PMP

Overview

The Project Management Professional (PMP) is a certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI) for people who lead and direct projects. You first apply to PMI to prove you are eligible, then sit one computer-based exam. The exam content outline PMI published in July 2026 covers predictive, agile and hybrid ways of working. About 40% of questions deal with predictive approaches, and the other 60% are split between agile and hybrid approaches.

Who can apply

You need a mix of education, project leadership experience and project management training. All experience must come from the 10 years before you apply, and months spent on overlapping projects count only once.

• Training: you also need at least 35 hours of project management training that matches the exam content outline. The training can come from PMI Authorized Training Partners, universities, employers, training companies, or self-paced courses that end with an assessment. Books and practice exams on their own do not count.

• CAPM holders: an active Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification counts in place of the 35 training hours.

• What counts as experience: the work does not have to be paid, but it must be in a professional setting. School projects, academic research for a degree, personal events and home improvement do not count, and neither do routine operational or admin tasks.

Exam pattern

Once you start a break, you cannot go back to the questions before it. The optional tutorial and survey are not counted in the 240 minutes. In mainland China the exam is only on paper.

Syllabus

The exam has three domains.

• People: setting a shared vision, handling conflict, leading the team, engaging stakeholders and managing their expectations, passing on knowledge, and planning communication.

• Process: building the integrated project plan, managing scope, delivering value, and planning and managing resources, procurement, finance, quality and the schedule. It also covers checking project status and closing the project.

• Business Environment: setting up governance, managing compliance, controlling changes, removing blockers and handling issues, managing risk, continuous improvement, supporting organisational change, and responding to changes in the business environment.

How to apply

1. Create a PMI account and fill in the online application, listing each project and your training hours.

2. PMI may choose your application for audit. If it does, you have to send documents that prove your education and experience.

3. Once PMI approves you, book the exam through Pearson VUE, at a test centre or online.

After the exam

You get a one-year eligibility period and can sit the exam up to three times within it. After three failed attempts, you must wait one year from your last exam before you can apply again. If the year runs out before you pass, you have to apply again, but there is no waiting period.

To keep the certification, you must earn 60 professional development units (PDUs) every three years and pay a renewal fee.

Preparation tips

• Study from the July 2026 content outline, since it lists every task the exam can test.

• Do full-length timed practice runs to build stamina for four hours.

• Practise scenario and graphic-based questions, which are new in the 2026 outline.

• Learn agile and hybrid methods as well as traditional planning, because they make up most of the exam.