The Project Management Institute (PMI, USA) awards the PMP credential. This certification is globally recognized for project management professionals.
This is becoming indispensable for project management professionals and it is highly in demand from professionals
If you are applying for the PMP exam, you will have to fill out an online PMP exam application form. This is a lengthy form with a lot of stages. Many professionals make mistakes here and later regret them.
You can also apply for the PMP exam using a paper form, but formats require the same information and the paper one takes more time to process. You have to fill out the form and send it to the PMI by mail. Once they receive it, they will take a few days to review it.
The online process is quick. You can complete it in one day. Therefore, I recommend you apply for the PMP exam using the online form.
I often receive emails from aspirants asking for help filling out the application. Since it is a lengthy process, explaining it all in an email is difficult. Therefore, I decided to publish a post on this topic so all PMP aspirants can benefit from it.
I will also explain a few factors that will help you fill out your application.
First, make sure that you are eligible to apply for the PMP exam.
PMP Eligibility Requirements
The PMP exam eligibility requirements are as follows:
- A 4-year bachelor’s degree and 4500 hours or 3 years of project management experience.
- Diploma holders can also apply for the PMP exam. But they should have at least 7500 hours or 5 years of experience.
- You should have 35 contact hours of training in project management. This should cover the PMBOK Guide and PMP Exam Content Outline.
Your experience must be in leading and directing projects. You should have earned this experience in the last eight years.
Make sure you fulfill these requirements before applying for the PMP exam, so as not to waste your own time.
The PMP exam application form requires a lot of information and some calculations. It takes a long time to complete, so be ready.
You can find the online application on the PMI website, under the “My PMI” section.
Please note that once you start the online process, you must complete it within 90 days. PMI stores an applicant’s information for only this long and they will delete it afterward.
Once you submit your online PMP exam application form, you will either be selected for an audit or your application will be approved. If your application is approved, PMI will give you one year to pass the exam and three attempts.
If you are selected for an audit, your one-year eligibility period will start from the day you pass it.
Keep in mind that the PMI selects a random number of applicants for an audit, and they will receive an email with further instructions.
In the email, PMI will ask you to send them a few documents. These documents include copies of educational certificates, experience certificates, your 35 contact hour training certificate, and more. Send them in a sealed envelope. The PMI will review these documents and, after one week, you will know the result of your audit.
Filling out the Online PMP® Application Form
The application form has many sections so be careful. Many aspirants make mistakes here.
A. Personal Details
Under this section, you will provide your contact information and other details. You can choose the way your name will appear on your PMP certificate at the concluding step.
B. Educational Details
Under this section, you will provide your educational qualifications, university name and address, year of completion, discipline, and more.
C. Professional Project Management Experience
This is the crucial part of the application form. You will enter your professional details.
Three years of project management experience is enough for a degree holder. Don’t enter more experience. You have to add the project duration, organization name, designation and a brief explanation of the project.
If you are a diploma holder, enter a single project if the duration was five years, provided you have worked it from the beginning to the end.
In either case, if you don’t a single project that is long enough, add others until you reach the required hours.
If you have any overlapping experience, provide the hours for one project.
You have to provide references from your supervisors. The PMI may use this information to contact them if you are selected for an audit. So, I recommend you inform your supervisors in advance about your PMP application.
You will find a worksheet with five sections on the project management experience form. These sections indicate different positions, projects, and hours.
The five sections are:
- Initiating the project
- Planning the project
- Executing the project
- Controlling the project
- Closing the project
After providing your project management experience, you will get a score of the required hours of experience.
The next step is to provide a project summary in 550 words. This summary should include:
- Type/title of the project
- Brief description
- Objectives
- Key deliverables
- Your role
- The project’s outcome
Make sure your summary shows that you worked in all five phases of the project.
D. Project Management Education
Here you provide the details of any formal project management education you have undergone.
You have two sections here:
- Hours: This denotes the total time you have spent on project management courses in hours.
- Qualifying Hours: This denotes the 35 hours of required formal project management education.
Review and Submit the Application
Before submitting the application, you review it thoroughly. You can print your application for your records.
Before you review the filled in details, add any optional information and complete it.
Review the application again before you agree to the PMI terms and conditions.
You can preview the completed application with an option to confirm and proceed. After the final approval, you can submit the application. You will receive a confirmation email on the submission of the application.
After receiving the approval email, you can pay the fee and schedule the exam.
Conclusion
Filling out the PMP exam application form is a lengthy process. However, if you have the required information, everything will be just fine. You need to be extra careful while providing your professional experiences. Keep the project details handy with the calculated hours for a smooth process. Provide the correct information to the PMI. Keep copies of all the documents ready, in case PMI selects you for an audit.
You may see a few new terms while filling out the form, like project phases, contact hours and more. Ensure you understand these terms using the reference book and then proceed.
Have you filled out your online PMP exam application form? Please share your experiences in the comments section.