PMP Eligibility and PDU Requirements: What PMI Publishes

If you are asking about PMP eligibility requirements and PDUs, the short answer is that the Project Management Institute (PMI) publishes both sets of rules on its own website: one for getting the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, and one for keeping it through professional development units (PDUs). This guide summarises what we read on PMI's pages, notes where the pages are silent, and adds a few practical suggestions, clearly labelled. For project managers who are also developing leadership skills, our guide to leadership and management CPD covers that side of professional development.

PMP eligibility: education and experience

PMI's PMP page sets out the education and project experience needed. You need one of the following combinations:

• A high school diploma (or equivalent) plus 5 years of project management experience.
• An associate's degree or vocational trade school diploma plus 4 years.
• A bachelor's degree or higher plus 3 years.
• A bachelor's or postgraduate degree from a PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC) programme plus 2 years.

The page says experience counts only if you managed projects in a professional setting within the last 10 years, with responsibility for planning, decisions, delivery and outcomes. Overlapping project time cannot be counted twice, and you list each project separately on the application. The PMP page does not describe how PMI checks applications; PMI's blog on the training requirement says PMI may request proof of training if an application is audited, so keep your records. Our suggestion: keep a simple record of each project, with dates, your role and your responsibilities, before you start the application.

The 35 hours of training

The page says you need 35 hours of project management training. It lists three ways to meet this:

• An online, on-demand course, such as the PMP Exam Prep Course or other self-paced courses.
• A live, instructor-led class. The page states that from 1 December 2026, these count only if delivered by a PMI Authorized Training Partner, a China Registered Education Provider, or an eligible accredited higher education programme, including GAC programmes.
• An active CAPM certification, which also satisfies the training requirement.

The 1 December 2026 change is the point most worth checking if you plan to book a classroom course. Our suggestion: before paying anyone, ask the provider in writing whether its course will qualify on the date you intend to apply, and keep the reply. PMI's blog post on the 35-hour requirement (25 September 2026) says classes completed before 1 December 2026 remain eligible under the rules in effect when they were completed. Confirm this with PMI before relying on it.

The exam

As shown on the PMP page, the exam has 180 questions and lasts 240 minutes, with two 10-minute breaks. The content weighting is People 33%, Process 41% and Business Environment 26%. It is offered in 15 languages and can be taken in person at a Pearson VUE test centre or online, with a system test, a private space and valid photo ID required for online testing. The page also says accommodations are available free of charge, and that you may take the exam up to three times in one year. Check PMI's live page before you plan a resit. We do not give fees here because we did not read a dated fee schedule.

PDUs: how many and in what categories

PMI's page on maintaining your certification says every PMI certification runs on a 3-year cycle. For the PMP, it lists 60 PDUs per cycle, with a minimum of 35 in Education and a maximum of 25 in Giving Back. A PDU is described as a one-hour block of learning or giving back to the profession.

The same page sets Talent Triangle minimums. The three areas are Ways of Working, Power Skills and Business Acumen, and for the PMP group the page lists at least 8 PDUs in each. The page does not state how the Talent Triangle minimums interact with the Education minimum beyond giving both figures, so read the CCR handbook that PMI links for the detail.

What counts as an Education PDU or a Giving Back PDU

PMI's "Ways to Earn PDUs" page groups activities into two categories. Education examples include PMI training events and online courses, GAC accredited programmes, instructor-led courses from Authorized Training Partners, conferences and local chapter events, self-paced online media, self-directed reading such as PMI standards and thought leadership reports, and informal learning such as mentoring discussions or "lunch and learn" sessions.

Giving Back examples include working as a practitioner in your certified role, creating content such as articles, blogs, webinars and videos, mentoring or teaching, and volunteering. The page says Giving Back PDUs are not required for recertification but can be claimed. It does not define PDU values for each activity or state caps for each type, so we do not either.

Reporting PDUs and renewing

According to the maintenance page, you log PDUs in the Continuing Certification Requirements System (CCRS), or track them in the PMI Official mobile app. The renewal steps are to earn the required PDUs, enter them in CCRS, and pay the renewal fee when PMI emails you a payment link. The page says to keep your email current in your myPMI account, and that the certification renewal fee is separate from the PMI membership renewal fee. It does not show fee amounts or deadlines, and it does not describe what happens if you miss the end of your cycle. We therefore make no claims on those points.

A practical plan for busy managers

Our suggestions, not PMI rules:

• Log learning as you go rather than at the end of the cycle, with the date, hours and a short note of the Talent Triangle area.
• Spread your learning across Ways of Working, Power Skills and Business Acumen early, so you do not discover a gap in year three.
• Use workplace learning, such as in-house sessions or mentoring, only after checking it matches what PMI's page says counts.
• For wider planning, see our guide to CPD training for finance professionals in Dublin, which also covers how to keep records.

If you are an employer in Dublin supporting a project manager through the certification, the main practical points are to agree in advance who pays, who owns the time for study, and who tracks the renewal date. None of that is set by PMI.

What these pages do not tell you

We did not find a "last updated" date on the PMP page or the PDU pages; they show only a 2026 copyright line. Treat any detail you plan to rely on as something to confirm in the live application process. Exam fees, membership discounts and renewal fees are not covered in this post.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

How many PDUs do I need to keep my PMP?

PMI's maintenance page lists 60 PDUs per three-year cycle for the PMP, with a minimum of 35 Education PDUs, a maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs, and at least 8 in each Talent Triangle area.

Do I need a degree to apply for the PMP?

The PMP page lists a high school diploma (or equivalent) as one route, but with 5 years of project management experience instead of 3 or fewer years.

Does CAPM count towards the 35 hours of training?

Yes, according to the page: an active CAPM certification also satisfies the training requirement.

What changes on 1 December 2026?

The page says live instructor-led training will count towards the 35 hours only if delivered by an Authorized Training Partner, a China Registered Education Provider, or an eligible accredited higher education programme.

Always check PMI's current pages before you apply or renew.