How To Fill In The PMP Application Process
How Do I Apply for PMP Certification?
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.
What is the PMP Application Process?
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.
Click here to get your copy of the PMP Handbook (PDF) .
PMI Contact Information
Where Can I Get the PMP Application Form?
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).
Look for this button on your Dashboard
See your application status on your Dashboard
The system will then take you through the 3 steps of the PMP application.
Can I get a PMP Application Form PDF?
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 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.
How Do I Complete The Education Information Section?
Complete the education section
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.
