ASME BPVC latest Edition – Major Changes

The ASME BPVC Edition 2025 – The major changes and will become mandatory since 1st January 2026.

The Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes are published on a two-year cycle with a July 1, 20XX publication date. The last publishing, 2025 Edition consists of 13 Sections, containing 32 Volumes with more than 19000 pages. The next edition will be published on July 1, 2027.

Major changes of ASME BPVC Edition 2025 (Main Sections)

ASME BPVC Section II Materials

• Part A
  • Statement of Policy on the Use of ASME Material Specifications
    This statement of policy has been revised to clarify the committee’s position found in the scope sections of the various specifications as well as add the committee’s position on notes and terminology.
  • General
    Updates to the latest adopted edition have been made to ~30 specifications. Three new Specifications have been added SA-859/SA-859M “Standard Specification for Age-Hardening Alloy Steel Forgings for Pressure Vessel Components”, SA-1091/SA-1019M “Standard Specification for Steel Castings, Creep-Strength Enhanced Ferritic Alloy, for Pressure-Containing Parts, Suitable for High-Temperature Service”, and SA-ISO 898-1 “Specification for Fasteners Made of Carbon Steel and Alloy Steel 
  • Part 1
    Bolts, Screws and Studs With Specified Property Classes – Coarse Thread and Fine Pitch Thread.
  • SF-568M: Specification for Carbon and Alloy Steel Externally Threaded Metric Fasteners” has been removed.
  • Mandatory Appendix II
    This appendix has been revised to add clarification regarding the term “all acceptable editions” in the II-200 Tables.
  • Mandatory Appendix IV “Guidelines on the Approval of New Materials under the ASME BPVC”
    This appendix has been revised to address specific testing and post examination required for advanced materials that can exhibit intolerance to in-service damage.
• Part B
  Statement of Policy on the Use of ASME Material Specifications
  This statement of policy has been revised to clarify the committee’s position found in the scope sections of the various specifications as well as add the committee’s position on notes and terminology.
  • General
    Updates to the latest adopted edition have been made to 13 specifications.
    SB-625 “Specification for UNS N08925, UNS N08031, UNS N08034, UNS N08932, UNS N08926, UNS N08354, UNS N08830, and UNS R20033 Plate, Sheet, and Strip”
    Mandatory heat treatment requirements for N08354 have been added to this specification.
  • Mandatory Appendix II
    This appendix has been revised to add clarification regarding the term “all acceptable editions” in the II-200 Tables.
  • Mandatory Appendix IV 
    “Guidelines on the Approval of New Materials under the ASME BPVC”.
    This appendix has been revised to address specific testing and post examination required for advanced materials that can exhibit intolerance to in-service damage.
  • SFA-5.25/SFA-5.25M, SFA-5.01M/SFA-5.01(R2024), SFA-5.02/SFA-5.02M, SFA-5.1/SFA-5.1M, SFA-5.3/SFA-5.3M, SFA-5.10/SFA-5.10M, SFA-5.12/SFA-5.12M, SFA-5.13/SFA-5.13M, SFA-5.14/SFA-5.14M, SFA-5.15, SFA-5.18/SFA-5.18M, SFA-5.21/SFA-5.21M, SFA-5.22/SFA-5.22M;
    Updates have been made to the listed specifications to stay current with the latest AWS revisions.
• Part DC
  • General
    • Code cases 2223-3, 2432-1, 2478, 2620, 2628, 2643, 2698-2, 2761, 2778, and N-898 have been incorporated.
    • Additions and revisions to stress tables and mechanical property tables have been made to support updated specifications.
    • Several N08XXX Alloys are now considered ferrous alloys and are covered by SA Specifications. As part of this transition, the stress lines have been added to the ferrous tables. NOTE: The plan is to then remove these duplicated lines from the nonferrous tables in a future edition
  • Table 6A
    SF-568M “Specification for Carbon and Alloy Steel Externally Threaded Metric Fasteners” has been removed.
• Part DM
  • General
    • Code cases 2223-3, 2432-1, 2478, 2620, 2628, 2643, 2698-2, 2761, 2778, and N-898 have been incorporated.
    • Mandatory Appendix 5
      Guidelines on the Approval of New Materials under the ASME BPVC
      This appendix has been revised to address specific testing and post examination required for advanced materials that can exhibit intolerance to in-service damage.
      
• Cooling Rate Requirements for Grade 91 Type 2 Materials.
  Several specifications now mandate that, following austenitizing, the rate of cooling from 1650 °F to 900 °F [900 °C to 480 °C] must be no slower than 9 °F/min [5 °C/min]. This requirement applies to SA-182, SA-213, SA-234, SA-335, and SA-336, where a new supplementary requirement is now mandatory.

ASME BPVC Section II ‒ Materials, Part D, Specifications for Welding Rods, Electrodes, and Filler Metals

• Separation of material properties in metric and customary units in Section II Part D.

ASME BPVC Section V ‒ Nondestructive Examination

• Article 1
  Revised Para. T-120(e)(1)(-e)(-3), to make it clearer that that the requirements of para. T-120(e)(1)(-e) (-3) apply to both written procedure (T-120(e)(1)(-e)) and practical examination (T-120(e)(1)(-e)(-1)).
  Para. T-120, Adoption of 2024 editions of American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) TC-1A, and CP-189 Standards.
• Article 2
  Revised Para. T-275 to eliminate the word “permanently” and to clarify acceptable methods of obtaining location marker traceability.
  Revised Para. T-284 & VIII-284 to add requirements regarding the acceptance of radiographs in case the lead symbol “B” is not visible.
  Include additional requirements for bendable, flexible, and curved digital detector arrays (DDAs).
  Revised Para. IX-284 to add requirements regarding the acceptance of radiographs in case the lead symbol “B” is not visible.
• Article 3
  Relocated all Full Matrix Capture (FMC) requirements from Article 4 to Article 3.
• Article 4
  Revised Para. T-434.1.4 to add clarity of cladding requirements. This helps distinguish between material clad and weld clad.
• Article 9
  Added requirements for surface preparation.
• Article 10
  Added requirements for calculation of the test sensitivity as well as requirements to evaluate the test sensitivity that is achieved during a leak test (LT).
  Revised Mandatory Appendix I, Para. I-1032 and Mandatory Appendix II, Para. II-1031 to include new requirements for bubble testing solution.
• Article 11
  Removed a contradiction between paras. T-1122 (c) and T-1171 regarding the pressurization of Fiber-Reinforced Thermosetting Piping (FRP) for acoustic emissions (AE) testing using liquid or gases or both.
• Subsection C
  Added a new Subsection C that addresses Inservice Nondestructive Examination (NDE) Techniques.
  Some of the Nondestructive Examination (NDE) Techniques that will be included in the 2025 edition are:
  • Radiographic Examination (RT).
  • Full Matrix Capture (FMC).
  • Eddy Current Examination (ET).
  • Visual Examinations (VT).
  • Acoustic Emissions (AE). This was relocated from Subsection A, Article 13 to new Subsection C.
  • Alternating Current Field Measurement Technique (ACFMT). This was relocated from Subsection A;
• Article 15 to new Subsection C
  • Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry (APR). This was relocated from Subsection A, Article 18 to new Subsection C.
• Article 18 to new Subsection C
  • Guided Wave Examination (GW). This was relocated from Subsection A,
• Article 19 to new Subsection C
  • Pulsed Eddy Current Technique for Corrosion Screening (PEC). This was relocated from Subsection A,
• Removal of Mandatory Appendices III & IV (T-120(e))
  ASME has eliminated mandatory reliance on SNT-TC-1A and CP-189 by deleting Appendices III & IV.
• New Mandatory Appendix: Acoustic Emission (AE)
• Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) Clarifications
  TOFD can now be used as a stand-alone inspection method in certain conditions without surface inspection, streamlining advanced ultrasonic testing.
• Remote Visual Examination (RVE) Updates
  Article 9 has been updated to support modern Remote Visual Inspection (RVI) techniques, including drones and robotic cameras, ensuring safety and accessibility in hard-to-reach areas
• Updated ASTM References

ASME BPVC Section VIII ‒ Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels, Division 1

• Indruduction
  • U-1 Scope Revised (U-1(a), U-1(c)
  • U-2 General revision (U-2(a)(2): Added text in U-2(a)(2), App. 43-2(a)(5) of explicit requirements for design responsibility of replacement/repair parts and establishment of the Mandatory Code Edition, and definition in App. 3-2 for replacement/repair parts.
  • U-3 Standards: Updated referenced tables
  • U6 Cross-references to division 2 added
• PART UCS – CARBON & LOW ALLOY STEELS
  • UCS-66: Footnote clarificiation for exemption curves
  • UCS-68(c): Improved impact test exemption criteria
  • UCS-85: Revised for consistency with updated UG-85
  • More explicit guidance on toughness testing and heat treatment
• PART UHA – AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEELS
  • UHA-51:Added new paragraph UHA-51(a)(3) for the requirements of diffusion welding (DFW), incorporating Code Case 3054.
  • Aligned with UCS for better cross-material clarity
  • Detailed heat treatment & impact testing rules
• PART UCI – CAST IRON
  • SA-439 Type D-2 introduced
  • Broader application guidance for austenitic ductile iron in special service
• PART UNF – NONFERROUS MATEPIALS
  • Revised material group tables
  • NDE acceptance rules clarified for copper and nickel alloy
• PART ULT – LOW TEMPERATURE SERVICE
  • Rewritten to improve logic behind minimum design temperature selection
  • Better coordination with UG-84 and UCS-66 for impact test exemptions
• UG-11 Extended to brazing applications
• UG-14 Rods& bars completely revised
• UG-16 Expanded to printed circuit heat exchangers; allows Div. VIII-2 design rules where Div. VIII-1 lack rules
• UG-23 Stress value corrections
• UG-24 Castings major rewrite
• UG33-35 Design updates
• UG-75 to UG-79: FABRICATION
  • UG-75 & UG-76: Completely rewritten-for better structure-no technical changes.
  • UG-77 (Material Identification): Major editorial update-paragraph titles added -reorganization completed, anc marking requirements clarified.
  • UG-78 & UG-79: Rewritten with no technical changes, improving layout and clarity.
• UG-84: CHARPY IMPACT TESTS
  • Complete editorial rewrite forbelter flow,
  • UG-84(i)(1): Now directs users to UG-84(h) (5) for specimen removal.
  • Revisions in VIII-1 UG-84(c) (6) an Figure UG-84.1 note (b) now clarify retest rules.
• UG85: HEAT TREATMENT
  • Fully rewritten for clarity and improved guidance.
  • Code Case 2941 now incorporated into UG-85(f).
  • Alignment with UCS-85 ensures consistency across materials.
• UG-90 to UG-97:
  • Editorial revisions across the board:
    • Streamlined layout and terminology
    • User-Manufacturer inspection requirements removed
    • All related paragraphs (UG-90 to UG-97) brought into alignment for coherence and ease of use
• UG-99 & UG-100: HYDROSTATIC & PNEUMATIC TESTS
  • Required that the inspection be performed at the MAWP. Added precautions for thermal expansion. Added requirements for depressurization before performing work on the vessel. Added requirements for test equipment and test closures;
• UG-102 to UG-103: NDE
  • Editorial revisions to streamline layout
  • Enhanced scope clarification
  • Improved consistency with other Code sections
• UG-116 to UG-120: MARKING & STAMPING
  • Rewritten for consistency and better structure
  • Specific guidance added for multi-chambered vessels
  • Terminology and examples simplified for global usability
• UG-125 to UG-136: OVERPRESSURE PROTECTION
  • Extensively revised and reorganized
  • Added content on internal relief devices
  • Improved clarity on lift settings, capacity rules, and installation requirements
  • Revisions in UG-136(b)(1) align with evolving design practices and valve selection needs;
• UG-154 Overpressure protection clarified
• UW-51: Added statement in UW-51(a)(1)(-a) to recognize deterioration of radiographic film is expected and that deterioration does not violate the requirements of record maintenance.
• Appendix 47: DESIGNER REQUIREMENTS
  • Revised Mandatory Appendix 47 in its entirety and provide minimum requirements for pressure vessel designers and Manufacturers.
  • All design work must comply with the Manufacturer’s Quality Control System
  • Designers must demonstrate knowledge of Section VIII requirements
  • Qualifications must be documented, traceable, and reviewed every 3 years

ASME BPVC Section VIII ‒ Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels, Division 2, Alternative Rules

• Removal of Class 1 vessels from Division 2; all vessels follow a single frame work
• Design Margin: Changed to 2.4 *UTS for all vessels, replacing the provisions 3.0*UTS for calss 1 vessels
• Major addition introducing comprehensive rules for vessels operating in the creep range, addressing high-temperature applications through four specific failure mode protections
• Significant updates to fatigue rules aligning with latest industry practices and improving screening methods for welded components
• Annex 2-C: Added statement in 2-C.3 to recognize deterioration of radiographic film is expected and that deterioration does not violate the requirements of record maintenance.
• Part 2.4 Annex 2-F and Annex 7-A: Removed requirements for marking and user’s inspection of User-Manufacturer Vessels.
• Part 5: Complete editorial rewrite of Part 5, Design by Analysis Requirements, (not including the Annexes) to bring the paragraph structure of into compliance with the ASME Style Guide.
• Part 8.1: Require that the inspection be performed at the MAWP. Added precautions for thermal expansion. Added requirements for depressurization before performing work on the vessel. Added requirements for test equipment and test closures
• Annex 3-F: General Revisions to Mirror API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, Annex 14.B

ASME BPVC Section VIII ‒ Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels, Division 3, Alternative Rules

• Part KD
• Deleted Nonmandatory Appendix D, moving the crack growth rate factors from Table D-500 into KD-4 as new Table KD-431, and made appropriate clarifications to KD-120 and KD-4.
• KD-2: Added new paragraphs KD-236.1 and KD-236.2 to incorporate requirements for elastic-plastic analysis with a true stress- strain curve model.
  KD-2: Modified the existing strain limits for impulsively loaded vessels in KD-240(d) to align with test data.
  KD-2: Revised KD-240(e) bolt analysis to expand the allowable design methods.
  KD-3: Revised the equations for fatigue curves in KD-320.
  KD-4: Added new paragraph to KD-430 regarding crack growth rate testing for unlisted materials.
  KD-4: Added new paragraphs KD-450 and KD-451 to allow for development of design specific weld acceptance criteria.
  KD-6: Revised rules for Tapered Threads in KD-620.
  KD-10: Revised paragraphs KD-1043(a), KD-1043(d) and KD-1048(b) and deleted paragraph KD-1045(d) to clarify KD-10 Specimen Validity Check.

• Part KM
  • KM-4: Added higher strength carbon steel bolt materials in Table KM-400-1 and Table KM-400-1M.
    KM-4: Added high strength low alloy steel castings in Table KM-400-1 and Table KM-400-1M.
    KM-4: Revised Table KM-400-1 and Table KM-400-1M notes
    KM-4: Modified temperature limits for Grade XM-12 630 H1150 / H1150M in Table KM-400-2 and Table KM-400-2M.
  • KM-8: Added a new section regarding rules for the use of castings for impulsively loaded vessels.
• Part KF
  • KF-615: Revised to clarify toughness requirements for welds.
• Part KE
  • Revised to include eddy current examination.
    Added new Section KE-270 for the examination of castings.
• Part KS:
  • Added statement to recognize deterioration of radiographic film is expected and that deterioration does not violate the requirements of record maintenance.
• Part KT-3
  • Added paragraphs in KT-304 and KT-305 relative to hydrostatic testing of special constructions such as combination units and jacketed vessels.
  • Revised KT-311 to introduce a constraint on materials used for the lower limit of hydrostatic test pressure.

ASME BPVC Section IX Welding, Brazing, and Fusing Qualifications

• Part QG General Requirements
  New/revised definitions of ‘Fusing’ and ‘Fusion’ as used in Part QF & QG-109. Terms in the text were revised to be consistent with these definitions.
• Article 1
  Modified the acceptance criteria for porosity for diffusion welding in QW-185.3.
• Article 2
  Addition of a new Spot Size variable and revised Table QW-264.1
  Table QW-253 – Addition of a new supplementary essential variable to provide rules addressing bead width.
  QW-202.2 (a) and (b) revised to eliminate the reference to QW-451 directly.
• Article 3
  Revised QW-381.1, QW-382 . 1(d) and Table QW-453.
• Article 4
  • Revised Table QW/QB-422 and added WPT 2H (UNS R50400) to B/SB-363.
  • Revised Table QW/QB-422 to include Grade WP11 Cl. 2 for A/SA-234.
  • Added CSA Z245.16 and Z245.17 specifications and grades to Table QW/QB-422.
  • Added A or SA-351 Grade CG3M to Table QW/QB-422.
  • Added A743 Grade CF10SMnN (UNS J92972) to Table QW/QB-422.
  • Revised CSA Z245.1 Brazing P-numbers in Table QW/QB-422.
  • Revised all API 5L grades in Table QW/QB-422.
  • Removed UNS numbers in Table QW/QB-422 for:
    • A/SA-508 22, CI. 3; 4N, Cl. 1, 2 and 3; 5, Cl. 1 and 2;
    • A/SA-533 E, CI. 1 and 2;
    • A/SA-541 22, CI. 3, 4 and 5;
    • A/SA-542 A and B, Cl. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 4a;
    • A/SA-543 B, CI. 1, 2 and 3;
    • A/SA-739 B222
  • Revised Table QW/QB-422. Added TP310MoCbN (UNS S31025) to A/SA-213.
  • Added EN 10213-2 specification, grade GX4CrNi13-4 to Table QW/QB-422.
  • Revised Table QW/QB-422 ISO 15608 group for AS or SA/AS 1548 PT430 and PT460 in Table QW/QB-422.
  • Revised weld metal product form Spec. No. in Table QW/QB-422.
  • Revised all references to cobalt base alloys from P-no. 49 to P-no. 81, and add references to P-no. 54 titanium base alloys Revised Table QW/QB-422 to assign welding P-Number 45 and brazing P-No. 420 to UNS N08935 for material specifications B or SB-163, B625, B649, and B677.
  • Added B/SB-150 UNS C63200 to Table QW/QB-422.
  • Revised Table QW/QB-422. Added UNS S41003 to A/SA-240.
  • Revised ISO 15608 group for:
    • A/SA-533 B and C, CI. 3;
    • A/SA-672 J10
• Article 14
  • Updated QB-402.1 to correct the reference to QB-153.1.
  • Update QB-402.2 to make reference to new Table QB-421.
  • Addition of a new Table QB-421 which is a listing of additional brazing P-numbers qualified based on the base metal used in the performance qualification test.
• Article 21
  • Revised terminology of essential variable QF-406.7 to be generic, clarified table description, and added it to butt-fusing to differentiate between hydraulic and manual butt fusing.
  • Added new essential variable QF-406.8 for fusing of piping greater than NPS 48 since different models require different skills to operate.
    In Table QF-452.3 Merged confusing and redundant category 6 to <8 with the first category.
  • Added a new category for piping larger than NPS 48 including restriction to specific model of machine to be used for production.
  • Revised diameter limits to reflect NPS and corresponding DN sizes rather than O.D. dimensions.
  • Deleted’-2006′ from ASME B46.1 reference.
• QW-410.91, QW-410.92, and QW-410.93: They apply to the welding technique and affect the way welding procedures are qualified. They are listed in multiple tables such as QW-253, QW-256, etc., and define what conditions must change for a re-qualification to be required.
• Changes to P-Numbers:  P-No. 53 has been renamed to P-No. 54
• Appendix I, which included Rounded Indication Charts used for radiography evaluation, has been completely removed in the 2025 edition.
• QW-421.3 Subparagraphs (a) and (c) have been deleted
• Table QW/QB-422: Ferrous” and “Nonferrous” subheads deleted, and both tables combined
• Table QW-432: ERNiCr-8 row added
• Table QW-452.4: Last row was deleted, and a row was revised. This table defines the limits of qualified thickness.
• Table QW-453: Fully revised; It covers test positions and is used during welder qualification.
• New Appendix M: This appendix provides clear steps for qualifying Duplex Stainless Steels
• Appendix L revised: Dual qualification to allow welders to be qualified simultaneously to ASME IX and ISO 9606-1 / ISO 14732.
• Appendix K: This appendix now gives better guidance on how to correctly invoke Section IX from other codes and contract documents.
• Nonmandatory Appendix M: Procedure and Performance Qualification of Duplex stainless steels

ASME BPVC Section XIII ‒ Rules for Overpressure Protection

Clarifications and extensions — from set pressure tolerances and ramp rates to seat tightness, resealing and back-pressure testing.

• Para. 9.7.7
  Flow Resistance Method
  A detailed description has been added for the method by which minimum net flow area evaluation is performed.
• Para. 6
  Spring-Actuated Non-Reclosing Devices
  This is a complete rewrite of the entire section.
• Part I-2 Definition Therms
  Many definitions have been added or revised to align and incorporate the definitions from PTC 25.
• Mandatory Appendix V “Performance Testing of Pressure Relief Devices” Nonmandatory Appendix D “Examples of Determining Flow Rate Uncertainties” and Nonmandatory Appendix E “Example of Pressure Tap Profile Comparison”; Requirements have been incorporated from the PTC 25 Performance Test Codes – Pressure Relief Devices standard.
• New Nonmandatory Appendix “Design Guidelines for Pressure-Containing and Pressure-Retaining Shell Parts of Pressure Relief Devices
  This new appendix provides guidelines for designing the pressure-containing and pressure-retaining shell parts of pressure relief devices such as bodies, bonnets, yokes, nozzles, caps, body-to-bonnet joints, cover-to-body joints, and rupture disk holders.
• Ramp Rate Requirement – This rule was previously outlined in ASME PTC 25; however it is now been incorporated in Section XIII, Appendix 5. Specifically: 2% of set pressure increase between 90–100% of set pressure.
• Seat Tightness & Test Fluids – Section XIII clearly outlines in tabular format: What test fluids can be used, what seat tightness test applies.
• Resealing Pressure – Since test benches have limited volume for testing and in many cases cannot overpressure the Pressure Relief Valve for production testing, the more appropriate closing pressure recorded in the test software is Resealing Pressure. The updated and official definition in Section XIII: “Resealing pressure: the value of decreasing inlet static pressure at which no further leakage is detected after closing of the pressure relief valve.”
• Secondary Pressure Zone Test, sometimes called a back-pressure test – Section XIII clarifies: The applicable valves, what test pressures apply. Specially: minimum pressure of 30 psi (≈ 200 kPa) unless the expected service back-pressure is higher.