QEI Training

What "QEI Training" Actually Covers

"QEI training" can mean three different things, and confusing them is the fastest way to waste money. For the NAESA Qualified Elevator Inspector credential, it can mean (1) the education and field experience that qualify you to apply, (2) the optional four-day training course NAESA runs alongside its examination, or (3) your own self-directed preparation against the required reference documents. Each plays a different role, and only the first is mandatory.

This credential is issued and administered by NAESA International, the National Association of Elevator Safety Authorities. It is not the same as other certifications that happen to share the acronym, so make sure every course, book, or practice resource you buy is aimed at the NAESA Qualified Elevator Inspector exam. If you are still orienting yourself, start with What Is QEI? and What Does QEI Stand For?, then return here for the preparation roadmap.

Eligibility Comes Before Any Course

Here is the point many candidates miss: NAESA must approve your documented education or training and your elevator experience against ASME QEI-1 and its application requirements before an exam can be scheduled. Signing up for a review course does not shortcut that process. The optional four-day review course does not replace eligibility.

Our companion piece, QEI Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, walks through the qualification side in more depth. One practical caution: the current Inspector Applicant Handbook (September 2024 edition) was not retrievable during our public source review, so read it yourself on the NAESA site before you commit to a timeline.

The Four-Day Training and Exam Event

NAESA offers a combined QEI Training Course and Certification Exam. A published example is the Hanover, Maryland event running November 9-13, 2026. The format pairs four days of instruction with the examination, and NAESA course events supply the proctors, which removes one logistical burden from you.

The trade-off is cost and travel. If you already work daily with these codes and are comfortable navigating them under time pressure, the exam-only route may suit you better. We compare both options in a table below, and the full financial picture is in QEI Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Building Your Codebook Library

Because the exam is open-book, your reference library is part of your training, not an afterthought. Codebooks cost extra beyond any course or exam fee, and the required-codebook list applies to examinations after March 1, 2026. One detail deserves emphasis: the required reference is the ASME A17.1 codebook itself, not its handbook. The handbook is a commentary resource; it is not a substitute.

• Hardcopy is recommended. Physical books let you tab, highlight, and flip without touching your exam laptop.
• PDF references are allowed on a separate device. Your exam laptop can only run the required testing software, so electronic references must live on another device.
• Canadian candidates have separately listed alternatives: B355-2019 (R2024), CAN/CSA-Z185:23, and CSA C22.1-2024.

Announced reference changes planned for March 2027 are separate from the 2026 scope discussed here. If your exam date is close to that boundary, verify with NAESA which edition applies to your sitting before buying anything.

The Nine Reference Topics, Explained

NAESA lists nine required reference titles. We treat them as unweighted preparation topics: the published sources do not provide an official percentage allocation, and they do not identify a highest-weight topic. Anyone who tells you "A17.1 is exactly X% of the exam" is guessing. For a deeper walkthrough, see QEI Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 9 Content Areas.

Note on paid content: while the titles and editions above are verified, this article does not claim to reproduce the contents of the paid codebooks. Use the books themselves as your source of truth.

Training for an Open-Book, Proctored Format

The exam consists of 160 multiple-choice code questions plus 6 demographic questions, delivered online under proctor supervision. You are given an 8-hour exam allowance and a required 30-minute break. Published materials do not clarify whether the break falls inside the 8-hour allowance, so confirm that with NAESA before test day rather than assuming.

Technical and proctoring setup

• Bring an internet-connected laptop and install the required testing software ahead of time.
• No other programs can run on the exam laptop, so keep PDFs on a separate device.
• If you arrange your own sitting rather than attending a NAESA course event, you need two approved proctors. Direct supervisors, friends, and family are excluded.

Practice without shortcuts

NAESA does not publish a practice examination. Be wary of any resource claiming to contain "recalled" or "leaked" official questions; ethical preparation uses original, independently written questions that test the same skills. Our QEI practice test site is built on that principle, and you can pair it with the QEI Study Guide 2026 for a structured approach.

Sequencing Your Preparation

Generic study advice is plentiful; what matters here is ordering the nine references sensibly. The sequence below is a suggested framework, not an official curriculum, and you should stretch or compress it based on your experience. Since no domain weighting is published, it is built around dependency and familiarity rather than "what is worth the most points."

Why this order? A17.1 and A17.2 form the backbone that later documents reference or modify, so mastering them first makes everything else easier to place. Specialty and electrical references come later because they build on that backbone. If you are short on time, the QEI Cheat Sheet 2026 can help you prioritize quick-reference facts.

Course Route vs. Exam-Only Route

A pricing wrinkle to verify: the certification page references membership after passing the initial $500 examination, while the FAQ describes membership as an additional cost. This conflict was not resolved in the sources reviewed, so ask NAESA directly. The certification page does explicitly exclude membership from the $400 retake. For the broader financial question of whether the investment pays off, see Is the QEI Certification Worth It? and the QEI Salary Guide 2026.

After You Pass: Renewal Training

Training does not end at certification. Annual renewal requires:

• 10 approved educational hours (1.0 CEU)
• Completion of the online Maintenance of Qualifications survey
• A fee of $200 for members or $250 for nonmembers

Expiration falls on June 30 or December 31, so confirm your own date and start accumulating approved hours early rather than scrambling near the deadline. Note that renewal cadence is annual, which makes continuing education a standing part of the career, not a one-time hurdle. If you are exploring where the credential can take you, see QEI Jobs.

Frequently Asked Questions