Education · Giving Back · free and paid · checked against the PMI CCR Handbook, April 2026

How do I earn PDUs?

One PDU is one hour of learning about project, program or portfolio work, or one hour of giving back to the profession. You earn them from courses, webinars, reading, podcasts, training at work, chapter events, volunteering, mentoring and the job itself. Most of your PDUs must be Education, and the Talent Triangle minimums can only be met with Education. Every way to earn them, with the limits, is below.

Show me every way

What counts as a PDU?

PMI counts time, not certificates. One hour of qualifying activity is one PDU, claimed in quarter-hour steps. Every PDU belongs to one of two groups, and the group decides what it can be used for.

What are Education PDUs?

Learning. Courses, webinars, reading, podcasts, structured training at work, conferences. They carry a Talent Triangle tag, so they are the only PDUs that count towards the minimums in each area. At least 35 of your 60 must be Education (18 of 30, 9 of 15). You can do all of them this way.

What are Giving Back PDUs?

Contributing. Working as a practitioner, volunteering, mentoring, presenting, writing. They count towards your total but carry no Talent Triangle tag and are capped: 25 of 60, 12 of 30, 6 of 15. Working as a practitioner is capped again inside that, at 8, 4 and 2.

How can I earn Education PDUs?

Six ways. The first is the only one that reliably fills the Power Skills and Business Acumen minimums.

Do online courses count?

Yes. A course registered with PMI comes with a claim code and a declared split, for example 8 Ways of Working, 8 Power Skills, 8 Business Acumen. Report it with the code and it is accepted straight away. This is how most people earn all 60.

Do webinars count?

Yes, one PDU per hour. PMI’s own webinars, chapter webinars and training-company webinars all count. Most are tagged Ways of Working. Keep the confirmation email; you may need it in an audit.

Do books, podcasts and videos count?

Yes. PMI calls this informal learning. Report the hours you spent and the area the content belongs to. Be honest with the hours; PMI asks for a short description of what you learned.

Does training at work count?

Yes, when it is a structured session on a relevant topic: a leadership workshop, a finance-for-managers class, an agile bootcamp. Keep the agenda and your attendance record.

Do chapter meetings and conferences count?

Yes. PMI chapter events, PMI conferences and industry conferences with project content. One PDU per hour of session time, in the area the session covered.

Do university and college courses count?

Yes. A relevant academic course counts hour for hour, including a degree module in management, finance or leadership. Keep the transcript or completion letter.

How can I earn Giving Back PDUs?

Four ways. They top up your total; they never fill a Talent Triangle minimum.

Do I get PDUs for doing my job?

Yes. Working as a practitioner earns a capped number each cycle: 8 for the 60-PDU certifications, 4 for the 30-PDU ones, 2 for CAPM. Claim it once a year.

Does volunteering count?

Yes. Unpaid work for a PMI chapter, a professional body or a non-profit, using your project skills. One PDU per hour.

Does mentoring count?

Yes. Mentoring or coaching other project managers, formally or informally, one PDU per hour. Keep a simple log of dates and topics.

Does writing or speaking count?

Yes. Creating content, presenting at an event, teaching a session, writing an article. Hours spent preparing and delivering.

Can I get PDUs for free?

Yes. You can earn a good share of a cycle without paying, if you have the time and keep records. What free PDUs rarely give you is the Power Skills and Business Acumen minimums.

Free source What you get Usual Talent Triangle area Watch out for
PMI webinars (member benefit) About 1 PDU each Ways of Working Needs PMI membership; slow to reach 60
Training-company webinars 1 PDU per hour Ways of Working Marketing-heavy; keep the certificate
Books, podcasts, videos Hour for hour Any, you choose honestly Self-reported; describe what you learned
Chapter meetings 1 to 2 PDUs each Mixed Often needs chapter membership
Working as a practitioner Up to 8 per cycle None (Giving Back) Does not touch any minimum
Volunteering and mentoring Hour for hour, up to the cap None (Giving Back) Capped at 25 with all other Giving Back

Caps are for the 60-PDU certifications. Halve them for PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMI-CP and PMI-CPMAI; CAPM caps are 6 Giving Back and 2 practitioner.

The catch. Free PDUs arrive one hour at a time from many places, and almost all of them land in Ways of Working. People finish a cycle with 45 PDUs, all in one area, and PMI will not renew them. Start with the free 1-PDU course on how CCR works, then read where to find free PDUs and when free is worth the time.

What is the fastest way to earn 60 PDUs?

One registered course that delivers the whole number with the Talent Triangle split already worked out. You report it once, with one claim code, and the cycle is closed.

I need the whole cycle

A 60-PDU bundle for PMP or PgMP, 30 for PMI-ACP, 15 for CAPM. Self-paced, certificate on completion, PMI claim code for every course inside it.

Pick my certification

I am only short in one or two areas

The 24-PDU pack is 8 Ways of Working, 8 Power Skills and 8 Business Acumen. It closes every minimum in one course and leaves your free PDUs to make up the total.

See the 24-PDU pack

I do not know my gap yet

Put your CCRS numbers into the calculator. It tells you how many PDUs you still need in total and in each area, and which pack fits.

Work out my gap

Which PDUs are the hardest to earn?

Power Skills and Business Acumen. Both must be Education, and both are thin on the ground compared with anything about methods and tools.

Why is Power Skills hard?

Leadership, negotiation, feedback and communication are taught on courses, not picked up from webinars about software. Look for a course that names Power Skills in its split.

Why is Business Acumen hard?

Strategy, benefits and finance content is the rarest thing with a PDU code, and it is the area people notice last, usually a month before the cycle ends.

The minimums for every certification, and why Giving Back cannot fill them, are on the Talent Triangle page.

Do AI courses count for PDUs?

Yes, when the course is about using AI in project, program or portfolio work. A course on prompting for status reports, risk registers and stakeholder updates is Ways of Working; a course on AI strategy and value is Business Acumen. Both are Education, and a registered course states the split.

Why your next PDUs should include AI, and what to look for in an AI course: AI skills for project managers.

How do I prove my PDUs if PMI audits me?

PMI audits a sample of renewals. Keep evidence for every claim until 18 months after your cycle ends.

1. Keep the certificate

For a course or webinar, the certificate or completion email with the provider name, date and hours.

2. Keep a note for informal learning

For books, podcasts and work training: title, date, hours, and two lines on what you learned. Your CCRS entry asks for this anyway.

3. Keep one log

One spreadsheet with every claim, its area and where the evidence is. The free PDU log template is built for this.

Questions people ask about earning PDUs

Yes. There is no rule against it, as long as the course is Education and its split covers the 8 in each Talent Triangle area. Most people renew this way because it is one report and one claim code.

One. PDUs are hours of activity, claimed in quarter-hour steps. A 90-minute webinar is 1.5 PDUs.

Yes, as informal learning under Education. Claim the hours you actually spent, choose the Talent Triangle area the book belongs to, and write a short note on what you learned.

Yes, if the session was structured and on a relevant topic. Claim it as Education, in the area it covered, and keep the agenda and attendance record.

No. You report the activity and PMI accepts it, usually immediately for a registered course. You only produce the evidence if PMI audits you, which is why you keep it for 18 months after the cycle ends.

PDUs count for the cycle in which you earned them. Report them before that cycle ends. Your CCRS dashboard shows your cycle dates and what has been accepted so far.

Who checked this?

Kavita Sharma. She holds the PMP and the PgMP, renews both herself, and has coached PMP, PgMP and PMI-ACP candidates since 2014. Her courses are registered with PMI, so every PDU comes with a declared split and a claim code.

  • Significant Contributor to the PMBOK® Guide, Sixth Edition
  • Contributor to the PMBOK® Guide, Eighth Edition
  • Author of Pass PMP in 21 Days – Study Guide
  • 25 years in delivery and program leadership, including Microsoft

Source: PMI Continuing Certification Requirements Handbook, April 2026. Last checked September 2026.

Earn them one hour at a time, or all at once.

Pick your certification and get the PDUs that close your cycle.

Renew my certification