PMP Certification Requirements (2026): Education, Experience, 35 Hours and the Audit

Last updated: 7 October 2026. Requirements read on PMI’s PMP page and in the PMI Certification Handbook (revised June 2026) that day. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.

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The PMP is the project management certification employers ask for most, and it is the one with the strictest entry rules. Before you can book the exam, PMI wants proof of three things: your education, your project experience and 35 hours of training. This guide sets out each requirement as PMI states it in October 2026, including the changes that came with the July 2026 exam update and the training rule that starts on 1 December 2026, and walks through the application and audit.

QUICK VERDICT

PMP certification requirements at a glance

You need one row, not all of them. The figures come from PMI’s PMP certification page, which lists the experience in years. All experience must fall within the last 10 years.

What counts as project management experience

PMI’s definition is short: add up the time you managed projects in a professional setting, “taking responsibility for planning, decisions, delivery and outcomes,” within the last 10 years. Three practical consequences follow.

• The job title does not matter. An engineer who ran a plant upgrade, an analyst who led a system rollout or a coordinator who owned a schedule and budget can count that time. What matters is that you were responsible for the project rather than one of the people working on it.
• Overlapping projects do not add up. PMI says not to double-count overlapping time. If you ran one project from January to June and another from March to December, that is 12 months of experience, not 15.
• Each project is listed separately. On the application you describe every project on its own: the objective, your role, what you did across the project and the outcome. Write it in plain language and make sure a supervisor or manager would recognize it, because they may be asked to sign it.

Experience older than 10 years no longer counts. If your strongest projects are from early in your career, check the dates before you apply.

Can you get the PMP without a degree?

Yes. With a high school diploma, GED or global equivalent you need five years of project management experience instead of three. Everything else is the same: the 35 hours of training, the application, the audit risk and the exam. An associate’s degree or vocational trade school diploma brings the requirement down to four years.

If you have a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree from a program accredited by PMI’s Global Accreditation Center (GAC), the requirement drops to two years. PMI keeps a list of accredited programs; a general business or engineering degree does not qualify unless the program itself is GAC-accredited.

What changed in July 2026

PMI’s July 2026 update rebalanced the exam (People 33%, Process 41%, Business Environment 26%), added AI, sustainability and stakeholder engagement to the scenarios, and “expands eligibility to apprenticeships and training, with a 10-year window for experience.” PMI’s PMP page now states the experience rule in years within that 10-year window. If you are counting an apprenticeship or a training program toward your experience, read the current Exam Content Outline on PMI’s site, which details eligibility, before you apply.

The 35 hours of training

You need 35 hours of project management training before you apply. PMI accepts any of these:

• An online, on-demand course from any organization. PMI’s own PMP Exam Prep Course ($699 for members, $799 otherwise) counts, and so does a self-paced course such as Andrew Ramdayal’s 35-hour PMP course on Udemy, which is usually under $30 on sale.
• A live, instructor-led class. Until 30 November 2026 any provider counts. From 1 December 2026, live classes (in person or online with an instructor) count only if a PMI Authorized Training Partner (ATP), a China Registered Education Provider or an eligible accredited higher-education program delivers them. KnowledgeHut is a PMI Premier ATP.
• An active CAPM certification. PMI says an active CAPM fulfills the PMP training requirement on its own.

Our best PMP courses guide compares the options on price, update date and practice material.

Do you need to be a PMI member?

No. PMI membership is optional for the PMP. Members pay $425 for the exam and non-members $675, a $250 difference, and PMI says members get up to 30% off certification. Whether joining is worth it depends on the current membership price and whether you would use the other benefits, such as the member price on PMI’s own prep course.

How to apply for the PMP, step by step

1. Finish your 35 hours of training (or confirm your CAPM is active).
2. Gather your project details: dates, objectives, your role and the outcome for each project in the last 10 years, plus the contact details of a supervisor or manager for each.
3. Apply online through PMI’s PMP page. You enter your education, your projects and your training.
4. Wait for review. PMI checks the application. If it is selected for audit, you are told by email before you pay.
5. Pay the exam fee once the application is accepted: $425 as a member, $675 otherwise.
6. Schedule the exam with Pearson VUE, at a test center or online, using the Eligibility ID PMI emails you.

Rescheduling or canceling within 30 days of your appointment costs US$70, and within 48 hours of the appointment you cannot change it and forfeit the fee, so book a date you can keep.

How to write your project descriptions

The experience section is where most of the effort goes. For each project PMI wants a short description in your own words. A structure that works:

• Objective: one sentence on what the project had to deliver and why.
• Your role: the responsibility you held (owner, lead, manager), not your job title.
• What you did: the work you led across the project, from planning and estimating through managing the team, risks, stakeholders and changes to closing it out.
• Outcome: what was delivered, with a number if you have one (on time, on budget, a measurable result).

An example in that shape: “Objective: replace the warehouse’s paper picking process with handheld scanners across two sites. Role: project lead. Work: built the schedule and budget, ran a weekly status meeting with operations and IT, managed the vendor, tracked risks and handled two scope changes after the pilot. Outcome: both sites live within the planned five months and picking errors down by a third.” It is plain, specific and something a supervisor could confirm. Avoid copying textbook process names into every description; PMI wants your project, not a summary of the PMBOK Guide.

Common mistakes that stall an application

• Counting overlapping projects twice. Two projects running at the same time count once for that period.
• Including experience older than 10 years. It no longer counts toward the total.
• Describing work you supported rather than led. Team membership is not managing the project.
• Training without proof. A course that cannot produce a certificate showing the hours is a problem if you are audited.
• Booking a live class from a non-ATP provider for December 2026 or later. It will not count toward the 35 hours.
• Listing a supervisor who cannot be reached. If you are audited, that person has to sign. Pick someone you can still contact.

Your PMP requirements checklist

• My education level and the matching experience requirement (5, 4, 3 or 2 years)
• Enough non-overlapping project management experience within the last 10 years
• A description and a reachable supervisor or manager for every project I list
• 35 hours of training with a certificate, or an active CAPM
• If my training is a live class from 1 December 2026: a PMI Authorized Training Partner
• Copies of my diploma or degree ready in case of audit
• The exam fee: $425 as a PMI member or $675 otherwise

The PMP audit: what PMI asks for

Every application is subject to audit, and PMI selects a percentage of them at random. It also audits all applications from its own employees and volunteers, and it can audit a candidate at any time, including after certification. If you are selected, you are told before you pay and you cannot continue until the audit is done.

PMI asks for three kinds of evidence:

• copies of your diploma or degree (or global equivalent);
• signatures from your supervisors or managers for the experience you listed; and
• certificates or letters from the training providers for the courses that make up your 35 hours.

You have 90 days to submit them. Once PMI has everything, the audit takes about five to seven business days, and your one-year window to take the exam starts when you pass it. If you fail the audit or decline to complete it, PMI suspends you for a year before you can reapply. The simplest protection is to collect the three documents before you apply.

After approval: the one-year window and three attempts

Once your application is approved (or your audit passed), you have one year to take the exam, and you can sit it up to three times in that year. You pay again for the second and third attempts. If you fail three times, you wait a year from your last attempt before reapplying for the PMP, although you can apply for other PMI certifications in the meantime.

The exam itself is 180 questions in 240 minutes, offered in 15 languages, at a Pearson VUE test center or online. Our PMP courses guide covers how the July 2026 changes affect preparation.

What if you don’t meet the requirements yet?

If you lack the experience, the CAPM certification is PMI’s entry-level credential. It needs only a secondary diploma and 23 hours of education, costs $225 to $300, and an active CAPM later covers the PMP’s 35-hour training requirement. Our CAPM vs PMP comparison explains when taking the CAPM first makes sense.

Meanwhile, look for ways to lead projects in your current job: owning a small internal project end to end counts, and it is the experience the PMP application asks you to describe. PMI also offers a free one-hour introductory PMP course if you want to see what the credential covers before committing.

Keeping the PMP once you have it

The PMP runs on a three-year cycle. To renew it you earn 60 professional development units (PDUs) in each cycle, at least 35 of them from education and at most 25 from giving back to the profession, then pay the renewal fee. PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements handbook (2022 edition) lists that fee as US$60 for members and US$150 for non-members; the certification renewal fee is separate from any membership fee.

For anything not covered here, PMI’s certification FAQ and handbook is the authority, and it is worth reading before you submit.

Frequently asked questions

What are the requirements for PMP certification?

You need one education-and-experience combination and 35 hours of project management training. The combinations are: a high school diploma plus five years managing projects, an associate’s degree plus four, a bachelor’s degree plus three, or a degree from a PMI-accredited (GAC) program plus two. The experience must fall within the last 10 years, and an active CAPM can replace the 35 hours of training.

Can I get the PMP without a degree?

Yes. With a high school diploma, GED or equivalent you need five years of experience managing projects instead of three, plus the same 35 hours of training. Nothing else about the application or exam changes.

Does my experience have to be with the job title project manager?

No. PMI counts time you spent managing projects in a professional setting, taking responsibility for planning, decisions, delivery and outcomes. Coordinators, engineers, analysts and team leads who ran projects can count that time, as long as they can describe it and a supervisor can confirm it if audited.

Do I need to be a PMI member to take the PMP?

No. Membership is optional. It lowers the exam fee from $675 to $425, so it can pay for itself if you would use its other benefits, but you can apply and sit the exam as a non-member.

Does a Udemy course count for the 35 hours?

Yes, if it gives you 35 hours of project management training and a completion certificate. PMI accepts self-paced, on-demand courses from any organization. From 1 December 2026, only live classes are restricted, to PMI Authorized Training Partners and a few other provider types.

What happens if my PMP application is audited?

PMI emails you before you pay. You then have 90 days to send copies of your diploma or degree, signatures from the supervisors or managers who can confirm your project experience, and certificates for your training. The audit takes about five to seven business days once everything arrives, and your one-year exam window starts when you pass it.

Is the PMP experience requirement 36 months or 60 months?

Older guides describe it that way: 36 months with a four-year degree and 60 months without. PMI’s current page states it in years and adds a middle tier: five years with a high school diploma, four with an associate’s or vocational diploma, three with a bachelor’s degree and two with a GAC-accredited degree, all within the last 10 years. Go by PMI’s current wording.

How long do I have to take the exam after I am approved?

One year from approval, or from passing an audit if you were selected. You can take the exam up to three times in that year, paying again for the second and third attempts.

Related guides

• Best PMP courses for the 2026 exam
• CAPM certification: requirements, cost and exam
• CAPM vs PMP: which certification first?
• Best project management courses
• Google Project Management Certificate review