What is the PMP passing score?

There is no published passing score. PMI does not tell you how many questions you must answer correctly, and no percentage is printed anywhere.

What you get instead is a pass or fail, and a rating for each domain. That rating is the useful part, and this page explains how to read it.

180
Questions on the exam

In 230 minutes, with two breaks.

175
Questions that count

These decide your result.

5
Pretest questions

Unscored, unmarked, and you cannot spot them.

No fixed mark
Not a percentage

You are measured against a standard, not a number.

How does PMI score the exam?

Three things decide your result, and none of them is a simple count.

What happens What it means for you
Five questions are pretest items They are being tested on you, not scoring you. A question that felt impossible may not have counted at all
Questions differ in difficulty Two candidates never sit an identical paper, so a fixed number of correct answers would not be fair. The standard accounts for the paper you were given
The pass standard is set by psychometric analysis Subject matter experts decide what a qualified project manager must be able to do. You are compared to that, never to other candidates

This is why chasing a percentage is wasted energy. Nobody in the room knows the number, and it is not the same paper for everyone.

What grades does the report show?

Your result names one of four levels for each domain. These are PMI’s own definitions.

Grade What PMI means
Above Target Your performance exceeds the minimum requirement
Target Your performance meets the minimum requirement
Below Target Slightly below the minimum requirement
Needs Improvement Far below the minimum requirement

The domains are not equal in size. Process is 50% of the exam, People is 42%, and Business Environment is 8%. A weak rating in Process costs far more than the same rating in Business Environment.

A pass is decided overall, not domain by domain. Candidates do pass with one domain rated Below Target, and candidates do fail with two ratings at Target. Read the pattern, not a single line.

Grade definitions taken from PMI’s exam result report; exam structure from the PMP Examination Content Outline. Checked on 10 September 2026.

What score should I get in mock exams?

Aim for 75% or above in a good, current mock test. In my experience, candidates who reach that consistently pass the real exam.

Two words in that sentence matter more than the number.

  • Consistently. One score of 78% is a good evening. Two or three in a row is readiness.
  • Good. An easy question bank inflates your score and teaches you nothing. A mock written to the current exam content outline is the only score worth trusting.

Below 65%, you are still learning content and should not book a date. Between 65 and 75, work on the domain dragging the average down. Above 75 twice over, book it.

Upcoming PgMP Class

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20
Dec 2026
Sun · 7:00 pm IST

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When
Sun & Sat · 7:00 pm–11:00 pm IST · 4 weekends
Dates
20 Dec – 9 Jan 2027
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Mar 2027
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Pass PMP in 21 Days: Q1 2027

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6–21 March 2027
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May 2027
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Pass PMP in 21 Days: Q2 2027

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Live
24 hours · 6 sessions
Original price was: $644.00.Current price is: $322.00.More details
 

What makes a mock test worth trusting?

  • Full length and timed. 180 questions in 230 minutes. Anything shorter tests knowledge, not stamina.
  • Situational, not definitional. The exam asks what you would do next. A bank that asks what a term means is preparing you for a different test.
  • Half agile or hybrid. That is the shape of the real paper, and it is where most scores drop.
  • Written to the current exam content outline. Questions built for an older exam quietly teach the wrong emphasis.
  • Explanations for every option. You need to know why the other three are wrong. That is the judgement the exam is testing.

The PMP Test Prep Kit is built to that list: 3,000 questions, seven full-length timed mocks, agile and hybrid in quantity, and an explanation on every answer.

See the PMP Test Prep Kit

The passing score, explained

What should I study from?

Resource Why it matters for your score
The PMP Exam Content Outline PMI’s own list of what is tested, with the domain weights. Use it as your checklist, and study nothing that is not on it
Full-length timed mocks The only way to know whether you can hold judgement for 230 minutes
Question explanations Where the marks come from. Reading why an option is wrong teaches faster than reading a chapter
The item types Not every question is a simple choice of four. Multiple response, matching, hotspot and fill-in-the-blank all appear, so practise on a bank that includes them
Pass PMP in 21 Days The day-wise plan, so your study has an order instead of a pile

Everything else is optional. How long preparation takes · The full PMP path

Questions people ask about the passing score

No. That figure comes from a much older version of the exam and has not applied for many years. PMI has not published a passing percentage since.

No. Five of the 180 do not count at all. You cannot identify them, which is another reason to answer every question with the same care.

Yes, it happens. The result is decided overall. A single Below Target in the smallest domain is very different from one in Process, which is half the exam.

PMI does not publish its scoring model. What it does say is that the standard is set by psychometric analysis, and papers differ, so a fixed number of correct answers would not be a fair test.

75% or above, twice in a row, on a mock written to the current exam content outline. Below 65% you are still learning the content.

At the test centre the same day, as a preliminary result. The full report with your domain ratings appears in your PMI account within ten working days.

You keep your approved application and get three attempts inside your eligibility year, at a lower retake fee. What to do next.

Send me your mock scores and I will tell you whether to book the date.Message me →

Upcoming PMP classes

Live sessions with Kavita, with the 35 contact hours certificate, timed mock examinations and mentoring until you pass.

Times in India (IST)
PMP class
20
Dec 2026
Sun · 7:00 pm IST

Pass PMP in 21 Days: Q4 2026

When
Sun & Sat · 7:00 pm–11:00 pm IST · 4 weekends
Dates
20 Dec – 9 Jan 2027
Live
24 hours · 6 sessions
Starts in 97 days Original price was: $644.00.Current price is: $322.00.More details
PMP class
6
Mar 2027
Sat · 7:00 pm IST

Pass PMP in 21 Days: Q1 2027

When
Sat & Sun · 7:00 pm–11:00 pm IST · 3 weekends
Dates
6–21 March 2027
Live
24 hours · 6 sessions
Starts in 173 days Original price was: $644.00.Current price is: $322.00.More details
PMP class
22
May 2027
Sat · 7:00 pm IST

Pass PMP in 21 Days: Q2 2027

When
Sat & Sun · 7:00 pm–11:00 pm IST · 3 weekends
Dates
22 May – 6 Jun 2027
Live
24 hours · 6 sessions
Starts in 250 days Original price was: $644.00.Current price is: $322.00.More details

Who wrote this

Kavita Sharma is a PMI Authorized Training Partner. She reads her candidates’ score reports with them, before and after the exam.

  • 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

Exam structure and grade definitions follow PMI’s published documents, checked on 10 September 2026. The mock-score guidance is Kavita’s, drawn from candidates she has taught.

See the PMP class