PMP certification: requirements, cost and practice questions
PMP is the Project Management Professional certification from PMI. The exam is 180 questions in 240 minutes, you must meet education and experience requirements before you can apply, and PMI publishes no single price — the fee depends on your membership and your region.
- Exam fee
- No single figure published by PMIPMI states the price varies by membership status and region; neither handbook gives a number, checked 24 September 2026
- Questions
- 180, of which 10 are unscored pretestPMI PMP Examination Content Outline (July 2026), checked 10 October 2026
- Time allowed
- 240 minutes, including two 10-minute breaksPMI PMP certification page and Examination Content Outline (July 2026), checked 10 October 2026
- Passing score
- Not published by PMINeither the PMP Handbook nor the certification pages state one, checked 24 September 2026
- Prerequisites
- Yes — education, project experience and 35 hours of trainingPMI PMP certification page, checked 24 September 2026
- Renewal
- Every 3 yearsPMI Certification Handbook, checked 24 September 2026
- PDUs to renew
- 60 per three-year cycle — at least 35 Education, at most 25 Giving BackPMI, How to maintain your certification, checked 24 September 2026
- Renewal fee
- No figure published by PMIPMI states it emails a payment link when renewal is due, checked 24 September 2026
- Practice questions here
- 1,800 for the PMP examCertsqill question bank
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What is PMP certification?
PMP stands for Project Management Professional, the certification issued by PMI, the Project Management Institute. It is the credential for people who already run projects and want that experience recognised, which is why PMI checks the experience before it lets you sit the exam.
What is a PMP certification good for? It is recognition of delivery experience, not of theory. It is not an entry-level qualification. Unlike most IT certifications, the PMP exam is not open to anyone who pays: you need documented experience first.
One thing to rule out early, because it fills the search results: PMI is the only issuer of the PMP. A “Google PMP certification” or a “Cornell PMP certification” is a training course from that provider under its own name and its own price, not the PMI credential.
Source: PMI — PMP certification. Checked 24 September 2026.
How much does PMP certification cost?
PMI does not publish one. The PMP Handbook says the fees “are subject to membership and regional pricing”, and the Certification Handbook says prices “may vary based on a candidate’s membership status and regional location”. Neither document names a figure, and neither does the certification page or the certification FAQ.
So any page that answers the price of PMP certification with one flat number is quoting something PMI does not commit to. The binding figure appears during the application.
The same holds for regional prices, such as the cost in the USA or in India: they depend on membership and region, which is exactly the variable PMI names instead of a price. An online PMP certification cost is a course price from a training provider, as is a Google or Cornell PMP certification cost; none of them is PMI’s exam fee.
Two further costs are often missed. The PMP certification renewal fee, because the credential has to be renewed every three years: PMI publishes no figure for that either and emails a payment link when renewal is due, so the renewal cost has the same answer as the exam fee. And the prep courses needed to meet the 35-hour training requirement before you may even apply. That is why cost and time together is the more useful way to ask it.
Source: PMI — PMP Handbook. Checked 24 September 2026.
What are the PMP certification requirements?
The PMP certification requirements are a combination of education and project experience. You need one of: a high school diploma plus five years managing projects; an associate degree or vocational diploma plus four years; a bachelor’s degree or higher plus three years; or a degree from a PMI Global Accreditation Center programme plus two years. Without a degree, a high school diploma plus five years qualifies.
On top of the experience come 35 hours of project professional training. From 1 December 2026, live classes count only if they are delivered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner, a China Registered Education Provider, or an eligible accredited higher education programme. An active CAPM certification also satisfies the training requirement.
The experience bar is the same in 2025 and 2026; the change PMI has announced for 1 December 2026 concerns who may deliver the 35 hours, not how many years you need. PMI counts experience from the last ten years and asks you to list each project separately in the application, without double-counting overlapping work.
Source: PMI — PMP certification. Checked 24 September 2026.
What is the PMP exam format, and how hard is the PMP exam?
Since PMI updated the exam in July 2026, the PMP exam is 180 questions in 240 minutes, including two 10-minute breaks. Ten of the 180 are pretest questions that do not count, so 170 are scored — a detail PMI states in the exam content outline and most summaries leave out. In numbers: 180 items, 240 minutes, 80 seconds per question.
How hard is the PMP exam? PMI does not answer that with a number. There is no published passing score and no published pass rate, in the handbook or on the certification pages. PMI’s PMP Handbook describes its scoring only as a model “periodically reviewed by scoring experts”.
What is measurably hard is the entry, not the paper: two to five years of documented delivery before you may book it. PMP exam booking happens through PMI after the application is approved — not before.
Source: PMI — PMP Examination Content Outline, July 2026. Checked 10 October 2026.
How long does it take to get PMP certification, and how long does it last?
The exam is the short part. How long it takes to get PMP certified is set by the entry requirements: between two and five years of project experience depending on your education, plus the 35 training hours, plus application and scheduling.
Once earned, the credential lasts three years, then it has to be renewed.
Source: PMI — Certification Handbook. Checked 24 September 2026.
What are the PMP certification renewal requirements?
Renewal runs through PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements programme. The PDU requirements for PMP certification are 60 professional development units in each three-year cycle: at least 35 of them Education PDUs, at most 25 of them Giving Back PDUs.
Those are the PMP certification renewal requirements in full, alongside the renewal fee. PMI publishes no figure for the fee; it emails a payment link when your cycle ends. PMP certification renewal courses are one way to earn the Education half, but PMI counts several other activities too, so a course is not the only route.
Source: PMI — How to maintain your certification. Checked 24 September 2026.
Where can you find PMP practice questions?
This site holds 1,800 PMP certification practice questions. Every question shows all options, which one is correct, and why each of the others is wrong — the wrong answers are where most candidates lose marks on a 180-question paper.
The point of a practice exam is to meet the wording before exam day. There is a free PMP practice test here to start with, with the full bank behind it.
One thing no practice test can give you: PMI publishes no passing score, so no mock test can tell you that you have passed. What it can tell you is which areas you get wrong, which is why every PMP certification question here carries an explanation rather than a score alone.
What PMP certification courses and study material do you need?
You need 35 hours of training to apply, so PMP certification prep courses are not optional extras here — they are an entry requirement. From 1 December 2026, live instructor-led classes only count from a PMI Authorized Training Partner, a China REP, or an accredited higher education programme; a self-paced online course still counts from any organisation.
Which makes “which is the best PMP course” the wrong first question, and “does this provider qualify for the 35 hours” the right one. What is the best PMP certification is not a question either: PMI issues exactly one PMP.
Books, study guides and free study material all sit outside that requirement. They help you pass; they do not count towards the 35 hours unless the provider qualifies. This site is neither a training partner nor a course — it is the practice on top.
Source: PMI — PMP certification. Checked 24 September 2026.
CAPM certification vs PMP, and the other comparisons
CAPM vs PMP comes down to the entry bar. PMP requires documented project experience — two to five years of it. CAPM does not sit behind that experience requirement, and PMI accepts an active CAPM as satisfying the 35-hour training requirement for PMP. So the two are a sequence more often than a choice.
PMP vs PMI certification is a category error worth clearing up: PMI is the issuer, PMP one of its certifications. PgMP vs PMP stays inside PMI — PgMP is the programme-management credential above project level.
PRINCE2, Six Sigma and scrum master certifications measure other things — a method, a quality discipline, a team role — and PMI does not position them as alternatives to PMP. PMP vs an MBA or a master’s in project management compares a credential with a degree: the degree teaches, the certification attests to delivery already done.
Source: PMI — PMP certification. Checked 24 September 2026.
PMP questions people ask
What is PMP certification?
PMP is the Project Management Professional certification issued by PMI. The exam is 180 questions in 240 minutes, and you must document education and project experience before you can apply. Source: PMI PMP Examination Content Outline (July 2026), checked 10 October 2026, and PMI certification page, checked 24 September 2026.
How much does PMP certification cost?
PMI publishes no single figure. Both the PMP Handbook and the Certification Handbook state that the price depends on membership status and region, and neither names an amount, checked 24 September 2026. The binding figure appears during the application.
What are the requirements for PMP certification?
One of: high school diploma plus five years managing projects, associate degree plus four years, bachelor’s degree or higher plus three years, or a PMI GAC degree plus two years. Plus 35 hours of training. Source: PMI certification page, checked 24 September 2026.
How many questions are on the PMP exam?
180 questions in 240 minutes, including two 10-minute breaks, of which ten are unscored pretest questions, leaving 170 scored. Source: PMI PMP Examination Content Outline (July 2026), checked 10 October 2026.
What is the passing score for PMP?
PMI does not publish one. Neither the PMP Handbook nor the certification pages state a PMP certification passing score or a pass rate, checked 24 September 2026.
How long does a PMP certification last?
Three years. Renewal runs through PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements programme and needs 60 PDUs per cycle, at least 35 of them Education PDUs. Source: PMI, checked 24 September 2026.
What are the PMP certification PDU requirements?
60 PDUs in each three-year cycle: a minimum of 35 Education PDUs and a maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs. Source: PMI, How to maintain your certification, checked 24 September 2026.
Is PMP certification worth it?
That depends on whether your work is project delivery, and this page will not decide it for you. What PMI itself publishes: PMP holders in the US report a median salary of $135,000, and 17% higher median salaries than colleagues without the certification, checked 24 September 2026. Set that against two to five years of required experience, 35 training hours, a fee PMI does not publish, and renewal every three years. PMI issues the PMP and no one else does, so a “Google PMP certification” is a training course rather than the PMI credential, judged on its own price and content.
How many PMP practice questions does Certsqill have?
1,800 for the PMP exam, each with an explanation for every option — the correct one and the wrong ones.
The PMP syllabus is the Examination Content Outline
PMI does not publish a syllabus under that name. The document that defines what the exam tests is the PMP Examination Content Outline (ECO); the current version applies to the exam launched in July 2026. It weights the three domains as People 33%, Process 41% and Business Environment 26%.
The ECO also states that the exam is not written according to any single text. That is why a study plan built on the ECO’s domains and tasks is safer than one built on a single book.
Source: PMI — PMP Examination Content Outline, July 2026. Checked 9 October 2026.
Choosing a PMP bootcamp
A PMP boot camp is one way to complete the 35 hours of project management education PMI requires before you can apply. Before you book one, check the rule that changes on 1 December 2026: from then on, live classes — in person or online with an instructor — count only if they are delivered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner, a China Registered Education Provider, or an eligible accredited higher education programme.
Beyond eligibility, check that the bootcamp follows the July 2026 ECO, that it issues a record of the full 35 hours you can show if your application is audited, and that it includes timed practice on the scenario-style questions the exam uses.
Source: PMI — PMP certification. Checked 9 October 2026.
Is there a PMP exam voucher?
PMI’s PMP page and handbooks describe no PMP exam voucher scheme and no public discount code. The exam fee depends on PMI membership and region and is paid to PMI after your application is accepted. If a training provider offers a “voucher”, check the final amount on PMI’s own payment screen.
Source: PMI — PMP Handbook. Checked 9 October 2026.
More PMP questions
Does a PMP bootcamp count toward the 35 hours?
It can. From 1 December 2026, live classes count only if delivered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner, a China Registered Education Provider or an eligible accredited higher education programme. Source: PMI, checked 9 October 2026.
Where is the PMP syllabus?
In PMI’s PMP Examination Content Outline. The July 2026 version weights People at 33%, Process at 41% and Business Environment at 26%.
PMP in detail
- PMP vs CAPM, PMI-ACP, PRINCE2, Scrum Master and Six Sigma →
- PMP certification: the complete guide →
- How much does PMP certification cost? →
- The PMP exam: format, content outline, scoring and difficulty →
- Scheduling the PMP exam: dates, test centers, online testing and retakes →
- PMP renewal: PDUs, fees and how to keep your certification →
- PMP requirements: eligibility, experience and how to apply →
- PMP salary and career value: what PMI’s own data shows →
- PMP study guide: how to prepare for the PMP exam →
- PMP certification training: courses, bootcamps and the 35-hour rule →
- What is PMP certification? →
Exam fee: $655 ($405 for members) — what the PMP exam costs, retakes included →
