The application form for the PMP® exam is online and accessed via the Project Management Institute (PMI)® website. If you have not filled in an online form like this before, it might look daunting. The site asks you to collect various bits of information, and enter them into the form. You’ll need to show that you meet the criteria for taking the exam and that your experience has covered all the relevant domains.
Don’t let this step stop you from reaching your goal of becoming a PMP credential holder. When you know more about what to expect, the online form suddenly becomes a lot easier to complete!
In this article, we’ll tell you exactly what to expect when you apply for the PMP exam, what information you need to have, and the kinds of things those who review your PMP application are looking for. With a bit of knowledge and preparation, you can put together a really strong PMP application that has every chance of success.
Most of this article is focused on project managers applying for their PMP exam. However, if you are applying for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® or the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® you may find this information useful. There’s a section especially for you later in the article. As you read on, try to think about how the topics discussed could help you make your CAPM® and PMI-ACP® applications stronger. A lot of the best practices for a solid application form overlap with what makes for a successful PMP application.
Let’s get started!
In This Article.You can apply for the PMP certification online via the PMI website. The application form asks you to provide information about your project management education and experience to ensure you are eligible to take the exam.
The PMP application process starts when you start filling in your online application form. You have 90 days to complete your application once you start. Once your form is submitted, it is reviewed for completeness, which takes up to 5 days. You will then hear whether you are eligible to take the exam and you’ll be asked to pay the exam fee.
Application Flow - PMP Certification Handbook – Page 4 - Copyright 2000-2020 Project Management Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
Alternatively, you might be notified that your application has been selected for an audit. This is nothing to worry about, as long as the information you provided on your application form was truthful and accurate. We explain exactly what that means for you later in this article.
The full application process is set out in the PMP Handbook which is available on the PMI website. The handbook also includes many important facts about the PMP exam, and I strongly recommend that you download and read it.
The PMP application is available online from the PMI website but there are quite a few clicks to go through to find it.
Go to the PMI website and login to mypmi.org. If you are not already a PMI member, you will need to create a free account in order to start the process.
Once you have logged in, navigate to your Dashboard. From there, you will see the link to learn more about PMI’s certifications. Click on that, and then choose the certification you wish to apply for from the Certifications page.
In this example we are choosing the PMP certification, but the process is broadly similar for all the PMI certifications.
Click to learn more about the PMP certification, and then from the PMP page you’ll see the link to apply.
Your mypmi.org dashboard also shows the application status of any past applications that have expired or are pending, which means you’ve started the process but not yet completed it. You can also access the online application form by clicking to reopen your application (for expired applications) or continue working on your application (for pending applications).
The system will then take you through the 3 steps of the PMP application.
The PMP application form can NOT be downloaded from the PMI website as a file (for example, as a PDF) to be completed offline. The only way to apply is by filling in the online form.
The online form is easy to navigate and convenient for most people to use. It’s designed to be user-friendly. You don’t have to worry about completing it all at the same time. You can save your responses and go back to the form whenever you like, as long as you do complete it within 90 days of starting.
Once you have completed your application, you can download it for your records.
There are three steps to complete: education, experience and exam details.
The first section to complete is the education section.
Enter the highest level of education that you have attained, the years you were there and the high school, college or university you attended along with the country it is in. You’ll also need to add the field of study.
This section is where the first review of your eligibility takes place. In order to be eligible to take the PMP® exam, you must meet the required criteria. You can see the requirements in the table below.
| Educational Background | Project Management Experience | Project Management Educational |
|---|---|---|
| Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate's degree or global equivalent) | Minimum five years/60 months unique non-overlapping professional project management experience* | 35 contact hours of formal education unless you are an active CAPM holder |
| OR | ||
| Four-year degree (bachelor's degree or global equivalent | Minimum three years/36 months unique non-overlapping professional project management experience* | 35 contact hours of formal education unless you are an active CAPM holder |
| OR | ||
| Bachelor's or post-graduate degree from a GAC accredited program (bachelor's degree or master's or global equivalent) | Minimum two years/24 months unique non-overlapping professional project management experience* | 35 contact hours of formal education unless you are an active CAPM holder |
The application system will prompt you to select your GAC accredited program from a drop-down list if you choose an institution that is accredited.
You don’t need to know in advance if your course was accredited, but if you want to check, you can find out if your degree is accredited by PMI at the Global Accreditation Center website. If your degree was accredited, you will receive a 12-month credit towards the work experience eligibility requirement. In other words, you’ll only have to evidence 24 months of project experience.
If you do not meet those eligibility requirements, it’s time to think about your educational background and whether one of the other credentials would be more appropriate for you. For example, CAPM® has an entry route that does not require any formal school-based education as long as you have 23 hours of project management training completed by the time you sit for the exam.
Do NOT fill in this section unless you have already completed your training course. The system will not allow you to save it, if the course end-date is in the future! It will default to the current month you are in.
The next section of the PMP application form covers your project management education. In this section, you need to evidence that you have completed the required amount of project management training hours. That’s 35 contact hours for the PMP application.
You need to record the details of your training provider, the dates you attended the training and the name of the training program. Make sure you have these details to hand before you start completing your application.
Your project management education must have been completed by the time you submit your application.
You don’t have to upload your training certificates in this section. Your training provider will give you a certificate of attendance as evidence that you did the course, but you are not asked to provide this unless your application is audited.
The next section of the online form asks for your project management experience. This is the part of the application most people find hardest. It’s important to get this section right as you need to show your project management experience in order to be eligible for the exam.
You are asked to complete full details of your work experience on projects. The online form asks for:
You can add more projects to complete your application. You won’t be able to move on to the third and final step in the process until you have added enough project experience to equal what is required.
What are Project Management Experience Months?
Months of experience are a measure of time that you spent leading, managing and directing a project. PMI is looking for either a total of between 24 and 60 months of experience, depending on your highest level of education.
Think of qualifying months like elapsed duration and effort duration on a project schedule. It’s OK for your project dates to overlap. Many people manage multiple projects at the same time. However, time spent on leading overlapping projects only counts as per the elapsed time. You may have managed three projects in January, but the elapsed time is still only one month.
To reiterate: Each calendar month only counts as a single month of experience even if you managed multiple projects.
Try to limit your reported hours to 40 hours per week. You don’t need to try to impress PMI® with how many hours you are working or how many projects you can juggle at any one time. However, we all work in the real world, and sometimes there are legitimate reasons why you would record more than 40 hours in a week. For example, around the time of a big delivery milestone, you may need to work extended hours. This is not uncommon for specialized contractors that may have long gaps between projects.
If you do record excessive hours in the PMP experience hours section -- over 40 hours/week for a very long time -- you will need to be able to justify the hours if necessary by providing written documentation to PMI. So make sure you have detailed back up to use if you are audited, such as timesheets or client invoices that state hours worked and the work carried out.
Quick Tip: Start from your current or most recent project and work backward through your career history until you have reached the total months required. There’s no need to list every project you have ever led!
There is plenty of space for you to document your experience. We know of candidates saving experience with around 2,500 words of description but I would not recommend that! Someone has to read your application form. Be as concise with your responses as you can. PMI recommends you use up to around 500 words, so use that as your guide.
You need to show that you have gained knowledge and skills that span a wide range of project management domains and activities, but you don’t need to document every project management task you did on every project.
For example, you should analyze the stakeholders on each project. When you are writing your descriptions, if you did analyze stakeholders, you can mention it in one or two project descriptions. You don’t have to mention the fact you analyzed stakeholders in every description, even if you did it every time.
Quick Tip: Write less about the scope and topic of the project and more about what you did on the project.
Think about using as many keywords as you can in your descriptions. This is your time to shine! You’ll also see some examples on the application form itself which can help you better understand what PMI is looking for.
Keep entering project descriptions and dates until you reach the total amount of months that you require. Remember that the time relates to the work you have done leading and directing the project. Overall, you still need to demonstrate that you have a minimum of 2 years of experience managing projects.
One of the questions we get most often from our students is “Do you have examples of what to say for the experience section?”
Any projects that you have led and directed in a professional capacity are good for inclusion. PMI is not looking for specific industries or types of project. The important thing to remember is to help them understand what you have done and why you meet the requirements. Avoid acronyms that won’t be understood outside of your business, and write in ‘project management speak’ rather than using technical terms. It may also be helpful to align the words you use to the terminology in the PMBOK® Guide as far as you can.
PLEASE NOTE: Your PMP application must be truthful and represent your personal experience using your own words. The examples in this article are shared here from other people’s applications in order to illustrate various aspects of how to fill in the PMP application form online. They are not intended for you to copy/paste into your application form!
In the table below we’ve highlighted some good and not-so-good ways to describe your experience. The good ways use vocabulary reflected in PMI reference materials. The not-so-good ways describe the same activity, but use words that make it harder for PMI to validate you have the required experience to take the exam.
| Good experience example | Bad experience example |
|---|---|
| Developed project charter | Created project kick-off document |
| Developed WBS | Wrote product breakdown structure |
| Managed the team through the delivery | Held regular team meetings |
Below is a sample ‘template’ for your PMP experience requirements. This format has been proven to work and is what many of our students use on their applications for PMP.
The aim is to summarize the project management tasks you managed. Write a one-line title for the project description. Then include:
It can help to see an example of what a real applicant filled in on their form. Below, you can see edited quotes from the applications of some of our students. Please don’t copy these experience examples word for word on your own application. We’re sharing real PMP experience examples so that you can get an idea of the way to phrase your own experience to best show off your skills.
Example project descriptions from real applications:
Design of training material for customers on telecommunications principals
Objective: To research, design & present training material in the form of presentations aimed at educating new re-sellers on fundamental telecoms principles & standards
Role: I managed the whole project. IN: Developed the charter and identified key stakeholders. PL: Planned the scope of the project while considering time and cost and quality. EX: Coordinated the execution of the research & development of the material by graphic designers. MC: Monitored schedule and quality. CL: Documented Project Closure
Outcomes: Material presented at conference
Installation of a Session Border Controller for Finance department
Objective: The Installation of a new Session Border Controller (SBC) to replace the existing equipment which was end of life
Role: I managed the full project life cycle. IN: Documented project charter highlighting business case. PL: Facilitated requirements workshops, developed budget, schedule, risk and communication plan. ES: Led engineers through execution & QA. MC: Closely monitored schedule, budget & risk. CL: SBC implemented and project signed off by sponsor.
Outcome: SBC implemented and existing equipment decommissioned.
The design of a Wi-Fi solution for apartment block
Objective: To provide a proposal to provide Wi-Fi coverage to an apartment block for over top services of voice and data
Role: I initiated and planned the project by IN: developing the charter and identifying stakeholders. PL: I documented the project management plan which included, scope, time, quality and risk management plans. EX: I directed the team during execution while MC: controlling the scope and quality. CL: Submitted tender on time with feasible solution that met customers’ requirements
Key deliverables and outcomes: Comprehensive Tender submitted to customer
The final section of the PMP application online form is the exam details section. In this section you complete your contact details.
You’ll need to enter:
You’ll also be asked to state if you wish to request any exam accommodations, for example due to disability and/or other conditions that may impair your ability to take the exam.
You’ve reached the end of the online PMP application form, and you’ve completed every section. The only thing that remains to be done is to click to submit your form.
You should also download a copy of your application for your own records. It can be helpful to have a copy if you are audited or if you need to refer back to it in the future.
When you are happy that the information in your application form is as accurate and complete as it can be, follow the guidance on the screen to submit your form.
Read the terms and agreements. Then tick the boxes stating you agree to those terms and that all the information you have provided is accurate.
Then all you have left to do is click ‘Submit Application’ and it is on its way!
You no longer need to add references on your PMP application. However, if your application is selected for audit, you will need to provide supporting documentation to prove you did work on the projects you stated, which could include signatures from your manager at the time.
You will need to be able to get in touch with them if you are audited, so it’s helpful for them to know that you are applying. It also means that you have the correct contact details for them! If you do need to involve them in your application audit you’ll want to get in touch with them quickly so that they can provide any necessary information. In particular, they will need to confirm that you acted in a role that was leading and directing the work, not simply a project contributor. With this in mind, it is worth sharing your application form with them so that they agree with what you have written before you submit it. This can help avoid disputes later.
Therefore, here is my recommendation for you: Talk to your project sponsors or managers before you apply and let them know you are submitting an application for PMP certification. Tell them that if your application is selected for audit, they will be asked to verify your experience including the hours you worked.
Verifying your experience isn’t a big job for your references but it’s still polite to ask them in advance!
If they are not willing or able to provide verification for you in case you are audited, I would consider using other projects for your application evidence.
You have 90 days to complete the online application form. If you are prepared with all the required information when you make a start, you probably won’t need that long. You can save the application as you go, leaving it unfinished and coming back to it when you have more time or more information. You will be able to edit information that you have already entered right up to the time that you submit the application to PMI.
PMI will use the email address you provided to send you reminders if you haven’t logged back in to complete the form and you can easily access your application from your mypmi.org dashboard.
Note: You cannot cancel your application. If you change your mind once you start filling it in, you will have to wait until the 90 days have passed and your application will expire.
While the guidance in this article is mainly aimed at project managers applying for PMP®, the general principles are the same for other PMI certifications.
Applicants for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® certificate also need to fill in their experience and education requirements online.
It’s similar for the Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®. If you are applying for this certification, be careful to use the relevant Agile terminology from the Agile Practice Guide when describing your project management experience.
We are only human! Genuine mistakes happen all the time. PMI understands that these things happen. The honest and ethical approach is to contact them via email, chat, or phone and ask them how to resolve the issue. Then follow their instructions.
Remember, PMI is not 'in the business' of rejecting your application. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. PMI really wants you to become a PMP credential holder! If you have made an honest mistake, it is probably something they have seen before. They are usually quite helpful in getting mistakes corrected so let them know as soon as you can and take whatever steps they ask you to.
PMI takes 5 days to process your application and to carry out an application completeness review. This checks that you have submitted everything required and meet the criteria to be eligible to take the PMP® exam.
During this time, there is nothing that you can do except sit and wait! Hopefully, you will not need to wait for the whole 5 days, but if PMI is busy and there are a lot of applications to process, they may need all of that time to review your online form.
The 5 days are calendar days, so if you are trying to work out when you are likely to hear back from PMI, remember that you can count the weekend days too!
At the end of the application completeness review period, there are four possible outcomes:
Any of those options may be the outcome you receive.
If you receive notification that you are eligible, you can go ahead and pay the exam fee. Then you can schedule your exam.
If you receive notification that your application has been selected for audit, you will need to take part in the audit process before you can schedule your exam.
The PMP audit process is a way for PMI to quality check applications. Being selected for an audit is random (although PMI does reserve the right to audit any application at any time, even after you have received the PMP credential).
There are no extra fees associated with being audited, so it will not cost you any extra money if you are selected.
If your application is selected for audit, you’ll receive notification by email. You won’t be able to pay the certification fee until you have been through the audit process.
The email you receive will include all the details you need to follow the audit process. Generally, you will be asked to provide supplementary information to support your application, in the form of materials that evidence what you said on the application form.
For example, you might be asked to supply:
Send all your paperwork in the same envelope at the same time. This makes it easier for the auditors to review your application and will ensure that you get the response back as quickly as possible.
If you have prepared well, it should be easy to find this information. You have 90 days to post the relevant information back to PMI.
Once they have received your evidence, the PMP audit will take around 5 to 7 business days to complete.
Many students worry about the PMP audit process. Specifically, the big concern is that they will be audited and then PMI will reject their application, saying that they do not meet the eligibility criteria.
So what should you do if that happens?
PMI will normally provide the reason for rejecting your application. For example:
There might be other reasons as well. Read your email carefully to understand why your application was rejected.
If you believe that you have been rejected incorrectly, you will need to reapply, making sure you change the elements that caused you to fail in the first place.
In our experience, candidates have had good success from contacting PMI regarding their application. You can email them, write to them, use the online chat or even call. Try to get hold of the exact reviewer who looked at your application. If you can contact them, you can learn what issues they spotted in your application so that you can address them.
Speaking to the audit team at PMI may enable you to speed up the review of your application. We’ve heard from students who have been given feedback on the day directly from the reviewers. Speaking to them may also give you other ways to address their concerns. For example, one applicant was allowed to provide verification via email as long as the signatures emailed came directly from her references and not from herself.
One of our students who was audited got in touch with PMI to find out why. Here is what he had to say about the experience.
I sent the audit team one of my revised responses to validate if it would satisfy the project description. I explained that I didn't want to waste my managers' time and I would really appreciate it if they could review a sample first. The PMI audit team was kind enough to review my sample revision and confirm it was OK.
I know it seems like a hassle being selected for audit, but having gone through the process I actually feel more confident and proud that my work experience has been reviewed and approved by PMI. Hopefully, you will feel the same that your experience is getting the stamp of approval.
Now that you have a good idea about why your application wasn’t considered suitable, you can prepare your application again, addressing the concerns.
If you are audited the first time, it’s highly likely that your next applications will be audited too. We sometimes hear from students who have had a second, third or fourth application rejected during the audit process.
You need to spend some time working out why your application was rejected. Then, if you still believe you do meet the eligibility requirements, you need to prepare your application again. Having someone read over your application form before you submit it might help, and talk to the audit team at PMI if you can.
Ultimately, you need to try to make your experience and education requirements match what PMI is looking for, in terminology that makes it easy for them to understand your achievements. It should go without saying that you cannot stretch the truth, exaggerate your involvement or embellish your achievements in any way. Your application must be completely honest. If your participation on a project doesn’t show what you are truly capable of, can you use a different project where you were actively leading and managing the work instead?
Check the Handbook for details about when you can apply again.
Note: If you were declined for lying on your application, then you can’t apply again for any of PMI’s certifications. Ever.
Do you want to hear the story of a PMI audit? Jonathan Hebert’s application was audited and he explains what happens in episode 391 of the Project Management Podcast. Click here to listen now.
The PM Podcast Episode 391: My Agile Exam Application Got Audited
Today you are going to meet Jonathan Hebert (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-hebert-pmp-csm-pmi-acp-0712471) who not only passed his PMI-ACP® Exam, but he also got audited in the process. So he has a story to tell!
As you know, the rules of all Project Management Institute (PMI)® exams are such that we are not allowed to discuss specific questions from the exam. But we can discuss Jonathan's overall experience, how he got his PMI-ACP Exam Prep, his general thoughts on the process and his recommendations to you. So you can look forward to an experience and tip-filled interview on how to prepare for and pass your PMI-ACP Exam.
Full disclosure: Jonathan Hebert and Cornelius Fichtner both work for OSP International LLC, makers of The Agile PrepCast and The PMI-ACP Exam Simulator.
Once you have submitted your online PMP application form, you will receive an email from PMI. This will tell you whether your application has been accepted or whether you need to go through the audit process.
We described the audit process above. If you are not selected for an audit, you will receive confirmation that your application can progress to the next step.
The next step is to pay the fee. The fee you will need to pay depends on whether you are a PMI member or not. It is cheaper to apply for the exam as a PMI member, so you may want to opt to become a member before submitting your PMP application. Then you will benefit from the lower application fee.
When PMI receives your payment, you will receive notification of your eligibility and you will be able to book your exam.
The complete guide to how to fill in the PMP® application has covered everything you need to know about submitting your PMP application to PMI. You are now armed with all the information required to successfully complete your online PMP application form and – hopefully – receive your eligibility link to book your exam.
Here’s a summary of the steps for applying for your PMP credential.
So what are you waiting for? Spend an evening gathering the information you need to start your application and make a start! Your PMP credential is not that far away, and your journey to PMP success begins with logging on and starting your application. Good luck!
© 2020-2023 OSP International LLC. All rights reserved. This copyrighted article may not be reproduced without express written consent of OSP International LLC.
