Project Management Articles
Do PDUs Count for Two PMI Certifications?
No — PMP requires 60 PDUs per three-year cycle and PMI-ACP requires 30 PDUs per three-year cycle, and holding both does not merge those requirements into one shared pool. Each certification keeps its own PDU count, though a single eligible activity can often be logged toward more than one certification at once.
30
PDUs per three-year cycle
PMI-ACP and PMI-RMP need 30 PDUs every three years, of which at least 18 must be Education.
15
PDUs per three-year cycle
CAPM needs 15 PDUs every three years, of which at least 9 must be Education.
3
years
A continuing certification cycle runs three years from the date the certification was earned or last renewed.
Why doesn’t one PDU automatically count for two certifications?
Each PMI certification runs its own continuing certification requirement (CCR) cycle, and that cycle lasts three years from the date the certification was earned or last renewed. PDUs are reported and tracked inside that specific cycle, against that specific certification’s total. If you hold two certifications, you are really running two separate three-year clocks, each with its own PDU target.
That is why a PDU logged for one certification does not simply appear as fulfilled for the other. PMI’s system asks which certification, or certifications, an activity should be applied to, and the required total is checked separately for each one.
How many PDUs does each certification need on its own?
The PDU total depends entirely on which credential you are renewing, not on how many certifications you hold at the same time.
- PMP, PgMP, PfMP and PMI-PBA each need 60 PDUs per three-year cycle.
- PMI-ACP and PMI-RMP each need 30 PDUs per three-year cycle, with at least 18 of those in Education.
- CAPM needs 15 PDUs per three-year cycle, with at least 9 of those in Education.
Can the same activity be logged toward more than one certification?
Yes, in most cases. When you report an eligible activity in PMI’s CCR system, you can typically select more than one certification for that same activity, so a single course, webinar or volunteer role can add PDUs to two certification records at once.
What does not happen is the totals themselves being shared. Each certification still needs its own full count reached inside its own three-year cycle. Reusing an activity saves you from doing the work twice; it does not reduce how many PDUs either certification requires. For the full breakdown of what counts and how many you need overall, see What are PDUs, and how many do I need?
Why choose a 60 PDU bundle over a 30 PDU bundle when you hold two certifications?
If you hold a 60-PDU certification, such as PMP, PgMP, PfMP or PMI-PBA, alongside a 30-PDU certification, such as PMI-ACP or PMI-RMP, the higher number sets the real floor for how much training you need. Earning 60 PDUs covers the larger certification’s full three-year requirement outright, and because eligible activities can usually be applied to more than one certification, those same 60 PDUs can also satisfy the 30-PDU certification’s requirement, including its minimum of 18 Education PDUs.
A 30 PDU bundle is enough on its own for PMI-ACP or PMI-RMP, but it leaves a 60-PDU certification short by 30 PDUs. For a 60-PDU cycle, at least 35 of the 60 must be Education, with a minimum of 8 PDUs required in each of Ways of Working, Power Skills and Business Acumen, and Giving Back capped at 25 PDUs. Details on splitting Education PDUs across those three areas are covered in How many PDUs do I need in each Talent Triangle area? Planning around the higher total from the start, rather than topping up later, is usually the more efficient route when two renewal clocks are running at once.
Questions people ask
No, each cycle runs three years from the date that specific certification was earned or last renewed, so the two clocks can land on different dates.
No, CAPM still needs 15 PDUs per three-year cycle with at least 9 in Education, regardless of any other certification you hold.
No, the 25 PDU Giving Back cap applies within a single 60-PDU cycle; each certification’s cycle and caps are tracked on their own.
They can, if you select PMI-RMP when reporting the activity, but PMI-RMP’s own 30 PDU total, including 18 in Education, still has to be reached and confirmed separately.
Last reviewed: September 2026