The procedure of pressure vessel recertification includes obtained design documentation & service records, performed stress, fatigue & fracture analyses to establish regions to be subjected to nondestructive examination, performed nondestructive examination of selected regions & features, performed repairs or analysis to demonstrate the permanent or temporary acceptability of defects, defined the conditions & lifetime for system recertification, and the cyclic interval at which the next inspection is necessary as well as established areas requiring repair & recommending repair and/or replacement based on cost effective analysis. This process costs approximately 15% of the cost of replacement, and the necessary downtime is minor, so there is a major economic incentive for recertification rather than replacement of systems and components.