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PMP Exam Fee – How Much Is The PMP® Exam Fee?

Chris — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 19:43:00 +0000

Are you a working professional who wants to climb the ladder in his career? Or are you a project manager who wants to boost his experience and skills? If yes then you must be planning for getting the PMP certification. Further, you must be wondering how much budget you need to spare to appear for the PMP exam, ie. the PMP exam fee.

You must be coming across different information at various sources on the internet about how much is the PMP exam fee? Furthermore, maybe you are thinking about what will be the cost if you plan to reattempt the exam or cancel it? What will be the PMP exam fee if, due to the workload, you want to reschedule your exam? How much refund for the PMP exam fee you will get on the cancellation?

Here, in this article, we will provide you complete details about the PMP exam fee. Besides, you will get information on the PMP exam fee for re-examination and PMP exam fee for rescheduling. We will also talk about the PMP exam fee for cancellation if you cancel the exam and refund policy. This will help you to determine the budget you need to have to appear for the PMP exam. But first, let us understand what is PMP Certification.

PMP Certification

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification is a globally recognized and demanded certification in project management. This certification demonstrates to employers, clients, and peers that a project manager possesses the required skills, knowledge and experience to make the project a real success. You can read the PMP study guide to learn how to get ready for the PMP exam.

This certification is global i.e. once you become PMP certified, you can work in any industry, any location, using any methodology regardless of geography or domain.

Furthermore, PMP certification recognizes the individual competency to perform the role of the project manager in leading and directing projects.

Moreover, with passing years, PMP certification has garnered global recognition. Besides, this certification helps a certified individual to earn up to 25% higher salary than non-certified individuals.

PMP Certification ensures that PMP certified individuals speak and understand the global language of project management. Additionally, PMP Certification helps you to expand your network by connecting you to a community of professionals, organizations, and experts worldwide.

PMP Exam

PMP Exam comprises 180 questions. There are 230 minutes to complete the exam. The PMP Exam Questions will be a combination of multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, and limited fill-in-the-blank types of questions.

Total Exam Questions	Question Types	Duration
180	multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, limited fill-in-the-blank	230 minutes

The allottedPMP Exam time is ~4 hours. There are no scheduled breaks during the examination. Though you are allowed to take the break if needed but your exam clock continues to count down.

Before the start of the exam, you get 15 minutes to go through the tutorial followed by a survey. But it is optional and this time is not included in the exam time of 4 hours.

Prerequisites to appear for PMP examination are:

You need to meet the eligibility criteria for PMP certification. For that, you need to meet both educational and professional experience requirements.

The first and foremost step to apply for PMP certification is to check your education and experience level against the eligibility criteria or PMP certification requirements that are mentioned below.

S.No	Education Requirement	Experience of leading and directing projects	35 Contact Hours
1	4 year Degree Course	3 years leading the project with 4500 Hours	35 Hours of project management education/training
2	Secondary degree i.e. High School Diploma or global equivalent	5 years leading the project with 7500 hours	35 Hours of project management education/training

Point to note here is that all the project management experience must have been gained within the last 8 consecutive years prior to your submission of application.

Secondly, you need to attend project management training from a recognized training institute and earn 35 PDUs or contact hours. You can attend a PMP training for this.

Once you fulfill both requirements of the PMP exam, then you need to plan to appear in the exam.

PMP exam is sponsored by the non-profit organization in project management i.e. Project Management Institute (PMI).

PMP Exam Content Outline

PMP Exam is based on the blueprint contained in the PMP Exam Content Outline. This exam blueprint lists the percentage of questions contained in each project management process groups.

Domain/Project Management Process Group	Percentage of Questions
Initiating	13%
Planning	24%
Executing	31%
Monitoring and Controlling	25%
Closing	7%

Now the question about the PMP exam fee comes, i.e. how much you should spare to become PMP certified.

What is the PMP Exam Fee?

PMP exam fee varies on the factor i.e. PMI Membership Status. Also, there are 2 modes of examination or delivery types that are paper-based or online via center-based.

For center-based examination which is in online mode and paper-based examination, PMP exam fee is shown below:

Mode of Examination	PMI Membership Status	Price in USD (US Dollars)	Price in Euros
Center-based and Paper Based	Member	405	340
Center-based and Paper Based	Non-Member	555	465

Here you can see the difference in the PMP exam fee whether you are a PMI member or not. You can save 150 USD if you are a member of the PMI.

To become a PMI Member, you need to register yourself at www.PMI.org and pay the membership fee of USD 129 and USD 10 for one time application fee. This membership is only valid for one year. Then you need to renew it by making the payment of membership fees and so on.

Benefits of PMI membership are:

1. You can access numerous resources, books, webinars, free articles, question bank at PMI.org site.

2. Besides you get access to PMBOK Guide for free.

3. You can build your network through chapter meetings, events, and seminars.

Point to note is that when you are submitting the payment for the exam:

You need to be the PMI member in good standing or
If you have recently applied for PMI membership before applying for certification, then you need to ensure that you receive the confirmation of membership before you make payment.
In case you haven’t become a member at that point and membership is not completely processed then you will be charged the non-member rate.
This means that if PMI membership is obtained after you submit payment for the certification then PMI will not refund the difference.

PMP Exam Fee for Re-Examination

Once your PMP application is approved, you have 1 year eligibility period to pass the PMP exam. During this 1 year duration, you can take the exam up to 3 times.

Hence, PMP exam fee for re-examination when you appear for 2^nd or 3^rd time is:

Mode of Examination	PMI Membership Status	Price in USD (US Dollars)	Price in Euros
Center-based or Paper-Based	Member	275	230
Center-based or Paper-Based	Non Member	375	315

What happens if your eligibility period expires and you haven’t passed the PMP exam yet?

If you haven’t cleared the PMP exam and your eligibility period of 1 year expires then you must reapply for the certification.

What happens if you don’t pass the PMP exam after appearing 3 times during the eligibility period?

In 1 year eligibility period, if you fail the PMP exam 3 times then you need to wait for 1 year from the date of the last exam you took to reapply for the PMP certification.

But there is a catch here! Even if you cannot apply for PMP certification for a year, you can opt for any other PMI certification like CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management), PMI-SP (PMI Scheduling Professional), PMI-PBA (PMI Professional in Business Analysis), PMI-RMP (PMI Risk Management Professional), PMI-ACP (PMI Agile Certified Professional), PgMP (Program Management Professional) or PfMP (Portfolio Management Professional). You just need to submit respective certification fees and then you can appear for the certification exam.

Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) Certification Renewal

The purpose of the CCR Program is to enhance continuous learning and development among certification holders.

If you passed the PMP exam and have become PMP certified, then you must actively maintain the certification through participation in the CCR Program and certification renewal takes place every 3 years.

Mode of Examination	PMI Membership Status	Price in USD (US Dollars)
CCR Certification Renewal	Member	60
CCR Certification Renewal	Non Member	150

PMP Exam Fee for Rescheduling

You can cancel or reschedule the PMP exam at any point in the time. Due to limited seat capacity at test centers, if you reschedule at a later stage or cancel the exam then the PMP Exam fee will still be charged.

Hence, to avoid the rescheduling fee, you need to cancel or reschedule more than 48 hours or 2 full calendar days before your scheduled exam date.

What happens if you cancel or reschedule the PMP exam within 2 days of your exam date?

If you cancel or reschedule your exam within 48 hours or 2 calendar days of the scheduled exam date, all the PMP exam fee and the ability to reschedule are forfeited.

This means if you plan to wait until you are within 2 days of your PMP exam date, you will be able to cancel the exam but PMI will forfeit the PMP exam fee. Hence, you will not be able to reschedule your exam date at this point. Furthermore, you will need to pay re-examination fees to schedule a new exam.

For Example:

Date of Exam Scheduled	The date you reschedule the exam or cancel the exam	PMP Exam Fee Amount
2 Days Policy
6 April	3 April	USD 70
6 April	4 April ( you are unable to reschedule but can cancel the exam)	Forfeit the entire PMP exam fee

Hence, you need to make sure that rescheduling or cancellation of the PMP exam must happen before you are within 2 calendar days of your exam date.

What happens if you cancel or reschedule the PMP exam within 30 days of your exam date?

If you cancel or reschedule the PMP exam within 30 days of your scheduled exam date then you will be charged a fee of USD 70. It will appear on the credit card as a charge from the test vendor.

Make a note that the 30 day period doesn’t include the day of the exam appointment. So, to avoid the fee, you have to reschedule or cancel the exam before the 30 day period begins. For instance, if your scheduled exam date is 6^th May then you must cancel or reschedule the PMP exam on or before 5^th April to avoid the fee.

For example:

Date of Exam Scheduled	The date you reschedule the exam or cancel the exam	PMP Exam Fee Amount
30 days Policy
6^th May	5^th April (or before)	No Fee
6^th May	6^th April up to 3^rd May	USD 70

Exceptional Cases for PMP Exam Fee Refunds: Extenuating Circumstances

Due to some personal emergency, you may miss a scheduled exam date resulting in no show status. Or you might be unable to change your exam date before 30 days within your exam scheduled date then extenuating circumstance policy may apply.

Extenuating circumstances include medical emergencies, illness or death in the immediate family, natural disasters, pandemics like coronavirus or military deployment.

In such scenarios, it will be under the discretion of PMI to evaluate these situations on case to case basis and determine if a refund of the rescheduling PMP Exam fee is appropriate or not. If your extenuating circumstance claim is not approved then you will be required to pay the full re-examination PMP exam fee to sit for the exam.

Here ‘No show’ status refers to a situation when you fail to notify PMI within specified periods to cancel or reschedule your exam or if you fail to meet a scheduled exam date. If you reach this status then the PMP exam fee will be forfeited. Hence you have to pay the full re-examination PMP exam fee to schedule another date.

You can contact PMI customer care within 72 hours following the missed exam date. Depending upon the circumstances, you will be asked to explain along with supporting documents such as medical documents, accident reports, etc. If PMI approves them then you can reschedule or cancel your exam without penalty.

How to reschedule or cancel your examination?

Make a note that PMI doesn’t accept email as an acceptable form of communication to cancel or reschedule your exam date.

If you are facing any issue in canceling or rescheduling your exam date due to some internet connectivity issue then you can call the test vendor directly.

PMP Exam Cancellation & Refund

If the PMP exam is canceled and rescheduled outside 30 days from the date of purchase and up to 48 hours before the scheduled exam date, then the rescheduling PMP exam fee will be applied.

If you have not scheduled or have taken the PMP certification exam within the time frame, then you can request a refund within 30 days from the date of purchase.

Once the refund is processed, then the application will get closed. Hence, the eligibility period will no longer be valid. For a request to refund the PMP exam fee, you may send the email to customercare@pmi.org.

Under the following instances, PMI will not give you any refund:

1. If your eligibility period of 1 year expires and you haven’t scheduled the exam yet, then you will not receive the refund for the PMP exam fee. Hence, the entire amount of PMP exam fee will be forfeited. If you still wish to obtain the certification then you have to reapply and submit the PMP exam fee again.

2. If you have scheduled the exam but couldn’t appear for it or you have neither canceled the exam nor provided rescheduling notification to PMI’s testing partner, then you will not receive the refund. Hence, the entire amount of PMP exam fee will be forfeited.

What is the PMBOK Guide?

PMBOK Guide is considered as the outline of the PMP exam and PMP materials are prepared with the help of the PMBOK Guide. This guide is used as a reference guide for Project Management Professional certification. The latest version used is PMBOK 6^th Edition.

PMBOK framework consists of 5 Process Groups and 10 Knowledge Areas comprising of 49 Processes.

There are 2 ways to group processes. One is “Process Groups” and the other way is to categorize them by “Knowledge Areas”. In PMBOK Guide, it is organized by knowledge areas to make you understand the specific area in depth. Hence, to prepare for PMP certification, one needs to understand knowledge areas in detail.

10 Knowledge Areas of PMBOK Guide

A knowledge area represents an area of project management defined by its knowledge requirement. Further, it encompasses processes, practices, inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques. Here, knowledge areas group the project management processes by subject area such as Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Risk, Human Resource, Procurement, and Stakeholder, etc.

These knowledge areas are interrelated, however, they are defined separately from the project management perspective. Moreover, these knowledge areas are used in the project most of the time.

Project Integration Management

The purpose of the Integration Management knowledge area is to get all of the process groups together. It pulls all the pieces of a project together into a cohesive whole. Hence, the project manager plays the main role in this knowledge area. He integrates the work of everyone on the team through all of these major activities to keep the project on track.

Project Scope Management

Scope Management knowledge area defines what work is required and then making sure all of that work and only that work is completed.

Project Schedule Management

Schedule Management knowledge area defines breaking the work down into activities so you can put them in order and come up with estimates for each of them. Further, it ensures that all of the work happens in the right order, gets done by the right people and doesn’t take much of time.

Moreover, this knowledge area defines how deadlines are kept. It works in a way that it determines what work you need to do, how you will do it, what resources you will use, and how long it will take. And finally, this knowledge area talks about how to develop and control the schedule.

Project Cost Management

Cost Management knowledge area defines planning, estimating, budgeting, funding, managing and controlling costs. It ensures to complete the project within the approved budget. Managing the cost in the project is regardless of project size whether it is small or big, how many resources and activities are in it. But, the process of figuring out the budget remains the same.

Project Quality Management

Quality Management knowledge area defines creating and following organization policies, procedures and tailoring them to ensure the project meets the needs of the customer. Further, it ensures that the project is completed in compliance with the project requirements and of high quality.

Project Resource Management

Resource Management knowledge area defines planning, estimating activity resources, acquiring, developing, managing and controlling the resources needed for the successful completion of the project. Here, resources refer to not only human resources but also include the facilities, material or physical resources, equipment required to perform the work of the project. Hence, it ensures that the right resources will be available to the project manager and project team at the right time and place.

Project Communications Management

Communications Management knowledge area defines keeping everybody in the loop. That means, this knowledge area involves everyone talking about the work done so that they all stay on the same page. Thereby, everyone has information they need to resolve any issues and keep the project moving forward. Besides, it involves developing a strategy to make sure that communication is effective for all stakeholders. Further, it carries out the activities necessary to implement the communication strategy.

Project Risk Management

Risk Management knowledge area defines planning, identification, analysis, response planning, implementation, and monitoring risk on a project. The purpose of this knowledge area is to increase the probability and impact of positive risks and decrease the probability and impact of negative risks to increase the chances of project success.

Project Procurement Management

The Procurement Management knowledge area defines purchasing or acquiring products, service or results needed from outside the project team.

Project Stakeholder Management

Stakeholder Management knowledge area determines who your stakeholders are, plan how you will keep them engaged and manage your project to keep them satisfied. Point to remember here is that stakeholder’s engagement should take place throughout the life of the project.

What is the Passing Score of the PMP Exam?

Earlier, PMI published the passing score as 61% for the PMP exam. It means that a PMP candidate needs to correctly score 106 or more out of 175 questions in the exam.

However, PMI does not state any official score.

Then they adopted a more scientific approach by giving proficiency levels (Proficient, Moderately Proficient and Below Proficient) or target level (Above Target, Target, Below Target) in PMP exam results. Moreover, currently, PMI doesn’t state any information about the PMP Exam passing score. Therefore, they determine the score through sound psychometric analysis.

How Can You Renew the PMP Certification?

Once you pass the PMP exam and attain PMP certification then you get a 3-year cycle to earn 60 PDUS to renew the certification.

Steps to renew PMP certification are:

The first and foremost step is to earn 60 PDUs to meet the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) for your certification. You can read about this in the PMP PDU post.
Secondly, you have to enter PDUS in the online CCR system by entering the Provider name, Activity name, Activity Dates and number of PDUS claimed under 3 components of the Talent triangle. And click on the ‘Submit’ button. Then, you will receive an update on the number of PDUS accepted or rejected.
Thirdly, you have to fill the online renewal application by mentioning contact information along with payment details before submission
Next step is to agree to the code of ethics and professional conduct by PMI
Then pay the renewal fee. Hence, if you are a PMI member, then you need to pay a discounted fee of 60USD. If you are not a PMI member then you need to pay 150 USD for PMP certification renewal.
Finally, you will receive the confirmation from PMI. Thereby, you will receive a certificate indicating a new CCR cycle. In your profile, your status is “Active” and “PMP in good standing”. Hence, once you have completed a single cycle, then a new 3-year cycle begins.

What happens if you have earned 60 PDUS in the first year or second year of the cycle?

If you have earned 60 PDUS in the first or second year of the cycle, then there is no need to wait for 3 years to complete. You can file the PDUs earned and make the payment of the fees and renew your certification. PMI will renew the PMP certification date from the date of expiry only not from the date of payment of fees.

What happens if you couldn’t earn 60 PDUS in the 3-year cycle?

If you are not able to earn the specified number i.e. 60 PDUs by the end of the 3rd year of certification cycle hence, you are not able to complete the renewal within the completion of the CCR cycle. Then you will be put under the “Suspended” status up to 1 year after the CCR cycle. Thereafter, it will no longer be valid.

PMP Exam Fee: Summary

Undoubtedly, PMP certification is ranked as topmost globally recognized certification in the project management domain. This certification recognizes the competency level of individuals, helps in a higher salary, network expansion along with garnering global recognition. Also, it makes an individual understand the common language of project management.

If you are a PMI member then you save money in the PMP exam fee and rescheduling fee. Besides you get access to the latest edition i.e. PMBOK Guide 6^th Edition for free. Furthermore, you save USD 90 in renewals of PMP certification fees.

For cancellation and rescheduling the PMP exam, to avoid paying the PMP exam fee for rescheduling, you need to cancel or reschedule the exam before the start of 30 days of PMP exam scheduled date else USD 70 will be charged.

Besides, to save the entire PMP exam fee, you must cancel or reschedule the exam before you are within 2 calendar days or 48 hours of your scheduled exam date.

Further, if eligibility period of 1 year expires and you haven’t passed the PMP exam yet after 3 attempts, then you have to wait for 1 year from the date of the last examination you took to reapply for the PMP certification.

Moreover, if the eligibility period of 1 year expires and you haven’t scheduled the PMP exam yet then PMI will not give you a refund for the PMP exam fee.

The post PMP Exam Fee – How Much Is The PMP® Exam Fee? appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMP Certification Cost – 5 Aspects of PMP Cost Revealed

Chris — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 14:24:00 +0000

Project Management Professional (PMP) is a globally valid certification. There is a high requirement for project management positions and PMP certification is one of the distinguishing key factors to be able to get project management jobs. Therefore most of the project management aspirants consider PMP as a must-have credential in their resume. But this prominent feature comes after a serious effort as well as the cost is associated with it. In this article, we are going to highlight significant factors that contribute to the PMP certification cost.

One of the critical aspects of PMP certification for the aspirants is PMP certification cost. While calculating PMP cost, some candidates only think of the cost of the PMP exam and the cost of PMP training. These are no doubt the basic aspects but also other aspects exist for PMP certification cost. In this article, we will highlight the different aspects of the PMP certification cost. These aspects will help you get the idea of how many financial resources should you plan for your PMP certification cost.

Project Management Certification

Project management is a globally demanded field. Hence, there is an interesting growth opportunity for individuals who like to pursue their careers in the field of project management. The organizations need to grow and this growth is mostly based on the skills of the project teams. Therefore the hiring of a team requires the human resource departments, agencies, and consultants to look more vigilantly for the best-fit candidates. Organizations look for candidates who have the skills in-line with their current as well as future requirements. So if a candidate has these abilities, they are more likely to be called upon and picked up on high priority.

Benefits of PMP Certification

You may expect a hike of at least 20% in your project manager salary after obtaining your PMP Certification. This is one of the very attractive benefits of PMP. Furthermore, another benefit of PMP is that it is not a domain-specific certification. The project managers within various industries get more salaries as compared to non-PMP individuals within these industries. You can check the median PMP salary by industry, experience, location, etc. For instance, in the USA, if you are working in the pharmacy sector you may earn around $125,000, whereas in Canada you may get up to $115,000 if you work in the mining industry. Also, for the IT sector, PMP has consistently been the highest-paid certification. Last but not least, the trend shows that salaries for PMP owners will continue to increase even more in the future.

Besides the salary advancements, PMP certification increases job security as even with the lesser jobs in the market, companies would be more keen to hire and keep the PMP certified project managers.

PMP Certification Requirements

Students, fresh hires and professionals who want to pursue their career in project management, are very much interested to know the various aspects of PMP certification cost. So that they can plan their resources required to prepare for the PMP Exam, then take on the PMP certification path as the PMP credentials will help them showcase their abilities, experience. Obtaining the PMP certification also recognizes your efforts and consistency you have put in to obtain the credentials.

Are you interested to be well informed on the critical aspects of the PMP certification cost? Then, you should have the first question in mind and that should be what are the PMP requirements. Then there is a series of questions, you must be interested to know. Like how these PMP requirements can be fulfilled? How much PMP certification cost can be associated with each of these PMP requirements?

It is true that PMP certification offers a lot of benefits to its holders. But first, you must be well prepared before taking in the PMP Exam. Therefore, knowing what it takes to prepare for the exam, in other words, the PMP certification requirements, is the first step towards the PMP certification. When you know the criteria of PMP certification, you’ll be able to systematically prepare and achieve your target. The PMP certification requirements and their eligibility criteria are given in the below table.:

Education	Project Management Experience	Project Management Education
Non Graduates	5 years/7500 hours	35 hours
Graduates	3 years/4500 hours	35 hours

Education

Project Management

Experience

Project Management

Education

Non Graduates

5 years/7500 hours

35 hours

Graduates

3 years/4500 hours

35 hours

In this section we will give you more details about these PMP requirements:

Education

Education has a critical role in PMP prerequisites. To be able to take the PMP Exam, you must have a high school diploma or associate’s degree or global equivalent. As it will reduce the work experience requirement, if you hold a graduation degree it is a big advantage for you.

Experience

Based on your education level, the experience requirement varies.

In case you have a bachelor’s degree, the required experience is 3 years (36 months). In other words, you can say that work experience of 4,500 hours is required to fulfill the criteria of experience by the candidates. So if you plan to sit in the PMP Exam you must have at least 4,500 hours of experience provided you have a bachelor’s degree.
In case you have a high school diploma or associate’s degree or global equivalent the required experience is 5 years (60 months). In other words, you can say that work experience of 7,000 hours is required to fulfill the criteria of experience by the candidates. So you must have experience of at least 7,000 hours if you are planning to sit in the PMP Exam provided you have an associate’s degree or equivalent.

The experience requirement of 4,500 hours within 3 years can be interpreted as 1500 hours/year or 125 hours/month on average for the required time period.

But don’t forget that you do not really need to work in a project manager position during this time period. You can work on these projects in various roles. If you are working on the project in any capacity, you should be able to claim these hours depending on the different phases of the project that you have been working on.

Training

PMP training is a must-have PMP certification requirement. In other words, the PMP training requirement is a must to sit in the PMP Exam. You must have 35 contact hours of PMP training according to PMI criteria. That means you must get formal PMP training. Even though on first look the PMP training requirement may seem to be one of the simplest PMP certification requirements to fulfill, it really is a make or break game changer.

PMP Certification Cost

As we have already discussed the PMP certification requirements, now it is time to consider the PMP certification cost factors now. There are mainly 5 aspects of PMP certification cost. We have discussed education, experience, and training requirement in the previous section. On top of these PMP certification cost factors, one must consider factors like preparation and registration as well. The PMP certification cost includes both tangible and non-tangible factors. For instance, the time of preparation for the PMP exam is a PMP certification cost that usually remains hidden. But you have to spend your time and energy to mark your achievement.

#1 PMP Certification Cost – PMP Training Cost

It is important to note that the PMP training requirement is a must to sit in the PMP Exam. You must have 35 contact hours of PMP preparation according to PMI guidelines. So you must get formal PMP training. Even though on first look the PMP training requirement may seem to be one of the simplest PMP certification requirements, it really is a make or break game changer.

The PMP training is not only a point of consideration due to the fact that PMI has set it as a requirement. As a matter of fact, it also brings several benefits to the candidates. Like PMP training offers guidance through experienced trainers. The candidates get the opportunity to interact with other candidates as well. In addition to this, they get a more clear road map and by following this roadmap they get preparation materials.

The PMP certification cost varies with the location and the format of the training

The cost of the PMP training varies based on location as well as the training format. For instance, let’s say that you are looking for trainings in Toronto. You will have multiple options for PMP training providers in Toronto. The cost of PMP classroom training will range from $800 to $2,495 whereas virtual trainings will be within the range of $1,695 to $1,895.

Likewise, if you are looking for training in Melbourne, you will find many options. The cost of Melbourne classroom courses starts at AUD 1,800+ GST and can be up to AUD 6,500.

In case you are looking for PMP trainings in Chicago, again there are multiple PMP training providers there. The cost of classroom training ranges from $845 to $1895 and the cost of the trainings with the virtual format is within the range of $699 to $1305.

Please note that the prices are subject to change as per the training providers within your country and regions. Also, the training format choice is a key driver of the PMP certification cost factor.

We recommend you to look for Project Management Education options as this will help you reduce your PMP certification cost. This format also provides flexibility for PMP candidates. You can only get an online PMP training for as little as $67 a month, among the various online training options.

How can I secure my PMP certification cost for a better return on investment in PMP training?

As a matter of fact, the PMP Exam is not a simple one. It is more likely that if the candidates are not well prepared, they will have a greater tendency to fail the PMP Exam. You can find various training providers that provide PMP training programs. Also, naturally, there is a PMP certification cost associated with the PMP training that you will pay to the provider.

Now it is time to ask the most important question: What should you look for the PMP training and which PMP training format is better for you? You will find many established training providers who have global recognition in the PMP training field. Even though having multiple options to choose from is a good thing, when you are evaluating them you should consider their certain aspects. We will explore some of these aspects that you have to consider when choosing a PMP training provider. These aspects include:

Fulfill PMI Requirements

One of the main objectives of acquiring formal PMP training is the requirement set by PMI to sit in the PMP exam. You must have 35 PDUs to fulfill this requirement. Therefore you must ensure that the training you are opting gets you 35 PDUs. So this section of the PMP certification cost is guaranteed as a secure investment.

Recognition of Training Providers

It is not enough that the training provider fulfills the PMI criterial. The next thing you should look for is the recognition of the training provider. You should review whether the training provider has a proven record to train the aspirants in a way that they have acquired the PMP credentials. Many training providers display their success rates based on PMP achievement as compared to their total number of students in the PMP programs. This will help you to ensure the stability of the training program where you are going to invest your PMP certification cost.

Training Formats

One very interesting factor is that there are many training providers who provide trainings in several formats. These training formats are designed to help the aspirants to reach trainings from local as well as global training providers. These formats also enable the training providers to broaden their horizons.

You can look for the following training formats and make a choice according to your priorities to fulfill PMP certification requirements. These formats include:

In-person Classroom Training
In-person Virtual Classroom Training
E-learning Online

You can choose the training format that suits you as per your availability and requirement. These trainings prepare you for the PMP certification exam. Considering that the aspirants are professionals and must be busy in their jobs, finding time to attend the training could be a bit difficult for them. Whereas there are some other cases when the candidates have the flexibility to adjust their schedules or they are willing to attend the classroom trainings. These types of candidates might choose in-person classroom training as their best option.

There are also some situations when candidates look for in-person trainings but they are not willing to travel to attend the class. If you are one of these candidates, the Virtual Classroom training option can be ideal for you. Another possible situation is where the candidates look for both location and time flexibility. For such candidates, the self-paced, online e-learning format is more suitable.

These formats have different costs and duration. Usually, the classroom trainings are for 4 full days. Some training providers offer weekdays as well as weekend trainings. So the overall span varies depending on the type of schedule you choose for the training.

The e-learning online training format is the most economical and most flexible method of training.

PMP Exam topic full coverage and additional training material

The next thing you need to check is whether the PMP training is in line with the PMBok topics. You can also check whether the training provider gives additional material along with the training. The most important aspect is to check whether the training provider offers quizzes, mock-up exams, practice tests. All of these materials are helpful to assess your current position in regards to the PMP certification. The practice material helps you to identify the gaps and strengths. So you can practice more to cover the identified gaps and reinforce your strength.

Some training providers also offer full simulations that are helpful to feel the actual online paper environment and you can practice more closely with the real exam. So you can assess your time management, focus and level of accuracy through these practice programs.

These factors can help you choose the training with a better return on investment.

Recommendation of cost-effective PMP Training program

The online PMP training programs are very good options to get PMP certification training. Today you have a great number of online PMP courses on the web. This is because the majority of the PMP aspirants are willing to get an online PMP training. What benefits will you get when you opt for an online PMP certification course? Firstly as this is an online program you won’t have to be present in an actual classroom. This is really ideal for full-time working professionals. Furthermore, these online courses cost a lot less than regular classroom programs, in other words, their prices vary between 200 USD and 500 USD. That means if you choose an online training format you can significantly reduce your PMP certification cost.

#2 PMP Cost – PMP Exam Fee

This aspect of PMP certification cost is the fee that you pay to attend the PMP exam. This fee varies by your PMI membership status and also the type of examination you take. There is centre based type of exam and also paper-based type according to your geographic location. Below you can see the associated fees with the PMP exam for members and non-members of PMI.

PMP Examination	PMI Member Examination Fees(USD)	Non-PMI Member Examination Fees(USD)
PMP Exam – First Time	$405	$555
PMP Re-attempt Examination	$275	$375

You can only benefit from the PMI membership rate if your PMP membership is in good standing at the time you submit payment for the exam. If you apply to be a PMI member right before you apply for the exam, make sure you receive confirmation of your PMI membership before you pay for the exam.

It is important to note that if your membership has not been completely processed before you pay for the certification exam, you will be charged with the non-member fee. If you obtain PMI membership after you submit payment, PMI will not refund the difference. Therefore to be able to reduce your PMP certification cost you need to ensure that your membership process is completed prior to the application submission.

Is PMI Membership helpful in decreasing PMP certification cost?

PMI membership is a yearly membership. You should renew your membership after one year. The start of one year is effective from the date when your registration for membership is approved. The continuity of the membership depends on your own choice, so you can be a PMI member as long as you want if you renew it yearly.

The PMI membership factor in the PMP certification cost is subject to your membership status at the time of your registration for the examination. However, PMI membership comes with its own cost. There’s a membership fee of $129 and a joining fee of $10.

But also, this cost is less then what you can save at the time of the PMP exam application because being a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) can drop your exam fee, from $555 to $405. If you re-take the exam then fees also drop from $375 to $275. Thus, your PMP certification cost is also reduced if you are a PMI member.

To avail the benefit of PMI membership in the PMP exam fees you must be an active member at the time of registration for the examination. If you have applied for membership in the PMI, you would need to ensure your membership in the PMI is accepted and enabled.

It is your choice whether you would like to be a PMI member or you would like to spend extra on the PMP exam fee. We suggest you become a member of PMI prior to registering for the PMP Exam as it brings several other benefits for one year. Also, you do not have to spend extra PMP certification cost compared to non-members.

Payment Process

When you process and complete your application online, PMI will share with you a notification to request the payment. This requires you to go back into the online certification system to complete the required steps. You will select your examination delivery method and PMI will provide you different ways to submit the payment. You can pay through credit card online or you can send postal mail to PMI. But the online payment will enable PMI to process your payment more quickly,

You can also mail a check, money order, credit card information or wire payment information to PMI. Payment is required to be issued with your application if you submit it via postal mail.

You can request a language other than English for your examination at no extra cost. You can also request test accommodations for your examination without any extra cost.

#3 PMP Certification Cost – Preparation Time

Most of the time, when they think about the PMP certification cost, people only consider the money they will be spending on PMP study materials and PMP exam fees. However, there will be a significant amount of time you will need to study and get ready for the PMP exam. Hence, this should also be included in the PMP certification cost.

Once you complete the PMP training and earn 35 contact hours to fulfill the PMP criteria you are in the phase of self-study. You can also opt to study the material prior to the PMP training to get the basic concepts in line with your experience. This PMP exam preparation time is the intangible PMP certification cost that you need to invest in terms of time and effort.

Time: A Hidden PMP certification Cost

Average PMP preparation takes around 6 months. So you can also consider this time as a part of the PMP certification cost. Usually, individuals have to lay down a study roadmap in which they study and practice the exam to identify the areas for improvement. To complete this roadmap is the real key to achieve the PMP milestone. But you have to adjust your life priorities to prepare for the PMP Exam. This non-tangible PMP certification cost is the time you spend out of your busy schedule on weekdays and probably on weekends.

The PMP course providers may also suggest a PMP preparation roadmap that you can follow after you complete your course. The duration of this will depend on how much time you can spare for your PMP Exam training. This may vary from 4 to 6 months according to your daily and weekly efforts. You must especially consider this when you are buying the online course. Because you can fully boost your roadmap once you purchase the online PMP course and hence the pace of the course study will depend on you.

Please consider the mere fact that it is not only the time you spent, but it also includes the quality of the input which requires your consistent focus to achieve success. So this PMP certification cost may be non-tangible but the effort you spend is the savior of the remaining PMP certification cost. So be on the mark, get set and go with this phase of high demanding PMP certification cost investment.

#4 PMP Cost – PMP Study Material Costs

PMP training, hence the PMP certification cost, doesn’t only include the PMP study material you can get. You can get additional materials such as PMP Prep Books, PMP practice exams, PMP exam simulators, and PMP flashcards. You have lot of options available in the market to choose such additional training materials offered to prepare for the PMP Exam. There are certain benefits of these materials.

PMI Material

In addition to the PMI membership benefits in terms of cost reduction in the PMP Exam fee, there are also other benefits of being a PMI member. You will get these following benefits when you become a PMI member:

You will have free access to download standards, guides and other valuable material relevant to project management. This also includes the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The entire content is available on PMI’s website pmi.org.
Variety of templates that help project managers
Access to webinars and events
Discounted prices for exam and re-exam fees
Discounted prices in renewal fees

The PMBOK is a foundation document to prepare for the PMP examination.

Flashcards

You can also seek other resources that are helpful to prepare for the PMP Exam. Many training providers provide such material that you can buy for the sake of preparation. Flashcards are one of the preparation tools. These can be one of your best tools as they are very handy to keep with you for your PMP exam preparation.

With PMP flashcards, you can study in smaller chunks to reinforce what you have prepared during your study program. The flashcards are just short notes or main points. So one can even prepare their own flashcards like processes, knowledge areas, formulae, and many more. After that, you can review them and recall the concepts in a very short time. So they are a good way to improve your memory.–

Many well-known education providers have prepared flashcards which are available in different qualities and numbers. For instance, RMC Hot Topics Flashcards for Passing the PMP and CAPM Exams (Spiral-bound) are available for prices ranging from $19.00 $ to $50.00. Likewise, you can find Flashcards (Test Prep) by Crowe, Andy (2013) ranging from $54.00 to $989.90. These prices are based on whether these are used cards or new cards. So the flashcards might be considered another aspect to add in the PMP certification cost.

PMP Exam Simulator

PMP exam simulators are very effective tools that bring benefits to students. When they practice their exam sessions through PMP Exam Simulators, the PMP aspirants get a real feeler of the PMP Exam. You can practice your time management through these PMP Exam Simulators. In addition to this, with the simulators, you get used to the PMP Exam environment. So you gain a lot more confidence. Furthermore, you learn effective test-taking strategies. You can assess your focus and attention time.

Furthermore, each simulator will help you practice for the real exam. So you can identify your areas of weakness where you can put more focus and cover the gaps. This will help you to manage the most critical aspect first, so your learning will be prioritized towards the most value-adding aspects.

Many training providers also offer the Exam Simulators as an individual product.

For example, Master of Project Academy offers a PMP Exam Simulator consisting of 7 simulation exams or a total of 1400 PMP exam questions. After completing each exam, the results will be immediately seen with a detailed explanation of all questions and rationales. The Lifetime Access Plan is priced at $145, and the Monthly Plan is at $45 per month and can be canceled at any time.

Likewise, RMC offers the PM Exam Simulator. This Exam Simulator provides you an “insider’s view” of the actual PMP Exam. You can practice 1,600+ sample PMP Exam questions that are developed based on the current exam specifications. You get 90-day access. The cost of the Exam simulator is $139.00.

Thus, you should include the price of simulated exams in the PMP certification cost as they are very helpful for your preparation for the real exam.

#5 PMP Re-Certification Cost

Once you obtained PMP certification, you must earn 60 PMP PDU hours every three years to retain your PMP certification. You will spend time attending PMP PDU activities to retain your PMP certification. After you earn PDUs, you will pay the recertification fee to PMI in every three years. Hence even after you get your certification, there is some PMP certification cost you will be paying.

	PMI Member	Non-PMI Member
PMP Certification renewal fee	$60	$150

Here the re-certification cost depends on your PMI membership status. If you are a member of PMI then you need to pay a fee of $60 to PMI. In case you are not a member then you have to pay $150 for the PMP certification renewal fee. So once again PMI membership reduces your PMP certification cost.

Summary: PMP Certification Cost

In this article, we have shared the critical factors associated with the PMP certification cost. These aspects help you get an idea about how much will you roughly spare for your PMP certification cost. Also, there are some non-tangible aspects of PMP certification cost, such as your preparation period in which you spend your time and effort by prioritizing your activities within your busy schedule. But this effort is usually not included in the PMP certification cost calculation.

The PMP certification cost can be calculated based on these cost factors:

1- Cost of PMI membership – $139 (Membership Fee of $129 and a joining fee of $10)

2- Cost of PMP exam application – $405 (Provided your PMI membership status is active at the time of application)

3- Cost of PMP training

The cost of the training is subject to your choice of PMP training format. We have elaborated on different training formats. so you can choose as per your budget. You can choose classroom training, virtual online training, and e-learning (online training).

If you want to reduce your total PMP certification cost, we recommend you choosing online PMP training options. They also provide flexibility for PMP candidates. These courses with the online format cost significantly less than regular classroom courses. Among the various online PMP programs, you can even find a good quality online PMP training only for as low as $67 per month!

4- Cost of supporting material

There are some supporting materials you should buy for the preparation of your PMP Exam.

Flashcards – Their cost varies from almost $19.00 to $989,00 but this depends on the variety of the cards you choose, so this aspect of PMP certification cost is pretty much optional.
Exam Simulator – This PMP certification cost also depends on your choice from where you acquire the exam simulator for your practice sessions. For instance, Master of Project Academy offers Lifetime Access Plan priced at $145. Whereas the Monthly Plan is at $45 per month and can be canceled at any time. Likewise, you can get the RMC Exam simulator with 90-day access. The cost of this exam simulator is $139.00.

5- Cost of PMP Certification Renewal

The cost of PMP certification renewal is $60 (Provided your PMI membership status is active at the time of application for the PMP renewal). This PMP certification cost is applicable after every three years of you being PMP certified.

6- Re-attempt Examination cost

This PMP certification cost is only applicable if the candidate does not qualify in the first attempt of the PMP Exam and they want to re-attempt to obtain the PMP certification.

The cost of re-taking the PMP exam is $275 (Provided your PMI membership status is active at the time of application)

We hope the article is helpful for you to get the overall idea of PMP certification cost as this figure will play an important role in your plan to pursue your PMP certification.

The post PMP Certification Cost – 5 Aspects of PMP Cost Revealed appeared first on Project Hipo.

PMP Certification Exam – 5 Must-to-Know Points About PMP® Exam

Chris — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 12:18:00 +0000

Are you an experienced IT professional who wants to upgrade yourself to a project management profile? Or are you someone who wants to work and manage international projects? If yes then you must be planning to appear for the PMP certification exam. Here, in this article, we will list 5 must-know things about the PMP exam. This will help you to understand the prerequisites, content, PMP training modes, schedule, and cost related to the PMP certification exam.

First, let us understand what does PMP certification holds?

What is PMP?

The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers a professional credential for project managers named as Project Management Professional (PMP). As per current status at PMI.org, there are almost 1,000,000 PMP certification holders worldwide who have earned universally recognized knowledge.

PMP certification gives confidence to PMP holders that this credential has been developed based on best practices and inputs from practitioners who were involved in developing the standards.

Working professionals who are in the field of project management are aiming for PMP certification to build their careers. The reason is that this certification has tremendously gained its recognition across the globe.

There is no easy way to climb up the ladder in the career. You have to put a lot of hard work and make use of the right skills and knowledge. Further, you need to keep enhancing your skills, make yourself recognizable in the industry, and keep on searching different ways to expand your marketability. Hence, this is where PMP certification comes into the picture.

Benefits of PMP Certification

PMP certification is a stepping stone to expand your market reach and getting better challenging projects. These days, many organizations prefer project managers who are PMP certified for managing their projects. Hence, PMP certification is the wise choice to invest in because it demonstrates an individual’s knowledge and experience in handling projects. Besides, it represents a high level of professionalism and experience which helps to boost credibility in the market.

PMP certification is a widely recognized certification, accepted, and identified as a benchmark by project managers across the globe.

The PMP is the most renowned project management credential (regardless of in which industry you are working) internationally. Regardless of your background, the quickest way to re-energize your career and create new opportunities for professional growth is to become PMP certified.

As per a survey by Project Management Institute, PMP certified individuals garner a higher salary (25% higher on average) than noncertified individuals.

1- PMP Certification Exam Requirements

PMI requires you to meet the following PMP certification requirements before you are eligible to sit for PMP certification exam

Experience Requirement
Education Requirement
Pass the PMP Exam

For Bachelor Degree or Global equivalent

Minimum 3 years or 36 months unique non-overlapping project management experience
You must have worked for 4500 hours in leading and directing projects
You need to earn 35 contact hours of formal project management education

For High School Diploma, Associate degree or Global Equivalent

Minimum 5 years or 60 months unique non-overlapping project management experience
You must have worked for 7500 hours in leading and directing projects
You need to earn 35 contact hours of formal project management education

S.No	Education Requirement	Experience of leading and directing projects	35 Contact Hours
1	4 year Degree Course	3 years leading the project with 4500 hours	35 hours of project management education/training
2	Secondary degree i.e. High School Diploma or global equivalent	5 years leading the project with 7500 hours	35 hours of project management education/training

2- PMP Certification Exam Content

PMI carries out the PMP certification exam. PMP Exam contains 180 questions. There are 230 minutes to complete the exam. The PMP Exam Questions will be a combination of multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot, and limited fill-in-the-blank types of questions.

PMI has included these questions in the PMP certification exam with the purpose to monitor the performance of these questions and validate them for inclusion in the future exam database. The challenge is that you cannot identify these pretest questions in the exam as they are randomly placed.

The duration of the PMP Certification Exam is 4 hours.

Key points for the PMP Certification Exam:

Firstly, this exam is not a test of the information in the main reference book i.e. PMBOK Guide
Secondly, you cannot pass the PMP certification exam by just focusing on real-world experience.
Last but not the least, PMP training in project management which is aligned to the PMBOK Guide plays a vital role in passing the PMP certification exam.

PMP certification exam plays a vital role as it reflects the practices of the project management practitioner accurately. This exam has been designed to objectively assess and measure project management knowledge.

All the questions on the exam are written and reviewed by qualified PMP certified experts.

These questions are further mapped with the PMP exam content outline which ensures that an appropriate number of questions are placed in the PMP certification exam.

PMP Certification Exam Content Outline

The below table represents the percentage of questions from each domain that will appear on the PMP certification exam. Hence, these percentages will be used to determine the no of questions pertaining to each domain and task that should appear on the PMP exam.

Here, 5 process groups are defined for Project Management i.e. Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing.

The best way to define a project management process is what you need to do to manage the work throughout the project lifecycle. It includes managing the efforts related to initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing the project.

Project Management Process Group	Percentage of Questions
Project Initiating	13%
Project Planning	24%
Project Executing	31%
Project Monitoring and Controlling	25%
Project Closing	7%
Total	100%

Here, 175 scored questions shall be distributed among the domains as per the above table.

And remaining 25 pretest questions will get dispersed throughout the domains. These questions will not count in the candidate scores.

PMP certification exam is based on content in PMBOK Guide.

What is the PMBOK Guide?

PMBOK Guide, published by the PMI, is referred to as “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge”. Its purpose is to document the best practices for project management practitioners. Besides, it provides a common language to discuss the project management profession.

Moreover, PMBOK guides about proven traditional practices that are widely applied as well as innovative emerging practices for the project management profession with widespread consensus.

Further, it allows companies to standardize the practices or processes across the departments. Besides, it discusses what is practical to implement in the real project scenario. It also discusses what doesn’t work in a real project, thus reducing the chances of project failure. Additionally, the experienced project managers who are familiar with PMBOK content can tailor processes to suit their project and meet the organization’s needs. Above all, it guides entry-level professionals to learn how to manage risk or procurement or scope in the project.

PMBOK 6th Edition composes of 10 Knowledge areas and 5 process groups. To manage the project to success, you need to know the importance of 10 knowledge areas in PMBOK and rank the importance level of each knowledge area.

PMBOK 6th Edition – Latest PMBOK

Project Management Institute releases a new version of the PMBOK guide every 4 to 5 years to be compliant with the changes in project management trends and practices. PMI conducts “Role Delineation Study” which evolves these changes.

PMBOK Guide is used as a reference guide for Project Management Professional certification. The latest version used is PMBOK 6^th Edition. PMI released this version in September 2017. Hence, the current PMP certification exam uses the PMBOK Guide 6th edition as a reference book.

As per PMI’s latest update, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the PMP certification exam is going to change after 31^st Dec 2020. But, there is no plan of new version i.e. 7th Edition till 2023. Hence, PMBOK 6th edition will be used as a reference guide for the upcoming change of PMP certification exam i.e. 2^nd Jan 2021.

Therefore, there is no need to worry. Irrespective of the fact if you are planning to appear for the PMP certification exam before or after 2^nd Jan 2021, you have to use PMBOK Guide 6^th edition as your PMP certification exam reference.

What is the PMP Certification Exam Passing Score?

In the past, PMI published 61% as the passing score for the PMP certification exam. It can be achieved if the PMP aspirant correctly answers 106 or more out of 175 exam questions. PMI does not declare the PMP certification exam official score. Recently, PMI has adopted a more scientific approach by giving proficiency level (Proficient, Moderately Proficient, and Below Proficient) or Target level (Above Target, Target, Below Target). Furthermore, they determine the score through sound psychometric analysis.

The course structure of PMP

The curriculum is based on the latest PMBOK edition i.e. 6^th Edition

1. Introduction

A. Overview and Purpose of this Guide

The Standard for Project Management
Common Vocabulary
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

B.Foundational Elements

What are the Projects?
What is the Importance of Project Management?
Understand the Relationship between Project, Program, Portfolio and Operations Management
What are the Components of the Guide?
What is Tailoring?
Project Management Business Documents

2. The Environment in which Projects Operate

Enterprise Environmental Factors
Organizational Process Assets
Organizational Systems

3. The Role of the Project Manager

Definition of a Project Manager
The Project Manager’s Sphere of Influence
Project Manager Competencies
Performing Integration

4. Project Integration Management

Develop Project Charter
Develop Project Management Plan
Direct and Manage Project Work
Manage Project Knowledge
Monitor and Control Project Work
Perform Integrated Change Control
Close Project or Phase

5. Project Scope Management

Plan Scope Management
Collect Requirements
Define Scope
Create WBS
Validate Scope
Control Scope

6. Project Schedule Management

Plan Schedule Management
Define Activities
Sequence Activities
Estimate Activity Durations
Develop Schedule
Control Schedule

7. Project Cost Management

Plan Cost Management
Estimate Costs
Determine Budget
Control Costs

8. Project Quality Management

Plan Quality Management
Manage Quality
Control Quality

9. Project Resource Management

Plan Resource Management
Estimate Activity Resources
Acquire Resources
Develop Team
Manage Team
Control Resources

10. Project Communications Management

Plan Communications Management
Manage Communications
Monitor Communications

11. Project Risk Management

Plan Risk Management
Identify Risks
Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
Plan Risk Responses
Implement Risk Responses
Monitor Risks

12. Project Procurement Management

Plan Procurement Management
Conduct Procurements
Control Procurements

13. Project Stakeholder Management

Identify Stakeholders
Plan Stakeholder Engagement
Manage Stakeholder Engagement
Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

3- PMP Certification Exam Training

One of the main prerequisites to appear for the PMP certification exam is to earn 35 contact hours or Professional Development Units (PDUs).

These 35 contact hours can be earned if you attend any project management course or education from some recognized training institute for 35 hours or approx 4 days.

You can attend training in 2 different modes depending upon your requirement:

Classroom Training
Online Training.

Both the training i.e. Classroom as well Online training has its advantages and disadvantages. You can read more at PMP certification online.

1. Classroom training

Here, you need to attend the training in classroom mode with a group of audience with an instructor conducting the training.

Advantages are:

The classroom environment gives a personal touch to individuals or you get individual attention when required.
You get to interact with the instructor face to face
Moreover, you have an opportunity to clarify your doubts instantly.
You get a chance to learn from peers

Disadvantages are:

Classroom training is more expensive
The schedule needs to be coordinated to get everyone in one place and which suits everyone.
You have a compressed schedule to grasp entire training content
You need to be a fast learner else you might miss some topics
Moreover, you don’t have the flexibility to learn at your own pace
You cannot refer to any topic again for instructor lectures once the training session is over

Mode	Cost	Duration
Class Room Training	450 USD to 2100 USD depending upon the country	4 to 5 days

2. Online Training

It can be further categorized into self-learning or instructor-led training.

Firstly, self-learning online training mode gives you the flexibility to learn at your own pace, location, and time.

Whereas instructor-led online training mode gives you an online classroom environment where an instructor will deliver as per the schedule and you need to attend as per instructor’s availability.

Advantages are:

You need to have access to the internet and can access the material using a laptop, tablet or mobile from anywhere
It gives you the flexibility to learn at your own pace
Every individual needs a different amount of time to absorb and process information that you can get in this mode of learning.
It delivers the same content to everyone no matter you refer it as many times
They are more accurate and updated unlike hard copies circulated in classroom training
Regarding the PMP certification cost, this is cheaper as compared to classroom training

Disadvantages are:

You don’t get a chance to resolve your queries instantly
Further, you require a lot of self-discipline to complete online courses
Moreover, learning from a computer for hours without breaks can affect vision, body posture, etc.
At times, the topic requires hands-on practice which cannot be cover up with online lessons.

Online Training Mode	Cost (Depending upon the country)	Duration
Self Learning	200 USD to 600 USD	Depends on the number of hours you spent
Instructor-Led Training	750 USD to 3600 USD	2-3 days

How to study for the PMP Exam?

There is no single way to prepare for the PMP certification exam. You need to have a robust PMP Certification Study Plan to guide you for the preparation of the PMP certification exam. Hence, we will be listing a 7-step study plan which will help aspirants to prepare for the PMP certification exam.

7-Step PMP Certification Study Plan:

Check the PMP certification requirement based on project management experience to verify eligibility.
Plan for 3-4 months to prepare for the PMP certification exam if you are a working professional and set the target date accordingly.
Read the PMBOK Guide along with a supporting book.
Likewise, while studying the material, start noting down the notes which will help you in the last weeks of preparation.
Once you have thoroughly understood the content, then, practice as much as you can. Try to choose question banks from different sources or practice multiple PMP certification simulators to get the flavor of the real PMP certification exam.
Then go through the result of mock exams and remember to go over the incorrect answers. Find out where you went wrong and then go through the knowledge areas pertaining to those answers to understand the concept. This way, you will strengthen your weak areas and as a result, reduce the risk of selecting the wrong answer in the real PMP certification exam.
Once you start scoring 80% and above in 5-6 PMP simulation exams, that means you are ready to appear for the PMP certification exam.

4- PMP Certification Exam Schedule

Regarding the exam schedule, there is no defined schedule or PMP certification exam date. You can schedule the exam based on your schedule and testing center’s availability. PMP certification exam is conducted by Pearson VUE test centers. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, PMI is also offering an online proctored testing (OPT) for the PMP exam. So you can take the exam from your home or office.

PMP Exam Changes

PMI conducts research every 3-5 years on change in trends, the progress of profession and implications, etc. Hence, the new PMP certification exam content outline comes into the picture accordingly.

Further, the new PMP examination content outline got published on 30th June 19. Earlier last date to take the current version of the PMP certification exam was 30^th June 2020. As per the latest update by PMI, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, PMI has decided to extend the date of the current PMP certification exam from 30^th June 2020 to 31^st Dec 2020.

Hence, a new exam with a change in PMP content will be launched by 2^nd Jan 2021.

Changes in new content are:

Regarding the current PMP exam content, it is based on 5 performance domains. However, exams starting from 2^nd Jan 2021 will be based on 3 domains.

Domain	Current (2015)	New in 2021
1	Initiating	People
2	Planning	Process
3	Executing	Business Environment
4	Monitoring & Controlling
5	Closing

New PMP certification exam with changed content outline requires candidates to have experience in and answer questions from 3 domains:

People (42%)
Process (50%)
Business Environment (8%)

Based on the PMI latest update, it is explicitly mentioned that about half of the examination will be based on predictive project management approaches. Whereas the other half of the examination will be based on agile or hybrid approaches.

5- PMP Certification Exam Cost

The cost of the PMP certification exam is the PMP exam fee that you need to pay online at www.pmi.org once the PMP application you have filled for the PMP certification exam has been approved.

Nevertheless, if you are a PMI member then you have the advantage of saving money in exam fees.

It’s quite a simple process to become a PMI member, you just need to pay the membership fee of USD 129. There is no prerequisite to attain PMI membership. Also, this membership remains valid for 1 year.

There are numerous benefits you can enjoy after becoming a PMI member like accessing unlimited material, resources like books, sample questions at the PMI website. Moreover, you can attend free webinars that help you gain knowledge as well as earn PDUS. Furthermore, becoming a PMI member will help you in networking among your peers and people across the region by attending local chapter programs and events.

PMP Examination Fee

For PMI members, the PMP certification exam fee is 405 USD or 340 Euros
For Non-members, the PMP certification exam fee is 555 USD or 465 Euros

PMP Re-Examination Fee

It is the PMP certification exam fee when you appear for the PMP certification exam for the 2nd or 3rd time. This means that you have not passed the PMP certification exam in your 1st attempt. So you have to reappear for the exam.

Once the application for the PMP certification exam gets approved then you have 1 year eligibility period to take the PMP certification exam up to 3 times.

For PMI members, the PMP Re-Examination fee is 275 USD or 230 Euros
For Non-members, the PMP Re-Examination Fee is 375 USD or 315 Euros

PMP Certification Renewal Fees

Once you passed the PMP certification exam and become PMP certified, then you must maintain the PMP certification actively. Thus, you need to renew your PMP certification every 3 years.

For PMI members, the PMP Certification Renewal fee is 60 USD
For Non-members, the PMP Certification Renewal fee is 150 USD

PMP Exam Type	PMI Member	Non-Member
Examination Fee (1^stTime)	405 USD /340 Euros	555 USD/465 Euros
Reexamination Fee (Re-appear)	275 USD/230 Euros	375 USD/315 Euros
Certification Renewal	60 USD	150 USD

PMP Certification Renewal

Once you sit and pass the PMP certification exam, you must earn 60 PMP PDUs every three years to renew your PMP certification. Otherwise, if your certification expires, you may need to retake the PMP certification exam.

How to renew the PMP certification?

There are 6 steps involved in renewing the PMP certification

1. Earn 60 PDUs to meet the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) for your certification. You can read details at the PMP PDU post.

2. Then, enter PDUS in the online CCR system by entering the Provider name, Activity name, Activity Dates, and number of PDUS claimed under 3 components of the Talent triangle. Finally, click on the ‘Submit’ button. Then you will receive an update on the number of PDUS accepted or rejected.

3. Fill the online renewal application by mentioning contact information along with payment details before submission

4. Agree to the code of ethics by PMI

5. Pay the renewal fee.

6. Receive the confirmation from PMI. Then, you will receive a certificate indicating a new CCR cycle. And, next to your profile, your status is “Active” and “PMP in good standing”. Hence, once you have completed a single cycle, then a new 3-year cycle begins.

Scenario 1: What happens when you have earned 60 PDUs before the end of 3 years renewal cycle?

Once you have earned 60 PDUS then there is no need to wait for 3 years to complete. Then, you can pay the fees and renew your certification. However, PMI will renew the PMP certification date from the date of expiry only not from the date of payment of fees.

Scenario 2: What happens when you couldn’t renew your certification within the certification cycle?

Suppose if you are not able to complete your renewal within the completion of the CCR Cycle. The reason could be that you do not earn the specified amount of PDUs by the end of the third year of PMP certification. Then, you will be under the “Suspended” status up to 1 year after the CCR cycle. And further, it will no longer be valid.

Summary: PMP Certification Exam

To summarize, the PMP certification is considered as the best project management certification for project managers across the globe.

As per the market survey, professionals with PMP certification gain up to 25% higher salary than non-certified individuals

Moreover, PMP Certification is a must to have to even be considered for a project manager position.

Further, there are 2 modes of attending PMP training i.e. Online and Classroom-based so you can choose the method based on your requirement.

The most important point to note is that the PMP certification exam is going to change after 31^st Dec 2020. And main reference book used is PMBOK Guide 6^th edition. Besides, the changed PMP certification exam will be based on a new PMP content outline.

PMP certification exam fee for PMI members is 405USD. PMI membership saves USD 150 in PMP exam fees. Being a PMI member saves 100 USD in the re-examination fees and 90 USD in renewal fees.

PMP certification renewal needs to be done every 3 years by earning PDUs and paying renewal fees.

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