Practising geotechnical engineers are required to characterize the seismic hazard associated with foundation subsoil. Earthquake-induced soil liquefaction is one such hazard responsible for the failure of infrastructures all over the world. Over the years, several methods are proposed to evaluate the liquefaction potential of the subsoil. These procedures rely majorly on penetration test data coupled with the seismic vulnerability of a project site to calculate the factor of safety against liquefaction. This study aims to present a concise view of frequently used liquefaction evaluation procedures using CPT and SPT data. Youd and Idriss (J Geotech Geoenviron Eng 127(4):297–313, 2001), Idriss and Boualnger (Soil liquefaction during earthquakes. Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, MNO-12, California, 2008), Robertson (Performance based earthquake design using the CPT, pp. 3–20, 2009), Boulanger and Idriss (CPT and SPT based liquefaction triggering procedures. University of California Davis, 2014), and IS 1893 (Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures—general provisions and buildings. Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 2016) procedures are considered to evaluate factor of safety and liquefaction potential index (LPI). The study summarizes key differences in the procedures and concludes deviations for CPT and SPT based assessment.