EXAM GUIDE · CHECKED 27 SEPTEMBER 2026
API 580 Exam Guide
API 580 Risk Based Inspection certification exam: format, eligibility, the publication it is based on, and how to prepare for a closed-book paper on the elements of an RBI programme. Every exam fact on this page comes from API's own documents, linked at the bottom. Where API has not published something, this page does not guess.
Exam format
| Questions | 90 in total: 80 scored and 10 unscored pretest questions |
|---|---|
| Format | Closed book throughout — there is no open-book part |
| Exam length | 3.25 hours |
| Delivery | Computer-based, either in person at a test centre or through remote proctoring |
| References | None. Paper and reference materials are not allowed into the exam |
| Body of Knowledge | Based on API RP 580, Elements of a Risk-Based Inspection Program, 4th edition (2023) |
| Passing score | API states a set passing scaled score and does not publish the number. Anyone quoting one is guessing |
| Certification | Valid for three years, then recertification |
Time per question
The two parts are timed separately, and the time available per question is very different. Worked out from API's published timings:
CLOSED BOOK
2.2min per question
90 questions in 195 minutes
Eligibility
API sets a minimum amount of experience that depends on your education, and issues the certification only once your application has no open deficiencies.
| EDUCATION | EXPERIENCE | IN |
|---|---|---|
| A current API 510, 570 or 653 certification | None | Holding any one of the three qualifies you automatically |
| BS or higher in engineering or technology | 1 year | Any experience in the petrochemical industry, acquired within the last 10 years |
| 2-year degree or certificate in engineering or technology | 2 years | Any experience in the petrochemical industry, acquired within the last 10 years |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 3 years | Any experience in the petrochemical industry, acquired within the last 10 years |
| No formal education | 5 or more years | Any experience in the petrochemical industry, acquired within the last 10 years |
Publications examined
These are the editions on API's effectivity sheets. Where API limits the exam to certain sections, the list says so — anything outside those sections is not examined. The documents are copyrighted; buy them from an authorised seller.
For Current Body of Knowledge
One publication. API words it as the Body of Knowledge being BASED ON this document rather than being the whole of it.
API RP 580, Elements of a Risk-Based Inspection Program
4th edition, 2023
How to prepare
RBI is a method, and the exam tests the method
RP 580 sets out what an RBI programme must contain — screening, data and information collection, damage mechanism identification, probability and consequence assessment, risk determination, mitigation and reassessment. Questions follow those elements, so the reliable way in is to be able to say what each one is for and what it produces, in order.
Know where 580 stops and 581 begins
RP 580 says what an RBI programme has to do; RP 581 gives one quantitative way to do it. The exam is on 580. Candidates who prepare from 581's calculations are answering a question that is not asked, and the distinction itself is examinable.
Probability and consequence are qualitative here
Expect judgement rather than arithmetic: which factors raise probability of failure, what a consequence category covers, how a risk matrix is read, what makes a reassessment due. At 195 minutes for 90 questions there is time to think, which is why the questions reward understanding over recall.
It is closed book, so the vocabulary has to be yours
No references are allowed, and RP 580 is a document of defined terms. Inspection effectiveness categories, risk drivers, the difference between a screening and a detailed assessment — these need to be usable from memory, not recognisable on a page.
PRACTISING WITH ASSETRONX
The API 580 bank has 1,586 questions — 1,586 closed-book and 0 open-book — each with its answer, the reasoning and the clause it comes from, plus 2 full mock exams timed like the real day. Questions are grouped by publication, so you can work through one document at a time.
| PUBLICATION | CLOSED BOOK | OPEN BOOK |
|---|---|---|
| API.580 | 1,586 | 0 |
Questions
How many questions are on the API 580 exam?
90: 80 scored questions and 10 unscored pretest questions that API is trialling.
Is the API 580 exam open book?
No. API states that all questions are multiple-choice and closed-book, and that paper and reference materials are not allowed into the examinations.
Which edition of API RP 580 is examined?
The Body of Knowledge is based on API RP 580, Elements of a Risk-Based Inspection Program, 4th edition (2023). API publishes a Body of Knowledge document for each exam year; check it against your exam date.
Is API 581 on the exam?
The Body of Knowledge API publishes for this exam names RP 580. RP 581 is the quantitative methodology that sits alongside it, and it is not what API lists here.
Do I need API 510, 570 or 653 first?
No, but holding a current one of the three qualifies you automatically. Without one, qualification is by education plus petrochemical experience acquired within the last 10 years — one year with a BS, two with a two-year degree, three with a high school diploma, five or more with no formal education.
What is the passing score for API 580?
API says the exam has a set passing scaled score and does not publish the figure. Any specific number you find on a preparation site is not from API.
Sources
Checked on 27 September 2026. API updates these documents for each exam window; if anything here differs from API's current documents, API is right.
AssetronX is an independent exam preparation provider and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the American Petroleum Institute. API 580 is a certification of the American Petroleum Institute.