How does the PMP application audit work?

An audit means PMI asks you to prove what you wrote in your application. You send three things: proof of your education, signed verification for the projects you listed, and your 35 contact hours certificate.

PMI gives you 90 days to send the documents and clears the audit in about five to seven working days after that. The audit is free. You cannot go ahead with the exam until it is cleared, and your one-year exam eligibility starts only when it is.

Selection is mostly random. Being audited does not mean PMI doubts you.

3 documents
What PMI asks for

Degree, project verifications, training certificate.

90 days
Your time to send them

More than enough, if you start chasing signatures on day one.

5 to 7 working days
PMI's review

Once your complete package reaches them.

No fee
An audit costs nothing

It costs time, not money.

Who gets audited, and when do you find out?

Every application can be audited. PMI selects a percentage of them, and the selection is mostly random. PMI also keeps the right to audit any candidate at any time, including after the certification is awarded.

If you are selected, PMI emails you after your application is approved and before you pay the exam fee. The email explains what to send and how. Nothing else moves until the audit is closed.

One consequence people miss: your one-year eligibility to sit the exam begins on the day the audit clears, not on the day your application was approved. An audit does not eat into your exam year.

What exactly does PMI ask for?

Document Who gives it to you What it has to show
Proof of education You A copy of your degree, diploma or the global equivalent, matching the education you claimed in the application
Experience verification Your supervisor or manager on each project you listed Their signature confirming the project, your role and the dates you entered
35 contact hours Your training provider A certificate or letter for each course you listed, showing the hours completed

PMI builds the audit package for you. You download it from your dashboard at mypmi.org, and it already contains a form for each project, filled with what you wrote. Your verifier signs the form. You do not write it again.

Requirements taken from the PMI Certification Handbook, checked on 10 September 2026.

Step by step, what you do

Step 1
Download the package

Log in to mypmi.org and download the audit package the day the email arrives. Read which projects need a signature and who you named as verifier.

Step 2
Message your verifiers first

Send a short message before you send the form. Tell them what it is, that it takes two minutes, and when you need it. Chasing after a week of silence costs you the most time.

Step 3
Collect the signed forms

One signed form per project. Check the dates and your role match what you submitted. A mismatch is the most common reason a package comes back.

Step 4
Add education and training

Your degree copy, and a certificate for every course you listed for the 35 contact hours. If a course is missing its certificate, ask the provider now, not later.

Step 5
Submit as one complete package

Send everything together through your PMI dashboard. Partial submissions are not processed, and an incomplete package counts as a failed audit.

Step 6
Pay and book

PMI reviews in about five to seven working days. When it clears, your exam year starts. Pay the fee and book the date.

How do I get the signatures without losing weeks?

  • Warn your verifiers before you apply, not after. One message telling them a form may come removes the surprise and most of the delay.
  • Pick people who are easy to reach. PMI asks for the supervisor or manager on that project. If that person has left, name someone who managed or oversaw the same work and can confirm it.
  • Give them the facts they are confirming. Send the project name, your role and the exact dates in the message. They sign faster when nothing has to be remembered.
  • Set your own deadline two weeks inside PMI’s. You have 90 days. Working to 60 leaves room for one person who is travelling.
  • Keep the dates honest and simple. Overlapping months and stretched dates are what verifiers query, and what makes them hesitate to sign.

What happens if the audit is not completed?

Three outcomes are worth knowing before you start.

  • An incomplete package is not processed and counts as a failed audit.
  • Choosing not to comply also counts as a failure, and it carries a one-year suspension from applying for any PMI certification.
  • PMI can audit after you are certified. If you cannot meet the requirements then, you are not entitled to a refund.

None of this is a risk if what you wrote is what happened, and if the people who saw it can be reached.

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Questions people ask about the PMP audit

In most cases there is nothing to refund, because PMI tells you about the audit before you pay the exam fee. If you have already paid, PMI’s refund rule applies: you can ask within 30 days of payment, provided you have not scheduled and taken the exam.

No. There is no audit fee, and no extra charge for the documents you send.

No. Nothing moves until the audit is cleared. Your one-year eligibility starts on the day it clears, so you lose no exam time.

As long as your documents take, plus about five to seven working days at PMI’s end. Candidates who warn their verifiers in advance usually close it in two to three weeks.

Name someone else who managed or oversaw the same project and can confirm your role and dates. What PMI needs is a person who supervised the work, not a specific job title.

Ask why first. It is usually a date or a title they do not recognise, and correcting your record settles it. If they still decline, use another person who can confirm the same work.

No. Copies are what PMI asks for, submitted through your PMI dashboard.

Ask your training provider to reissue it. An Authorized Training Partner can do this from your enrolment record, and the certificate must show the hours you claimed.

The audit fails. That closes the application, and refusing to comply carries a one-year suspension from applying for any PMI certification. If time is running out, send what you have and tell PMI which item is delayed.

No. Selection is mostly random and PMI audits a share of all applications. It is a check on the process, not an accusation.

No, and you should not try. What you can control is how fast you clear it: accurate dates, real verifiers you have warned, and certificates saved before you apply.

Audited and not sure what to send?Message me →

Write the application so an audit is easy

Everything an audit asks for exists before you apply. Collect it while you write, and an audit becomes a week of admin instead of a month of chasing.

  • Save the certificate for your 35 contact hours the day you finish the training.
  • Keep a copy of your degree in the same folder.
  • For each project, write down the verifier’s name, current email and phone number.
  • Use real start and end dates. Do not stretch them to reach the required months.

Free PMP application template · Check whether you are eligible · What the PMP costs

Who wrote this

Kavita Sharma trains PMP candidates as a PMI Authorized Training Partner and reviews their applications before they are submitted, including the ones that go to audit.

  • Significant Contributor to the PMBOK® Guide Sixth Edition and Contributor to the Eighth Edition
  • Author of Pass PMP in 21 Days – Study Guide and Pass PgMP in 21 Days
  • Holds PMP and PgMP
  • Sixteen years delivering projects and programmes, and the last ten coaching candidates through PMI credentials

This page follows the PMI Certification Handbook for audit requirements, timelines and refund rules, checked on 10 September 2026. PMI can change its policies, so confirm anything time-critical in your own PMI dashboard.

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