How Long Does It Take To Get A PMP® Certification?

How Long Does It Take To Get A PMP® Certification?

Preparation is the most critical factor in becoming a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Depending on the prerequisites and preparedness it is possible to get a PMP certification in 8 to 12 weeks after applying to PMI.

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is a benchmark for project management. The PMP certification validates the experience, knowledge, expertise, capability, competency and required skills to lead and manage projects. PMP certification is the most recognized and sought after project management certification. The PMP certification is compelling in its benefits and considered to be lucrative as it increases the earning potential. PMI’s PMBOK (Product Management Body of Knowledge) Guide is one of the reference books for PMP certification.

PMP Pre-requisites:

You need 4500 or 7500 hours of project management experience to fulfil the eligibility.

You can use the following calculation to record your experience in hours:

Project hours = Average number of working days in a month x Average number of productive hours a day x Number of months worked on that project

• There are only 8 hours in a day.
• Five days and therefore 40 hours in a workweek
• Deducting the vacations thats around 2 weeks in a calendar year leaves us with 50 workweeks.
• 50 workweeks translate to 2000 hours in a year.
• PMI recognizes only the first 40 hours each week.
• Non-overlapping hours cannot be accounted for.
• Therefore, the total experience required works out to 4500 hours or 3 years.

After meeting the eligibility criteria, You need to apply for PMP application by registering with PMI.

(Source: PMI’s PMP Handbook)

PMP Application and PMI's Notifications

• PMI provides 90 days to fill the application form from the time you start filling the application. The step by step procedure to fill PMP application is in reference to PMI’s PMP Handbook. You need to incorporate project management experience in PMP application form which can be time-consuming.
• During those 90 days, PMI will send you reminders to submit the application form in case it is incomplete.
• Once you submit the application online, PMI takes 5 calendar days to confirm the receipt and completeness of the PMP application form. You can also submit the application by post.
•  If your application is selected for the audit process, you have 90 days to send audit materials.

During an audit, you will be asked to submit supporting documentation such as:

• Copies of your diploma/global equivalent
• Signatures from your supervisor(s) or manager(s) from the project(s) recorded in the experience verification section of the application
• Copies of certificates and/or letters from the training institute(s) for each course recorded on the application to meet the required contact hours of project management education
• Once you send the audit materials to PMI via postal mail or express courier service, PMI takes 5 to 7 business days to complete the audit process after receiving all the supporting documents at once.

Note: If you fail the audit process, there is a one-year suspension period to apply for that certification again.

• If you pass the audit process, PMI will send you a notification mail to submit the payment.
• Once you submit the payment, PMI will notify you with confirmation of application approval.

You have one-year time period from the date of application approval to take up the exam. You have three attempts to pass the examination.

If you fail the PMP examination in the first attempt, you can apply for re-examination by submitting the following payment:

If you fail the PMP exam in all 3 attempts, you must wait one year from the date of the last examination you took to reapply for the certification.

Preparation is the most critical factor in becoming a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Depending on the prerequisites and preparedness it is possible to get a PMP certification in 8 to 12 weeks after applying to PMI.

Please read this blog from an information perspective and do not be discouraged at all. PMP might be tough but with dedicated effort and disciplined approach, you can pass in the first attempt.

Recommended post:

What is PMP?

Key Features of PMP® Certification Training
Top 10 Reasons to Get PMP® Certified

How To Qualify PM Experience In PMP Application Form

The Step By Step Procedure To Fill The Application Form

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