- What This Credential Actually Is
- Eligibility: What the Issuer Requires and Doesn't
- Software and Technical Requirements
- The Skills Baseline You Need Before Booking
- Exam Format You Must Be Ready For
- Separating Exam Credit, Software and Training Costs
- Retakes, Timer Rules and Certificate Validity
- A Domain-Ordered Readiness Plan
- Who Benefits Most From Qualifying
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The issuer imposes no prerequisite certification for Professional exams, including this Flow Simulation exam.
- You must supply licensed SOLIDWORKS with Flow Simulation 2018 or later, plus reliable Internet access.
- The exam is 13 hands-on questions in 90 minutes, with a 70% minimum passing grade.
- The North American catalog fee is US$49 per attempt, excluding software and training.
What This Credential Actually Is
Before you evaluate requirements, pin down the credential. On this site, CSWP-FS refers to the Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional - Flow Simulation exam. SOLIDWORKS, part of Dassault Systemes, publicly designates it as SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation Professional, CSWP-Flow. Search results and training catalogs use both labels, so when you see "CSWP-Flow" on the issuer's pages, you are looking at the same exam this article covers. If you want the naming background first, see What Does CSWP-FS Stand For? and What Is CSWP-FS Certification?.
This is a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) credential built around the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation add-in. It is not a structural simulation exam, and it does not test CAD modeling or drawing skills in the way the core CSWP does. Candidates set up and run fluid-flow studies, interpret results, and demonstrate a basic understanding of the finite volume method.
Eligibility: What the Issuer Requires and Doesn't
The most common question about requirements has a short answer: the general SOLIDWORKS certification FAQ imposes no prerequisite certification for Professional exams. You do not have to hold the Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate or the core CSWP before sitting this exam, and the issuer does not set a minimum employment history, degree, or age threshold in the facts we verified.
The issuer does recommend preparation: the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation course and the associated Learning Path. These are recommendations, not entry conditions. The two-day training course should not be confused with the exam timer, and it is not a mandatory training-hours requirement. Nobody checks whether you attended it before letting you test.
What is not listed as a requirement
- A prior SOLIDWORKS certification of any level
- Proof of course attendance or a minimum number of training hours
- A fixed testing window tied to a specific exam-outline year (the live exam page is undated)
For a deeper look at how demanding the exam is once you are in, read How Hard Is the CSWP-FS Exam?
Software and Technical Requirements
The practical requirements are where candidates stumble. You must supply your own compatible licensed software and your own Internet access. The issuer's stated minimum is SOLIDWORKS Standard with SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2018, or SOLIDWORKS Student Edition 2018, or later, as specified on the exact exam page you register from.
| Requirement | What the issuer specifies | What to verify yourself |
|---|---|---|
| CAD/CFD software | SOLIDWORKS Standard with Flow Simulation 2018 or later, or Student Edition 2018 or later | That the Flow Simulation add-in is licensed and activates on your machine |
| Delivery client | Tangix/VirtualTester; current instructions use the VirtualTester Web Client | Follow current browser-client instructions, not legacy TesterPRO setup guides |
| Connectivity | Candidate supplies Internet access | A stable connection, since the online timer cannot be paused |
| Prior certification | None required for Professional exams | Nothing to prove at registration |
Do a full dry run well before exam day: open SOLIDWORKS, confirm the Flow Simulation add-in loads, create a project with the Wizard, and run a trivial solve. Discovering a licensing problem during a 90-minute timed attempt is expensive.
The Skills Baseline You Need Before Booking
Because there is no formal gate, qualifying really means meeting a skills baseline. The issuer lists 11 unweighted exam topics. They describe included topics rather than a percentage-weighted blueprint, so do not assume any topic carries more marks because of its position in the list. The complete treatment is in CSWP-FS Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 11 Content Areas; here is the baseline view organized by what you need to be fluent in.
Domains 1-3: Liquids and gas; internal and external flow; multiple inlets or outlets
You need to choose the right analysis type and fluid in the Wizard, and know the difference between an enclosed internal study and an external one around a body.
- Set boundary conditions (inlet velocity, mass flow, static or total pressure) appropriately for the physical situation
- Close internal models correctly, for example with lids, so the computational domain is valid
- Handle systems with several inlets and outlets without over-constraining the problem
Domains 4-6: Fluid mixing; conjugated heat transfer; natural and forced convection
This is the physics-heavy cluster. You must know when heat conduction in solids is coupled with fluid flow and how to define multiple fluids and mixing.
- Define solid materials and heat sources for conjugated heat transfer studies
- Distinguish natural convection (buoyancy-driven, gravity enabled) from forced convection
- Configure fluid mixing with the right fluid subdomains and boundary conditions
Domains 7-11: Results, units, configurations, duplicated studies, mesh control
These are workflow-and-accuracy topics that show up as answer-entry details.
- Extract force, velocity or pressure with goals, probes, cut plots and surface parameters
- Work in the unit system a question specifies and convert carefully
- Work with configurations, and duplicate and edit studies rather than rebuilding from scratch
- Control mesh size and understand the trade-off between result quality and solver time
A quick self-check
If you can take an unfamiliar assembly, set up an internal flow study with two inlets and one outlet, add a goal for pressure drop, run it, and report the result in the requested units without referring to notes, you are plausibly ready. If any step feels slow, that step is your gap. The public SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation course contents (PMT2643-ENG, copyright 2025) are a useful map of preparation topics, though they are preparation curriculum headings rather than an exhaustive statement of exam coverage. See CSWP-FS Study Guide: How to Pass on Your First Attempt for a fuller preparation path.
Exam Format You Must Be Ready For
The format itself is a requirement of sorts: you need the stamina and speed to handle it. The exam consists of 13 hands-on questions in 90 minutes, with a minimum passing grade of 70%. That is roughly seven minutes per question on average, which is tight when each question may require setting up or modifying a study, solving, and extracting a value.
The questions are practical rather than recall-based. You are working in SOLIDWORKS with a provided model, then entering the answer you obtained. This is why generic multiple-choice banks are a poor preparation fit: the skill being tested is operating the software correctly under time pressure. Note that 70% is the passing score, not a pass rate. Published population pass rates were not verified, so be cautious with anyone quoting one; CSWP-FS Pass Rate: What the Data Shows explains what can and cannot be said, and CSWP-FS Passing Score: Exactly What You Need to Pass covers the score threshold.
Key Takeaway
Plan around time per question, not just correctness. Practice duplicating and editing existing studies, since reusing a configured study is far faster than building a new one from the Wizard.
Separating Exam Credit, Software and Training Costs
Requirements include money, and the cleanest way to think about it is three separate budgets that candidates often blur together.
| Budget line | What it covers | Known figure |
|---|---|---|
| Exam credit | One attempt at the exam in the North American catalog | US$49 |
| Software | Licensed SOLIDWORKS with Flow Simulation (or Student Edition) 2018 or later | Not included in the exam fee; varies by license you already hold |
| Training | Recommended Flow Simulation course and Learning Path | Not included in the exam fee; recommended, not required |
The US$49 fee is for one attempt and explicitly excludes software and training. If your employer or school already provides a licensed seat, your out-of-pocket exam cost may be just the credit. Regional pricing can differ from the North American catalog, so confirm the amount on the page where you register. For the full breakdown, see CSWP-FS Certification Cost: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Retakes, Timer Rules and Certificate Validity
Three rules shape how you should schedule your first attempt.
- Retakes: You must wait at least 14 days and purchase another CSWP-Flow exam credit. A failed attempt costs both time and money, which is an argument for being sure before you book.
- Timer: The online exam timer cannot be paused. Interruptions, such as a license server dropping or a connection failure, eat directly into your 90 minutes.
- Validity: The issuer's 2020 Certification Program Q&A states that customer and student certifications do not expire. That means qualifying once is not tied to a recurring renewal cycle, though you should check the issuer's current policy page for any changes.
For scheduling specifics, including how booking works in practice, see CSWP-FS Exam Dates: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
A Domain-Ordered Readiness Plan
Rather than a generic schedule, order your preparation by dependency: later topics rely on earlier ones. This is the one place a timeline is useful, because the domains build on each other.
Foundations: fluids, internal vs. external, boundary conditions
- Run simple internal and external studies with liquids and gases
- Practice closing models and applying inlet and outlet conditions
- Add multiple inlets and outlets to a single system
Physics: mixing, conjugated heat transfer, convection
- Build a mixing study with more than one fluid
- Couple solid heat sources to fluid flow
- Compare natural and forced convection setups
Speed and accuracy: results, units, configurations, duplication, mesh
- Extract force, velocity and pressure repeatedly until it is automatic
- Switch unit systems and verify answers
- Duplicate and edit studies; test coarse vs. fine mesh against solver time
- Finish with timed runs of 13 problems against 90 minutes
Use the practice tests on the main site to rehearse the question rhythm, and keep a short list of your own errors by domain. The CSWP-FS cheat sheet works well as a last-day review of settings and facts.
Who Benefits Most From Qualifying
Because the credential is narrow, its value depends on your role. It tends to matter most for engineers who regularly assess thermal management, ducting, pumps, valves, enclosures or other fluid-handling hardware inside SOLIDWORKS. For these roles, the exam is concrete evidence that you can run a defensible flow study, not just click through a tutorial. It also helps to understand that Flow Simulation is distinct from structural simulation; if your work is stress and deformation, the CSWP-Simulation path is the better fit, and the comparison is worth reading before you commit.
On career outcomes, be realistic. No guaranteed salary premium comes with this certification, and you should evaluate return on investment through the requirements of the roles you target and the project evidence you can show alongside the credential. For that analysis see Is the CSWP-FS Certification Worth It?, CSWP-FS Salary Guide and CSWP-FS Jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The general SOLIDWORKS certification FAQ imposes no prerequisite certification for Professional exams. You can register for the Flow Simulation Professional exam without holding the Associate or core CSWP, though practical SOLIDWORKS fluency is still essential.
You need SOLIDWORKS Standard with Flow Simulation 2018 or later, or SOLIDWORKS Student Edition 2018 or later, as specified on the exact exam page. You supply the licensed software and Internet access yourself; the exam fee does not include them.
No. The SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation course and Learning Path are recommended preparation, not a registration requirement. The two-day course length is a training duration, unrelated to the 90-minute exam timer.
The exam has 13 hands-on questions in 90 minutes, and the minimum passing grade is 70%. The 11 listed topics are unweighted, so avoid assuming any one topic carries a fixed share of the marks.
You must wait at least 14 days and purchase another CSWP-Flow exam credit. Since the online timer cannot be paused and each attempt has a fee, it is worth completing timed practice runs before your first booking.
In short, qualifying for CSWP-FS is less about meeting formal eligibility, which the issuer keeps minimal, and more about showing up with working software, a clean technical setup, and enough hands-on speed to complete 13 flow-study questions in 90 minutes. Get those three things right and the paperwork side takes care of itself.