The PMP 35 hours are changing rules and you should know before paying

If you are about to pay for a live course to gather the 35 hours the PMP application requires, read this before taking out your card. A change is coming that can leave those hours worthless, and most of what gets published about it is written by companies that sell training. We do not sell courses, so we can tell it straight, including the part that does not suit them.

What PMI says today

To apply for the PMP you need 35 hours of project management training. Today those hours can come from almost anywhere. The official outline is explicit and says training is not restricted to any specific modality or provider. PMI authorized training partners work, so do accredited academic programmes, courses run by your own employer, consultancies and training schools, and recorded courses that include an assessment at the end.

The only thing the outline rules out flatly is books and practice exams on their own. Reading and drilling questions does not count as training, however many hours you put in.

What is going to change

PMI announced an update to these rules for late in the fourth quarter of 2026. The change is narrower than the headlines suggest, and that precision is exactly what is at stake.

If your hours come from a live class, whether in person or virtual with an instructor, they will only count if the course is delivered by a PMI authorized training partner, a China registered education provider or an accredited academic programme, including those of PMI’s accreditation centre.

If your hours come from a recorded or self-paced course, nothing changes. PMI says so in plain words. That kind of course you can take from any organisation.

Based on the training changes notice published by PMI and the official PMP exam content outline, July 2026 edition.

What is not settled yet

Here it is worth turning the volume down. PMI presents this as a planned update and says expressly that it will communicate the exact date in advance, along with guidance for learners and trainers.

Which means that as of today there is no date on the calendar. When you read that the change starts on a given day, be suspicious. PMI has not published that date.

What you already studied still counts

This is the line that reassures most and gets repeated least. PMI says any training completed before that date will remain eligible under the current requirements.

If you already did your 35 hours, you do not have to repeat them. If you are doing them right now with a provider that is not an authorized partner, you do not lose them either. The change looks forward, not back.

How to check a course before paying

Four quick checks, none of which requires trusting a salesperson.

• Ask about the modality. If the course is recorded or self-paced, this discussion does not affect you. If it is live with an instructor, carry on with the rest.
• Verify the provider at the source. PMI publishes the directory of authorized training partners and the one for accredited programmes on its own site. If a provider claims to be one, it has to appear there. A badge on the course page is not enough.
• Ask for the certificate in writing. It should be clear how many hours it certifies and with what content, because the hours are declared in the application and everything is subject to audit.
• Distrust the promise of passing. PMI warns directly against organisations that make misleading claims or guarantee exam success, and says it investigates credible reports. A pass guarantee is a warning sign, not a selling point.

If you already paid

Breathe. Check the date on which you took the course or will take it, and relax if it comes before the change, which does not even have a date yet. If your live course comes later and the provider is not in PMI’s directories, you have time to discuss it with them or to cover the hours another way.

The other ways to meet the 35 hours

Not everything runs through buying a live course.

A recorded course with a final assessment still works and the change does not touch it. Training programmes run by your own employer count. A university course in project management counts, with the rule that one hour of class equals one training hour and that only the part dealing with project management is counted. And if you hold an active CAPM certification, you do not need to document the 35 hours at all, because PMI treats them as met.

That last shortcut is the most underused of all, and it costs nobody anything to explain it, except whoever makes a living selling the hours.

If you are still working out whether your experience is enough, review the four routes to apply as well, which changed in July and read together with this.

Join the waitlist

At The PM Architect we are preparing the PMP books with real cases and a bank of exam-style exercises. They will be free. Leave your email on the home page and we’ll let you know when they’re available.