The PMP Audit Process

The PMP® audit process is a bit of a mystery. PMI® does not disclose the rate or number of candidates selected for the audit. They just indicate that the selection is on a random basis.

From various sources on the internet, it was guessed that around 5%-25% (rough order of magnitude) of US candidates and as low as 0.5% of international candidates would be audited by PMI®. The worst thing is that you do not know whether you will be selected for an PMP® audit process when settling the payment. It is only revealed immediately when payment is received by PMI®.

The PMP® audit process is a quality assurance procedure to maintain the highest quality of the PMP® certification. Do prepare for an audit when applying for the PMP® exam:

• keep a folder with supporting documents (e.g. e-mails, project plans, meeting minutes or project charters) for each and every project you have listed on your PMP® application
• seek approval for your manager/director on the number of hours to be reported for each and every project before filling in the form

With these preparation, you should be able to pass the audit smoothly.

The PMP® Audit Package

In the PMP® audit, PMI® requests PMP® candidates to:

• Verify academic education
  • a photocopy of the degree certificate is enough
• Verify 35 contact hours of Project Management Education
  • a photocopy of the project management education certificate by R.E.P. is enough, however if you obtain the education as part of a degree course or from other providers, the course outline would need to be included
• Verify Project Management Experience
  • PMI® will put all the information of your project experience as individual PDF files (i.e. one PDF per project) . You will need to print them out and send them to your supervisors/managers for endorsement and signing. PMI® also requests your supervisors/managers to put each experience record form into a separate sealed envelope with signature on the sealed flap.
  • PMI® also allows all the experience record form by the same supervisor/manager to be put in one single sealed envelope. “If one person is verifying multiple projects for the same company, they can fill out one form and initial or highlight on the Experience Record the projects that they are verifying”.
  • Each PDF file consists of 3 pages. The 1st page contains all the details of the project while the 3rd. Below is a sample of the 2nd page which needs to be signed by your supervisor.

Once all the documents are ready, you will need to put all the documents into a large envelope and mail it back to PMI® at:

PMI® Global Operations Center
14 Campus Blvd., Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA

Upon arrival of the package, it will take PMI® 5  – 7 days to review and process your documentation. It is said that PMI® will send you an acknowledge email upon receipt of the verification package. However, there may be a delay of several days. So don’t worry if you do not receive the acknowledge email in normal postage time. The receipt acknowledge and the verification confirmation email may arrive you in roughly the same time.

The Next Step >>

In the verification confirmation email, you will get the details and instruction on how to schedule your PMP® exam.