. The list is explicitly non-exhaustive, so these are the topics you can plan around, not a guarantee of every task. No percentage weights should be assumed. The objectives, as written, 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
Notice the overlap: "Drawing Automation," "Creation of drawings," "Insert drawing views," "Insert a BOM" and "Save drawings in different file formats" all live in the drawing world. The issuer lists them as separate headings, so they are retained here as written. A deeper walk through each is in CSWP-API Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 15 Content Areas.
Object Model and Troubleshooting
These two objectives underpin everything else. If you cannot trace from the application to the right object, or diagnose why a call returned nothing, the hands-on tasks stall.
- Practice reading return values and checking for null objects
- Learn to use the debugger, breakpoints and the Immediate window in the VBA editor
- Get comfortable searching API Help by method name and by task
Selection, Traversal and Component States
Selecting the correct face, edge or component programmatically is a recurring pain point. Traversal means walking feature trees, component lists and drawing views in code.
- Understand selection by name, by ray or by iterating features
- Practice toggling components between hidden, suppressed and resolved states
- Verify results by re-reading the state after you set it
Sketches, Features and Parts
Creating geometry from code means adding sketch entities and dimensions, then building features such as extrudes and cuts.
- Build a sketch, dimension it, then extrude and cut in one macro
- Check units: the API works in meters internally, a classic source of wrong-size results
Drawings, BOMs, Properties and Saving
The back half of the objective list covers output: creating drawings, inserting views and a BOM, adding custom properties, saving in different formats, and closing documents cleanly.
- Automate a drawing from a part, insert standard views, then add a BOM
- Write custom properties and confirm they persist after saving
- Export a drawing to more than one format and close without leaving documents open
VBA First: Where the Name Meets the Exam Room
The exam page confirms a focus on VBA. That matters for candidates who have never programmed. VBA is built into SOLIDWORKS, so there is nothing extra to install, and it is a forgiving place to learn: you record a macro, open it, and start modifying it.
It is worth separating three things that people often blur together:
- VBA macros are the exam's focus. They run inside SOLIDWORKS and automate documents.
- C# add-in development is a different discipline, producing installable add-ins with their own user interface. It is not what this exam measures.
- PDM API work targets the product data management system and is also separate from this credential.
A sensible VBA-first path for a CAD user with no coding background starts with variables, loops and conditionals in plain VBA, then moves to the object model. Only after that does it move on to the objective list above. For a week-by-week plan tied to those objectives, see the CSWP-API Study Guide, and for a quick refresher before test day, the CSWP-API Cheat Sheet.
Key Takeaway
Schedule the object model and troubleshooting first, because every later objective depends on them. Then layer on part and sketch automation, then selection and traversal, and finish with drawings, BOMs, properties and saving. Build and check your own test files at each stage rather than relying on the four-question official sample.
CSWP-API Compared With Other SOLIDWORKS Credentials
The "API" in the name is what separates this credential from the general professional-level design certification. A quick comparison clarifies what you are signing up for:
| Aspect | CSWP-API | Design-focused professional certification |
|---|---|---|
| Core skill | Automating SOLIDWORKS with VBA code | Modeling and design proficiency |
| Hands-on style | Write and run automation tasks | Build models in the interface |
| Recommended prep | Design Essentials and API Fundamentals | Design-focused training |
| Programming needed | Yes, VBA | No |
The two are complementary. Design fluency helps you understand what you are trying to automate, while API fluency lets you do it repeatedly and at scale. The cost side of the decision is covered in CSWP-API Certification Cost.
Who Pursues This Credential
The people who gain most are those whose daily work already involves repetitive SOLIDWORKS tasks: engineers who generate many similar drawings, designers who populate custom properties across large assemblies, and CAD administrators who standardize output. The credential demonstrates that you can replace manual repetition with code.
On the career side, be careful with claims. The value of the certification is best judged by the automation you can demonstrate: a macro that builds a drawing, fills a BOM and exports a PDF is persuasive evidence on its own. Unsupported salary-uplift figures are not offered here, since none were verified. For a balanced view, see Is the CSWP-API Certification Worth It?, the CSWP-API Salary Guide and the overview of CSWP-API Jobs.
Fees, Delivery and Retakes
Mechanics matter once you have decoded the name and decided to proceed.
- Fee: US$49 for one North American attempt, excluding software and training.
- Requirements: no prior certification is required. Training courses are recommended preparation, not admission requirements. More in CSWP-API Requirements.
- Software: SOLIDWORKS 2017 or later on your own machine with an Internet connection.
- Delivery: through Tangix/VirtualTester. Follow the current VirtualTester Web Client instructions; the guide's older TesterPRO installation and crash-recovery language is superseded by the current browser-client instructions.
- Timing: the exam cannot be paused, so plan an uninterrupted two-hour block. Scheduling details are in CSWP-API Exam Dates.
- Retakes: a retake requires a new CSWP-API credit and at least a 14-day wait.
- Validity: the issuer's 2020 Certification Program Q&A states that customer and student certifications do not expire.
You can test your readiness with timed drills on the main practice test site, and the broader CSWP-API Training overview outlines learning options.
Frequently Asked Questions
It stands for Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional API. The SOLIDWORKS certification page also lists it as SOLIDWORKS API Professional (CSWP-API). It is issued by SOLIDWORKS, part of Dassault Systemes.
Yes, to a practical degree. The exam focuses on Visual Basic for Applications, and 18 of its 28 questions are hands-on automation tasks. You do not need a prior certification, but you do need working VBA skills and comfort with the SOLIDWORKS object model.
It has 28 questions: 18 hands-on automation tasks and 10 multiple-choice questions, worth 100 points in total. You need 70 points to pass and have 120 minutes. The exam cannot be paused once started.
No complete mock is provided in the issuer-linked guide. Its sample contains only four multiple-choice questions, and none of the hands-on tasks. Candidates typically build their own macros and test files to practice the coding portion.
According to the issuer's 2020 Certification Program Q&A, customer and student certifications do not expire. If you want a fuller explanation of the credential itself, see What Is CSWP-API Certification?