- CSWA-E is the SOLIDWORKS Electrical Design Associate credential, issued by SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systèmes), not an electrician license.
- The exam has 50 multiple-choice or true/false questions, 60 minutes, and a 35/50 (70%) passing score.
- It is a knowledge test, not a hands-on CAD build, so there is no two-hour practical exam.
- The North American fee is USD 20 per attempt; retakes need 14 days and a new exam credit.
What the Name Actually Means
CSWA-E stands for Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate - Electrical. SOLIDWORKS, a Dassault Systèmes product line, currently titles the credential "SOLIDWORKS Electrical Design Associate (CSWA-E)" on its certification page. The acronym is the older, still widely used shorthand, and you will see both names used interchangeably in training material, job postings, and study communities.
The credential sits at the Associate tier of the SOLIDWORKS certification program. Its purpose is narrow and clear: it verifies that a candidate understands the fundamentals of electrical design as practiced inside SOLIDWORKS Electrical, the software used to create schematics, manage electrical components, and coordinate electrical content with 3D layouts. If you want the shortest possible definition, it is a software-centered electrical design knowledge credential. For related phrasing of the same question, see our explainers on what CSWA-E stands for and CSWA-E meaning.
Why It Is Not Electrician Licensing
This is the most common point of confusion, so it deserves to be stated plainly. CSWA-E does not license anyone to perform electrical work. It does not replace an apprenticeship, a journeyman card, a master electrician license, or any jurisdiction-specific trade examination. Nobody takes the CSWA-E to legally wire a building or sign off on an installation.
What it does measure is whether you can reason about electrical design the way SOLIDWORKS Electrical expects: how schematics are structured, how components and wires relate, how electrical data carries into a 3D panel or cabinet layout, and how the finished design translates into installation considerations. Think of it as proof of design-tool literacy in an electrical context, aimed at designers, drafters, engineering students, and engineers who document electrical systems.
Exam Format at a Glance
The official exam guide and sample exam specify the structure directly. The exam consists of 50 questions, each worth one point. You have 60 minutes. The passing score is 35 out of 50 points, which works out to 70%. A September 23, 2025 SOLIDWORKS lesson on the Electrical Design Associate exam confirms the same total, timing, and passing score, and describes the items as true/false or multiple-choice.
| Attribute | CSWA-E Detail |
|---|---|
| Issuer | SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systèmes) |
| Number of questions | 50, one point each |
| Time limit | 60 minutes |
| Passing score | 35/50 (70%) |
| Question types | Multiple-choice and true/false |
| Delivery | Online via SOLIDWORKS/VirtualTester |
| Fee (North America) | USD 20 per attempt |
| Formal prerequisites | None for Associate-level exams |
Correcting the "Practical Exam" Myth
You may run across claims that CSWA-E is a two-hour, hands-on exam in which you build or modify designs in the software. That description belongs to other SOLIDWORKS credentials and does not match this one. The Electrical Design Associate exam is a knowledge test. The exam page contains one generic sentence about "hands-on challenges," but it also carries an explicit note that this exam is not hands-on, and the exam-specific guide and the 2025 lesson settle the matter: 50 knowledge questions in 60 minutes.
That distinction changes how you prepare. You are not drilling click sequences against a timer. You are building the conceptual understanding to answer scenario and terminology questions quickly and accurately. For a deeper look at how demanding that is in practice, read how hard the CSWA-E exam is, and for the scoring threshold itself see the CSWA-E passing score explained.
The Five Exam Topics
SOLIDWORKS publishes five exam topic headings. These are the issuer's exact topic names, not a detailed, weighted blueprint, so treat the list as a map of the territory rather than a promise about how many questions each area contributes. We do not assume the five are weighted equally, and no single topic is officially identified as the heaviest.
Domain 1: Electrical Theory
The foundation under everything else. Expect questions that test whether you understand basic electrical concepts well enough to read and reason about a schematic.
- Circuit fundamentals and how components behave in a circuit
- Reading symbols and understanding what a drawn connection means electrically
- Why wires and connections are grouped and identified the way they are
Domain 2: SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematics
The core software skill area: how a schematic is built, organized, and kept consistent inside SOLIDWORKS Electrical.
- Electrical schematics: placing symbols, connecting them, and managing drawing content
- Wire numbering: how wires receive identifiers and why consistent numbering matters
- Equipotentials: how connected points that share the same electrical potential are recognized and grouped
Domain 3: SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D
The bridge between schematic intent and the physical layout of a cabinet, enclosure, or machine.
- How electrical components relate to their 3D representations
- Why the schematic and the 3D model need to stay aligned
- Terminology for placing and organizing electrical content in a 3D environment
Domain 4: Electrical Design
Design-level thinking: how a designer makes sound choices when assembling an electrical project rather than just drawing it.
- Structuring a project so documentation stays coherent
- Working with components and manufacturer data in a design context
- Understanding how design decisions affect downstream documents
Domain 5: Installation
"Installation" is a published heading, but there is no exhaustive official subtopic list or weighting for it. Prepare for it as the point where design meets the real world.
- How a finished design supports building and wiring the actual system
- Awareness of the software setup context for a SOLIDWORKS Electrical environment
- Reasoning about what the documentation must convey to whoever installs the equipment
For a fuller breakdown of each area, see our complete guide to the five CSWA-E content areas.
Working Through the Official Sample
SOLIDWORKS provides an issuer-linked exam guide and practice test for CSWA-E. It includes an eight-question sample, which is a taste of the style and not the full exam, so do not read it as a representative cross-section of all 50 questions. Its value is in showing you how questions are phrased and how much reasoning they expect.
The better way to use it is to practice explaining each answer in your own words. If you can say why a wrong option is wrong, you understand the concept well enough to survive a differently worded question on test day. For example, a question touching on wire numbering should prompt you to ask: what is the numbering scheme trying to guarantee, and what would break if two distinct wires shared a number? A question touching on equipotentials should lead you to ask which points are electrically the same node and why the software groups them. This habit of tracing a rule back to its purpose is what separates candidates who memorize screens from those who can handle an unfamiliar phrasing.
Be aware that the sample guide contains some unrelated boilerplate about drawing tools and model-based definition left over from other SOLIDWORKS exam documents. Ignore it. The exam-specific statements on format and scoring, together with the 2025 lesson, are the authoritative sources for this credential. Our one-page CSWA-E cheat sheet condenses the verified facts if you want a quick reference.
Software Familiarity and Exam Access
What the Software Requirement Really Means
The exam page asks for familiarity with SOLIDWORKS Electrical principles from version 2015 or later. That is a statement about the knowledge you should have, not a requirement to buy, install, or hold a 2015 license. You can use any reasonably current release to learn the concepts, and the principles in question carry across versions.
Interactive use of the software is not necessary to sit the exam. However, the exam guide and the 2025 lesson do permit running SOLIDWORKS Electrical to help answer questions, so having it available can be a convenience if you already use it. Candidates who work in the software daily often find that hands-on familiarity makes the terminology feel natural, but it is not a gatekeeping requirement.
How Testing Is Delivered
Testing is online through SOLIDWORKS and its VirtualTester platform. The older exam guide names Tangix TesterPRO, while current program instructions direct candidates to the VirtualTester Web Client; follow the current instructions when you register. Proctoring language that appears in academic contexts should not be read as establishing a universal webcam rule for every candidate, so confirm the specifics for your own testing route when you schedule. For scheduling details, see CSWA-E exam dates and scheduling.
Fees, Retakes, and Validity
The published fee in North America is USD 20 for one attempt. Lesson 13 also confirms that free attempts are available through eligible Academic Certification Providers, which typically means certain schools and training programs. That does not make every attempt free: a candidate registering independently through the retail route pays the standard fee. Pricing outside North America may differ, so check the program page for your region. A fuller cost analysis is in the CSWA-E certification cost breakdown.
- Prerequisites: Associate and Professional exams carry no formal entry prerequisites. Recommended study in Electrical Schematic, Electrical 3D, and the Electrical Learning Path is preparation, not an eligibility gate. See CSWA-E requirements for the full picture.
- Retakes: If you do not pass, you must wait at least 14 days and purchase a fresh exam credit. Older guide wording that mentions 30 days is superseded by the current exam page and program policy.
- Validity: SOLIDWORKS states that customer and student certificates have no official expiration date.
Key Takeaway
Because the fee is modest and the retake rule is a simple 14-day wait plus a new credit, the financial risk of a first attempt is low. Still, treat each attempt as a real one: a failed try costs both a credit and two weeks.
Who Benefits From the Credential
CSWA-E is most useful to people whose work touches electrical documentation and design inside the SOLIDWORKS ecosystem. That includes electrical designers and drafters, controls and panel design staff, engineering students building a résumé, and mechanical designers who increasingly need to coordinate with electrical content. Employers that rely on SOLIDWORKS Electrical for machine, panel, or equipment design may view the certificate as a quick signal of baseline tool literacy, though it will not substitute for demonstrated project experience.
It is worth being realistic about outcomes. No official pass rate and no certification-specific salary uplift has been verified for this credential, and the 70% passing score is a threshold, not a statistic about how many candidates succeed. Anyone quoting precise earnings gains for the credential alone is going beyond the evidence. If you are weighing the investment, our analyses of whether the CSWA-E is worth it, the salary picture, and CSWA-E jobs lay out what can and cannot be said responsibly.
Sequencing Your Preparation
Because the exam is a knowledge test across five published topics, the order in which you study matters more than the sheer volume of hours. Build from concepts outward, and leave integration for last. The plan below is a suggested sequence for a candidate with a few weeks, tied to the CSWA-E topic list rather than a generic template.
Electrical Theory First
- Refresh circuit basics so symbols and connections make sense
- Do this before the software topics, since schematics assume this vocabulary
Schematics, Wire Numbering, Equipotentials
- Spend the most time here; these are named, testable concepts
- Explain in your own words why each rule exists
Electrical 3D and Electrical Design
- Focus on how the schematic and the 3D layout stay aligned
- Review project structure and component data concepts
Installation and Full Review
- Cover installation context, then work through the official sample
- Retest weak areas using a timed practice run against the 60-minute limit
For a more detailed plan, our CSWA-E study guide expands on this sequence, and our CSWA-E training overview covers structured course options. When you are ready to test yourself under realistic conditions, take a timed run on our CSWA-E practice test and review every missed question for the reasoning behind the correct answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
It stands for Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate - Electrical. SOLIDWORKS now titles the credential "SOLIDWORKS Electrical Design Associate (CSWA-E)," and both names refer to the same exam.
No. It is a knowledge test of 50 multiple-choice or true/false questions in 60 minutes. You are not required to build designs in the software, although the guide permits running SOLIDWORKS Electrical to help answer questions.
You need 35 out of 50 points, which is 70%. Each question is worth one point. This is a passing threshold, not a pass rate, and no official pass-rate figure has been verified.
The North American fee is USD 20 per attempt, with free opportunities available through eligible Academic Certification Providers. A retake requires waiting at least 14 days and purchasing a fresh exam credit.
SOLIDWORKS states that customer and student certificates have no official expiration date. The credential is also unrelated to electrician licensing, so it does not authorize you to perform electrical work.
CSWA-E is a focused, low-cost way to demonstrate SOLIDWORKS Electrical design knowledge. Understand the five published topics, practice reasoning through the official sample, and use timed questions from our practice test site to confirm you can hit the 35-point mark within 60 minutes.