Points to Note When Filling the Application Form

The online application form for PMP® Certification is very straight forward. The only part that you will need to pay special attention to is Project Management Experiences which will consume most of your time to figure the information out.

But please do not wait until you have finished studying your PMP® study materials to begin your PMP® Certification application. Filling the form and fixing the exam date early will help to focus on your study.

Filling the PMP® Online Application Form

When filling your project management experiences, you will need to:

• Give a title to each project
• Specify your role in the project (which is usually different from your job title, e.g. Project Leader, Project Coordinator, Project Expeditor, etc.)
• Add name and contact methods of your supervisor
• Fill in the number of hours used on each process groups:
  • Initiating the Project
  • Planning the Project
  • Executing the Project
  • Controlling and Monitoring the Project
  • Closing the Project
• Compose the project description of around 500 characters which should include: a brief description of the project, objectives, key deliverables, project outcome, as well as your personal role.

The above needs to be repeated for each and every project you have submitted. Here is a sample form for the project experience record:

Points to Note

In order to avoid being audited / pass the audit smoothly, you will need to:

• Estimate your project hours on your own computer or notebook first (i.e. not to repeatedly save and amend on the online form which might send a signal to PMI® for an audit)
• The start date for the first project and the end date of the last project should cover a period 3 years for degree holders / 5 years for secondary degree holders.
• PMI® will recognize only 40 hours for each week of work (as PMI® emphasizes work-life balance and is against over-time work).
• Try to contact your project supervisors to seek their approval of the hours you will claim for each project, make sure you can reach them easily and they are willing to help you.
• No need to include every project during the period, include projects up to a point when the total project hours reaches the required minimum (4,500 hours for degree holders / 7,500 hours for secondary degree holders), that would save you some time in case of an audit.
• Include large projects first, in case you are requested an audit, you will have less work to do.
• When composing the project descriptions, use PMI® terms like: project charter, project deliverables, sponsor, stakeholders, scope, schedule, quality management, acceptance of deliverables, etc. and in particular your role in the project. It is advisable to have read the PMBOK® Guide Guide before composing the descriptions. Failure to do so may prompt PMI® to ask you for a rewrite of the project description.
• You can download a copy of your form as a PDF file for reference / records.
• PMI® website will only store your information for 90 days after which your record will be deleted from its server.
• Before submitting your application, you are required to read and agree to the Project Management Institute’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Do read the code and learn by heart as the principles will be tested on the PMP® exam as situational questions.

The Next Step >>

After submitting your online form, wait around 5 days to get the approval email from PMI® as they carry out the “Application Completeness Review”. Pay the PMP® Certification fee and check your email account immediately. You must specify the need of a language aid (translation for candidates whose mother tongue is not English) when paying the fee.

If you get an audit email after paying the PMP® exam fee, read this post to help you pass the PMP® audit. Congratulations if you are not required an audit, go ahead and learn how to schedule your PMP® exam.