PMI's CCR System

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This page is focused on PMI's CCR system and how you earn and report PDUs.

Topics included in PMI's CCR System:

- CCR Overview
- Earning and reporting PDUs
- PMI's Talent Triangle
- Useful External Web-links & Resources.

Other related sections of the PMKI:


PMI-SP Credential	PM Training

CCR Overview

PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program is designed to support the ongoing educational and professional development of credential holders. Everyone who earns a PMI credential (with the exception of the CAPM® certification) must actively maintain their credential(s) through participation in the CCR Program and renewal of their certification(s) every 3 years. The CCR program provides a general framework and guidance - you determine your ultimate CCR and development path.

PMPs must accrue a minimum of 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) during each three-year CCR cycle and comply with PMI's renewal requirements (including payment of a fee) to maintain their certification status.

PMI-SP holders must obtain 30 PDUs during each three-year CCR cycle in the specialized area of project scheduling and comply with PMI's renewal requirements (including payment of a fee) to maintain their certification status.

Similar requirements apply to other 'professional' credentials issued by PMI. Holders of multiple certifications can use the same PDUs for all of the certifications they hold, provided the subject-matter is relevant. However, the 3-year cycle for each credential is based on the date of your examination - they are not synchronized.

There is no CCR requirement for CAPM, your CAPM qualification lasts for 5 years then expires. After the 5 year period a person either re-sits the CAPM exam or more sensibly moves on to take the PMP credential.

All current holders of a PMI credential (including CAPM) can be confirmed by checking PMI’s on-line registry at: https://www.pmi.org/certifications/certification-resources/registry If your credential is not renewed at the appropriate time, your name is removed from this list.

For additional information download PMI's CCR Handbook.

Earning and reporting PDUs

Professional Development Units (PDUs) are required to maintain PMI's professional credentials including PMP and PMI-SP (the CAPM credential has a 5-year life and then expires). PDUs can be earned from a wide range of activities (including self-study), but you can only start earning PDUs after you have passed your exam.

The difference between PDUs and Training Contact Hours

It is important to understanding the difference between PDUs and the Eligible Training Hours needed to apply for an exam.

PDUs Eligible Training Hours The training contact hours required to apply for your credential are accrued by completing courses, workshops and/or training sessions that include content relevant to the exam. PMI defines a Contact Hour as follows: 'One contact hour is equal to one hour of participation in an educational activity.' This means that if you sit in a classroom for 60 minutes and you are trained on a project management topic you have earned 1 Contact Hour, distance education have a defined number of contact hours assigned to each course.

The required training contact hours may be accrued by successfully completing training provided by; tertiary institutions (eg as part of a degree course), PMI Registered Education Providers (PMI-REP), other training companies, consultants, PMI Chapters and/or your employer. Both classroom based and distance education courses are acceptable (but not PMI Chapter meetings or self-directed training). Courses offered by R.E.P.s are pre-approved by PMI for the designated Contact Hours. The eligibility of contact hours from other training sources are the responsibility of the PMP candidate and will be determined on a case-by-case basis through the application audit process. How long ago the training occurred does not matter - unlike the experience requirements, there is no time limit.

PDUs are different! Professional Development Units (PDUs) are required to maintain PMI's professional credentials after they have been awarded and can be earned from a very much wider range of activities including formal courses, self-directed study and professional service, but you can only start earning PDUs after you have passed your exam. Some limitations apply and are outlined on our 'PDU Overview' section below. Education PDUs must be related both to the skill areas defined in the PMI Talent Triangle®, and to the domains and knowledge areas defined in each of the respective exam content outlines.

PDU Overview

Professional Development Units (PDUs) are at the core of PMI's CCR system and are required to maintain PMI's professional credentials including PMP and PMI-SP (the CAPM credential has a 5-year life and then expires). You will typically earn one PDU for each hour spent in a planned, structured learning experience or activity. Fractions of PDUs may be reported in 0.25 increments. Most PDUs are required to be earned through education and training (including self-directed study), where one PDU equates to one hour of training. In addition, a limited number of PDUs may be earned through service to the profession; 'giving back'.

Education

A minimum of 60% of PDUs is required to be earned in this category to place more emphasis on developing employer-demanded skills ( there is no maximum, up to 100% of PDUs is allowable).
Education PDUs are aligned with the PMI Talent Triangle® and a minimum number of PDUs must be earned in each section of the Talent Triangle™; Ways of Working, Power Skills, or Business Acumen categories.

Giving Back

There is a maximum number of PDUs that may be earned in this category (none are required).
Allowed activities are: Volunteering, Creating Knowledge, and Working as a Professional.
Within the overall total for 'giving back', there is a maximum number of PDUs that may be earned by Working as a Professional.

The requirements for PMP and PMI-SP are shown in the infographics; click on the graphics to download the full-size PDF for either 60-PDUs (PMP) or 30-PDUs (PMI-SP):

Note: All of your PDUs can be earned through training (there is no minimum for 'giving back'). For the 60 PDUs needed to maintain your PMP credential, you could earn 44 under 'technical project management' and 8 each under 'strategic' and 'leadership' elements of the Talent Triangle™ (total 60), and be eligible to renew your credential. For more information download the CCR Handbook.

Earning PDUs

PDUs are based on what is relevant to you career development; there is no requirement to restrict their source to PMI approved events or organizations such as R.E.P.s any quality training or event counts. There are many opportunities for these activities offered by PMI and third-party providers across the globe, including Mosaic - see our short-course options. Other options include self-paced learning conducted online or through varied forms of digital media, self-directed reading that is relevant to the certification you hold (provided you fill in the correct forms) and structured professional discussions with others, for example, while you’re being mentored or participating in a “lunch and learn” session with your organization.

Giving back includes working in your certified role provided you are a 'project manager', creating new knowledge resources for use by practitioners and presenting on topics relevant to the profession, and providing volunteer services to non-employer or non-client organizations including PMI.

For more information download the CCR Handbook.

Recording PDUs

There are two key ‘tricks’ to maintaining your credential:

First, keep your records and claims up to date, we do ours every couple of months and have Outlook set to ‘remind us’.
Second, remember PDUs are based on what is relevant to you career development; there is no requirement to restrict their source to PMI approved events or organisations like R.E.P.s. Any quality training counts as long as it is relevant to your project management career.

To record PDUs you log into the PMI CCR system (either using your PMI ID or your examination credential ID). Then: Select the type of PDU you are claiming from the options provided Complete the general information about the session Allocate the hours claimed across the three elements of the Talent Triangle.

Confirm the information is correct and submit your claim. PMI review the claim and either approve it, or ask for additional information.

You need to keep appropriate records, the CCR system is subject to PMI's auditing provisions.

For more information download the CCR Handbook.

Certification Status

When you first earn a certification, you have an active status for the next three years, Provided you fulfill all CCR requirements for your certification, including earning and reporting PDUs and submitting the renewal payment before the cycle end date, you maintain your active status for the next three years, this cycle continues until you either stop renewing your status, or apply for retired status. Certification holders with an active status will be automatically listed in the online Certification Registry. Individuals can choose to be removed from the registry, so the absence of a name in the registry does not necessarily mean that the person is not certified.

If you do not satisfy the CCR program requirements within your current cycle, you will be placed in suspended status for up to one year (12 months). You can use this period to complete your CCR requirements, but the date of your next CCR cycle will not change after you are reinstated to active status.

CCR Cycle

If you do not complete the renewal process within the suspension period, you will lose your certification and go into an expired status. If you let your certification expire, you may not refer to yourself as a certification holder or use the certification designation. To attain the certification again, you will be required to retake the examination.

If you have been a certification holder in good standing for the last 10 years and wish to voluntarily relinquish your active status due to retirement, you are eligible to apply for retired status. if accepted, you do not need to earn or report PDUs.

For more information download the CCR Handbook.

PMI's Talent Triangle®

The Talent Triangle® divides the education and training component of the PDUs into three sections, and you are required to earn a minimum number of PDUs in each section; but provided the minimums are achieved in each section, there are no maximums specified. The focus of the three sections of the Talent Triangle® are:

Ways of Working: (Previously Technical Project Management) Whether it’s predictive, agile, design thinking, or new practices still to be developed, it's clear that there is more than one way that work gets done today. That’s why we encourage professionals to master as many ways of working as they can - so they can apply the right technique at the right time, delivering winning results.
Power Skills: (Previously Leadership) These interpersonal skills include collaborative leadership, communication, an innovative mindset, for-purpose orientation, and empathy. Ensuring teams have these skills allows them to maintain influence with a variety of stakeholders - a critical component for making change.
Business Acumen: (Previously Strategic and Business Management) Professionals with business acumen understand the macro and micro influences in their organization and industry and have the function- or domain-specific knowledge - to make good decisions. Professionals at all levels need to be able to cultivate effective decision-making and understand how their projects align with the big picture of broader organizational strategy and global trends.

Many training courses now define the split between these three elements; where this has not been done by the training organization or event organizer, PMI expected the credential holder to make a reasonable determination by following these steps:

First, determine the duration of the activity to arrive at the PDU total, and then ask:
Was any leadership content covered? If so, in how much time?
Was any strategic and business management content covered? If so, in how much time?
How much of the remaining time covered technical content?

Remember all PMI require is for you to use your best judgment!