- What the Credential Actually Is
- Names, Aliases, and the Acronym Confusion
- How the Hands-On Exam Works
- The 13 Published Objective Areas
- Why BOM Tables Deserve Extra Attention
- Registration, Fees, and Testing Setup
- Who Should Take It and Who Hires for It
- A Domain-Driven Prep Sequence
- What the Credential Does Not Prove
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CSWAP-DT here means Certified SOLIDWORKS Advanced Professional Drawing Tools, a hands-on SOLIDWORKS drawing exam from Dassault Systemes.
- The exam runs 100 minutes with a 75% minimum passing grade, and the clock never pauses.
- SOLIDWORKS lists no formal prerequisites; a prior CSWP is not required to attempt it.
- Each attempt costs USD 20 in North America, and a failed attempt means a 14-day wait plus a new exam credit.
What the Credential Actually Is
The Certified SOLIDWORKS Advanced Professional Drawing Tools credential, abbreviated CSWAP-DT, validates one narrow but commercially important skill: producing and editing SOLIDWORKS drawings quickly and correctly under time pressure. It is not a modeling exam. You are given a task set, open your own copy of SOLIDWORKS, build or modify drawings, and answer questions based on what you produce.
The credential is issued by SOLIDWORKS, a Dassault Systemes brand, and delivered through the SOLIDWORKS/3DEXPERIENCE Certification Center using VirtualTester. If you are brand new to the terminology, our explainers on what CSWAP-DT is and what CSWAP-DT stands for cover the naming in more detail, while this article focuses on what the certification demands and what it is worth.
Names, Aliases, and the Acronym Confusion
If you search for this exam, you will meet several labels that point to the same drawing certification. SOLIDWORKS's current public exam title is SOLIDWORKS Drawing Tools Professional (CSWP-DT). Older materials, study sites, and forum threads frequently say CSWPA-DT, a legacy alias that still dominates search results. This site's CSWAP-DT label reflects the "Advanced Professional" phrasing in the credential identity we preserve.
| Label | Where you see it | What it refers to |
|---|---|---|
| CSWP-DT | Current SOLIDWORKS exam page | The Drawing Tools professional exam |
| CSWPA-DT | Older guides, practice exams, videos | Legacy search alias for the same Drawing Tools certification |
| CSWAP-DT | This site | Certified SOLIDWORKS Advanced Professional Drawing Tools |
Do not confuse any of these with the core CSWP (modeling) exam. Drawing Tools is a separate test with its own objective list. For a deeper treatment of the naming, see CSWAP-DT meaning and what is a CSWAP-DT.
How the Hands-On Exam Works
This is a practical, performance-style assessment. Rather than selecting definitions from a list, you open SOLIDWORKS files, create or adjust drawing views, edit tables and annotations, and then enter measured results or answers into the testing interface. The verified parameters are:
- Time limit: 100 minutes.
- Minimum passing grade: 75%. See the passing score breakdown for what that means in practice.
- Software: SOLIDWORKS 2019 or later. This is a minimum compatibility version, not the year of the exam outline.
- Delivery: VirtualTester Web Client, with current instructions pointing to the linked SOLIDWORKS Exam Procedure. Some older instructions still use the name TesterPRO; follow the current procedure rather than treating the two interfaces as interchangeable.
- Pausing: Not allowed. If your computer crashes or restarts, the clock keeps running.
We deliberately do not state a fixed question count. The issuer's official sample archive could not be retrieved while preparing this article, and older sample videos and uploaded guides vary, so any specific item count would be a guess. Plan around the 100-minute limit instead.
The 13 Published Objective Areas
SOLIDWORKS publishes a list of exam objective areas. The issuer describes hands-on challenges across many of them, but it does not assign point weights or claim the list is an exhaustive blueprint. Treat the 13 headings below as the public scope, in the issuer's order, and avoid any resource that claims precise percentage allocations per section. A fuller walkthrough lives in the complete guide to all 13 content areas.
Domains 1-3: Basic View Creation, Section Views, Auxiliary Views
The foundation of every drawing. You need to place standard views quickly, control their orientation and scale, create section views from cutting lines, and project auxiliary views from inclined edges.
- Know how to set view scale and display style without opening menus repeatedly
- Understand section cut line placement and which components get sectioned
- Practice auxiliary views from angled faces and edges
Domains 4-6: Alternate Position, Relative to Model, Broken-out Section
These are the views that separate casual drawing users from fluent ones.
- Alternate Position Views show an assembly in a second configuration or position overlaid on the first
- Relative to Model Views orient a view using selected faces or planes of the model rather than a named standard orientation
- Broken-out Section removes material inside a closed profile to reveal interior detail
Domains 7-8: View Focus and Sketch Transfer
These two areas test drawing-sheet behavior more than view creation. View Focus when creating 2D geometry is about which view a sketch belongs to when you draw, and Transferring sketch elements to/from Views is about moving geometry between views and the sheet context.
- Know how to activate a view so new sketch geometry lands where you intend
- Practice moving sketch entities between views and checking their behavior afterward
Domains 9-13: BOM Tables, Item Numbers, Hide/Show, Linked Notes, Importing Model Items
The documentation half of the exam. You build a bill of materials, control how balloons and item numbers display, hide or show components in views, create notes that pull from properties, and import dimensions and annotations from the model into the drawing.
- Item numbers and their display covers balloon behavior and numbering logic
- Hide/show components controls what appears in each view
- Linked notes connect note text to data rather than static typing
- Importing Model Items brings model dimensions and annotations into drawing views
Why BOM Tables Deserve Extra Attention
Domain 9, BOM Table creation and modification, is the only objective area for which SOLIDWORKS lists extensive nested sub-objectives. They include:
- Top-level BOMs
- Parts-only BOMs
- Indented BOMs
- Part configuration grouping
- Missing items
- Accessing custom properties in a BOM
- Using equations with BOM data
These are nested objectives under one top-level heading, not seven extra domains, but the breadth tells you something: a candidate who is comfortable with views yet shaky on BOM behavior has a real exposure. Equations inside BOM columns and configuration grouping are the kind of detail that costs minutes when you meet them cold.
Key Takeaway
Build a small set of practice assemblies with multiple configurations and custom properties, then recreate each BOM type (top-level, parts-only, indented) on the same assembly. Switching between them repeatedly teaches the differences faster than reading about them.
Registration, Fees, and Testing Setup
SOLIDWORKS states that its professional certification exams have no formal prerequisites, so you do not need a prior CSWP credential to sit this one. The details of eligibility are covered in our requirements guide. Note one common point of confusion: the issuer-recommended preparation, the SOLIDWORKS Drawings and CSWP-Drawing Tools Exam Prep Course, may have its own prerequisites as a training class, but that is not an eligibility requirement for the exam itself.
| Item | Verified detail |
|---|---|
| Fee | USD 20 per attempt (current catalog, North America) |
| Duration | 100 minutes |
| Passing grade | 75% |
| Retake rule | 14-day wait and a new exam credit |
| Unused credits | Purchased exam credits do not expire (a credit rule, not a statement about credential validity) |
| Software | Your own working SOLIDWORKS 2019 or later |
| Monitors | Dual monitors recommended |
Training and your SOLIDWORKS installation are separate costs from the exam fee. Eligible commercial subscription customers may also qualify for exam benefits under the issuer's subscription offer, which provides up to three eligible exams per seat twice a year, subject to license and exam restrictions. For a complete money breakdown, see the certification cost guide, and for scheduling logistics see exam dates and scheduling.
On exam day you use the VirtualTester Web Client at webclient.virtualtester.com, per the current linked procedure. Run through the setup before the day you need it, so a login or software issue does not eat into your 100 minutes.
Who Should Take It and Who Hires for It
The natural candidates are people whose daily output is drawings: detailers, design engineers who release their own documentation, drafters moving into SOLIDWORKS, technicians who maintain drawing packages, and students who want proof of practical documentation ability. Employers in machine design, product development, and contract engineering commonly care about drawing fluency because drawings are the handoff to manufacturing and purchasing.
The credential also has a place in a longer path. Drawing Tools can count as one of the advanced-topic certifications used alongside CSWP toward eligibility for the SOLIDWORKS Design Expert (CSWE). Those Expert-path prerequisites do not apply to Drawing Tools itself; they apply to the Expert credential you might pursue later.
As for pay, we make no claim of a certification-specific salary premium. Drawing Tools proof is best understood as portfolio evidence and a screening signal. For an honest look at earnings context, read the salary analysis, the ROI discussion, and a look at the kinds of jobs where drawing skills matter.
A Domain-Driven Prep Sequence
Rather than generic study scheduling, order your practice by dependency. Views come first because every later skill depends on them; BOM and annotation work comes after because it sits on top of finished views. A sample sequence:
Views you must place without hesitation
- Basic View Creation and Section Views on several part types
- Auxiliary Views from inclined faces
Specialty views
- Alternate Position, Relative to Model, and Broken-out Section
- Time yourself: a view you need five minutes to build is a view that threatens your 100
Sheet behavior and BOMs
- View Focus and sketch transfer drills
- Every BOM type, plus equations and custom properties
Annotation finish and full timed runs
- Item numbers, hide/show, linked notes, Importing Model Items
- Complete mock runs under the full 100-minute limit
For a fuller plan, use the first-attempt study guide and keep the one-page cheat sheet nearby for last-minute review. You can also drill question-style practice on the main practice test site, and consider structured options listed under CSWAP-DT training. Not sure how demanding the test feels? See our difficulty analysis.
What the Credential Does Not Prove
Passing shows you can operate SOLIDWORKS drawing tools efficiently. It does not certify knowledge of drafting standards. Software drawing-tool proficiency is not itself an ISO or GD&T qualification; knowing how to place a dimension is different from knowing which dimension and tolerance the design intent requires. Pair the credential with genuine standards knowledge if your role involves inspection-ready or tolerance-critical drawings.
We also assert no certification-wide pass rate, because none is published by the issuer in the sources we rely on. If you want context on how people discuss results, see what the pass-rate data does and does not show. Successful candidates receive a certificate or digital credential, and whether it appears in the public directory depends on your visibility settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
They all point to the SOLIDWORKS Drawing Tools certification. SOLIDWORKS currently titles the exam SOLIDWORKS Drawing Tools Professional (CSWP-DT), and CSWPA-DT is a common legacy alias. None of them is the core CSWP modeling exam.
No. SOLIDWORKS's program FAQ states that professional certification exams have no formal prerequisites. A prior CSWP is not imposed for this exam, though it is a sensible stepping stone for many candidates.
The exam is a hands-on SOLIDWORKS drawing assessment with a 100-minute limit and a minimum passing grade of 75%. It cannot be paused, and the clock continues if your computer crashes or restarts.
The current catalog lists USD 20 per attempt for North America. A failed attempt requires a 14-day wait and a new exam credit before you can retake it.
We do not claim a certification-specific salary increase. The credential is most useful as portfolio evidence of drawing proficiency and as a screening signal for roles that produce SOLIDWORKS drawings daily.
The CSWAP-DT is a focused, inexpensive, performance-based way to document a skill that many engineering teams rely on every day. Start with the 13 objective areas, give BOM tables real practice time, and use the practice test site to build speed before you spend an attempt.