After you submit your PMP® application, PMI reviews it to verify that your education, project management training, and professional project experience meet the PMP® eligibility requirements.
The application review usually takes several days. During this time, monitor the email address connected to your PMI.org account and check your PMI dashboard for updates or requests from PMI.
What PMI Reviews
During the application review, PMI checks whether your application is complete, consistent, and eligible. This includes reviewing your education, project management training, project dates, months of non-overlapping experience, roles, responsibilities, and project descriptions.
PMI also checks whether your professional experience demonstrates work across the project life cycle, including Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. These areas are used to describe your project experience in the application process. They are different from the PMP® exam domains, which are tested during the exam itself.
Your project descriptions should clearly show your role in leading and directing professional project work. They should not describe only routine operational, administrative, school, or personal activities unless those activities clearly meet PMI’s definition of project work.
If PMI Needs Clarification
In some cases, PMI may contact you during the normal application review if something in your application is missing, unclear, or inconsistent. This may happen if project dates overlap incorrectly, experience does not match the eligibility requirement, training information is incomplete, or project descriptions do not clearly show your project role.
If PMI requests clarification or correction, respond carefully and provide the information requested. Make sure your updated explanation is accurate, consistent, and directly connected to your real project experience.
This clarification process is not the same as an audit. Audit requirements are handled separately if PMI selects your application for audit.
What Happens After Review
If your application is accepted and no additional clarification is required, PMI will guide you to the next step, which is usually payment of the certification fee.
After your payment is processed, PMI provides the eligibility information needed to schedule your PMP® exam. Do not try to pay or schedule the exam until PMI confirms that your application can move forward.
When PMI approves your application, return to KnowledgeMap and mark this step as completed. Then continue to the payment and exam scheduling step in your certification process.