PDU Category Structureand Policies
Each professional development activity yields one PDU for one hour spent engaged in the activity.
The new six PDU categories fall into two divisions—Education and Giving Back to the Profession—asillustrated below.
EDUCATIONAL

GIVING BACK TO THE PROFESSION

Courses offered by PMI’s R.E.P.s or
Chapters and Communities

Creating New Project Management Knowledge

Continuing Education

Volunteer Service

Self-Directed Learning

Work as a Professional in Project Management

PDU Requirements
60 PDUs in 3-year cycle(PMP/PgMP/PfMP)
30 PDUs in 3-year cycle(PMI-SP/PMI-RMP/PMI-ACP)

Education PDU
Categories(No maximum number of PDUs)

Giving Back to theProfession PDU Categories
Maximum: 45 PDUs in 3-year cycle(PMP/PgMP/PfMP)
20 PDUs in 3-year cycle(PMI-SP/PMI-RMP/PMI-ACP)PDU Category Structure and Policies

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PDU Categories and Associated Policies
PDU CATEGORYCATEGORY POLICYEDUCATION CATEGORIESCATEGORY A:
Courses offered by PMI’s R.E.P.s
or Chapters and Communities

Earn PDUs by attending educational courses offered by PMI’s Registered Education
Providers (R.E.P.s). These providers adhere to quality criteria established by PMI and aresolely authorized to issue PDU certificates to attendees. R.E.P.s can be identified
by their logo:

Examples of R.E.P.s include schools, consultants, corporate training departments,
professional associations, government agencies and PMI chapters. View the searchable
database of R.E.P.s and the courses they offer online.
You can also earn PDUs by attending events (seminars, conferences, etc.) offered byPMI, PMI chapters and communities of practice. These event listings can be found on
PMI’s events calendar or on the websites of your specific chapter or the community ofpractice to which you belong.
You can also earn PDUs by taking a PMI® Publication Quiz, available in the PMI.org
Marketplace.

PDU Rule:

1 hour of instruction related to project management, program management, projectrisk, project scheduling or agile project management equals 1 PDU. You can report
PDUs in 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 increments.

Documentation required upon PMI audit/request:

Registration form, certificate or letter of attendance.

CATEGORY B:
Continuing Education

Earn PDUs:• By completing an academic course being offered by a university or collegeOR• By attending relevant educational courses offered by training organizations
NOT registered with PMI. This may include training (or a Webinar) offered byyour employer, another professional or membership association, or a non
R.E.P. training organization.
When only a portion of a course relates to your credential area of expertise, calculate
PDUs by the percentage of the overall curriculum focused on the topic.
Report each course separately. Entire degree programs will not be recognized for PDU
credits, only individual courses.

PDU Rule:

1 hour of instruction related to project management, program management, projectrisk, project scheduling or agile project management equals 1 PDU. You can report
PDUs in 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 increments.

Documentation required upon PMI audit/request:

Certificate or letter of attendance, unofficial transcript, grade report, brochure or othercourse materials.

PDU Category Structure and Policies

2PDU Categories and Associated Policies
PDU CATEGORYCATEGORY POLICYEDUCATION CATEGORIESCATEGORY C:
Self-Directed Learning

Earn PDUs for self-directed learning activities which are individualized learning events
involving personally conducted research or study.
Learning may include informal activities such as:• reading articles, books, or instructional manuals;• watching videos, using interactive CD-ROMs, podcasts or other source material;• having formal discussions with colleagues, coworkers, clients or consultants;• being coached or mentored by a colleague, coworker or consultant (If you served
as a coach or mentor to someone else, please report that activity under Category E,“Volunteer Service.”)
Qualifying activities must be relevant to project management, project risk,
project scheduling, or program management, meet a specified purpose, and use
knowledgeable resources.

PDU Rule:

1 PDU is awarded for every 1 hour spent in a self-directed learning activity
listed in this category.
PDU restrictions for the Self-Directed Learning category are as follows:• PMP and PgMP credential holders can earn no more than 30 PDUs in theSelf-Directed Learning category per cycle• PMI-SP, PMI-RMP and PMI-ACP credential holders can earn no more than 15 PDUs
in the Self-Directed Learning Category per cycle.

Documentation required upon PMI audit/request:

Evidence supporting your reported learning project, including notes fromand dates of discussion or reading.

GIVING BACK TO THE PROFESSION CATEGORIESPDU Rule:

You may not earn more than a total of 45 PDUs in the three “Giving Back tothe Profession” categories per cycle if you hold the PMP and PgMP credentials.
You may not earn more than a total of 20 PDUs in the three “Giving Back to theProfession” categories per cycle if you hold the PMI-SP, PMI-RMP and PMI-ACP
credentials.

CATEGORY D:
Creating New ProjectManagement Knowledge

Earn PDUs for creating new knowledge for the topic related to your credential area ofexpertise (project management, program management, project risk, project schedulingor agile project management). Qualifying activities include:
••
•
••
•
•
•
•

Authoring (co-authoring) a project management textbook
Authoring (co-authoring) a peer-reviewed article
Authoring (co-authoring) a non-peer-reviewed article
Authoring (co-authoring) an article for PMI’s Knowledge Shelf
Authoring an article for relevant electronic newsletters
Authoring of article on an official organization, professional, or company blog
Presenting in a webinar
Presenting in a podcast
Creating a course or developing course content for project management
related courses• Serving as a speaker• Serving as a moderator of a relevant discussion• Serving as a subject matter expert for a panel discussion
The PDUs claimed in this category count against the maximum of 45 PDUs (for thePMP/PgMP credentials) or 20 PDUs (for the PMI-SP, PMI-RMP and PMI-ACP credentials)
allowed for the “Giving Back to the Profession” categories (Categories D, E, and F).
PDU Category Structure and Policies

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PDU Categories and Associated Policies
PDU CATEGORYCATEGORY POLICYGIVING BACK TO THE PROFESSION CATEGORIESPDU Rules

1 PDU is awarded per 1 hour of activity in this category.

Documentation required upon PMI audit/request:

Copies of publications, sample educational materials or course agendas.

CATEGORY E:Volunteer Service

Earn PDUs by providing volunteer, non-compensated project management, program
management, project risk, project scheduling or agile project management services tonon-employer or non-client customer groups.
Examples of Qualifying activities include:
1. Serve as an elected volunteer officer for a project management organization
including PMI chapters and communities of practice) for a minimum of 3 months.
This work must be done for a legally recognized non-profit, not-for profit, orcharitable groups and organizations.
2. Serve as a volunteer/appointed committee member for a project managementorganization (including PMI chapters and communities of practice) for a minimum of
3 months. This work must be done for a legally recognized non-profit, not-for-profit, orcharitable groups and organizations.
3. Providing project management related volunteer services to PMI or anotherprofessional project management association. This work must be done for a legally
recognized non-profit, not-for-profit, or charitable groups and organizations.
Examples may include:•  Volunteering at a PMI global congress,•  Serving on a PMI Members Advisory Board,•  Working on PMI standards,•  Participating in activities for PMI’s Certification Department, or•  Participating in PMI research activities.
View volunteer opportunities online to see how you can earn PDUs in this category.
4. Provide volunteer project management-related services to:•  a community or charitable group,This work must meet the definition of a project as outlined in A Guide to the ProjectManagement Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).
•  a group of college students for educational purposes, or•  for being a coach or mentor on project management topics
The PDUs claimed in this category count against the maximum of 45 PDUs (for thePMP/PgMP credentials) or 20 PDUs (for the PMI-SP, PMI-RMP and PMI-ACP credentials)
allowed for the “Giving Back to the Profession” categories (Categories D, E, and F).

PDU Rule1 PDU is awarded for 1 hour of volunteer (non-compensated) service. To claim PDUs forservice as an elected officer or appointed committee member, you must serve in therole for a minimum of three months.

PDU Category Structure and Policies

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PDU Categories and Associated Policies
PDU CATEGORYCATEGORY POLICYGIVING BACK TO THE PROFESSION CATEGORIESDocumentation required upon PMI audit/request:

If volunteer services: letter or certificate from the organization served acknowledging
you for leading project tasks or participating as part of a project team.
If coaching or mentoring services: evidence supporting your coaching or mentoringarrangement, including notes from and dates of discussion or reading.

CATEGORY F:Working as a Professional
in Project Management

Earn PDUs for working as a project manager in your field of expertise (projectmanagement, program management, project risk management, project schedulingmanagement or agile project management).

PDU Rule

If you have been working as a project manager (project risk management professional,
project scheduling professional, agile certified professional, program manager) for aminimum of 6 months within a 12 month period, you can earn a total of:• 15 PDUs per cycle if you hold the PMP and/or PgMP credential(s)• 7.5 PDUs per cycle if you hold the PMI-SP, PMI-RMP and/or PMI-ACP credential(s)You may claim:• 5 PDUs per 12-month period if you hold the PMP and/or PgMP credential(s)• 2.5 PDUs per 12-month period if you hold the PMI-SP, PMI-RMP and/or PMI-ACP
credential(s)Claims for the Category F professional development units (PDUs) are measured ona 12-month period basis. Category F PDUs are based on work completed within theproject management field during the calendar year, not time spent on an individual
project. The projects that you may be involved in will serve as verification for the time
you are reporting in case of audit. If you have worked as a project manager for multiple
organizations throughout the duration of the claim, please list the organization you
worked with the longest as the activity provider.
If you are submitting PDU claims under this category, please submit either one (1)separate claim for each year in which they were earned for 5 PDUs each or you may also
combine all three years into one (1) claim for a total of 15 PDUs.
The PDUs claimed in this category count against the maximum of 45 PDUs (for thePMP/PgMP credentials) or 20 PDUs (for the PMI-SP, PMI-RMP and PMI-ACP credentials)
allowed for the “Giving Back to the Profession” categories (Categories D, E, and F).

Documentation required upon PMI audit/request:

Proof of employment (job description)n See next page for Crosswalk from old PDU categories to new categories. nPDU Category Structure and Policies

5Crosswalk from old PDU categories to new categories:
OLD CATEGORYNEW CATEGORY

Maximum PDUs per 3-year cycle

Maximum PDUs per 3-year cycle

Category 1:
Formal Academic Education➞Category B:
Continuing Education

Category 2A:
Author/coauthor of article in refereed journal
30/20 PDUs per article
Category 2B:
Author/coauthor of article in non-refereed journal
15/10 PDUs per article
Category 2C:
Speaker/teacher at conference, symposium,workshop or formal course.
10 PDUs per activity
Category 2D:
Speaker on a project management topic at
PMI component meeting
5 PDUs per activity

Category D:
Creating New Project Management Knowledge(includes old categories 2A-2G and new areas for practitioners
to submit creation of webinars, podcasts, and other newmedia forms)➞45 PDUs maximum in Categories D, E, and F total if you hold the
PMP or PgMP credentials
20 PDUs maximum in Categories D, E, and F total if you hold the
PMI-SP, PMI-RMP or PMI-ACP credentials

Category 2E: Member or moderator of a project
management panel discussion
5 PDUs per activity
Category 2F:Author/coauthor of textbook
40/20 PDUs per activity
Category 2G:Developer of courseware
10 PDUs per activity
Category 2H:
Practitioner of project management services
15 PDUs maximum➞Category F: Working as a Professional in Project Management
15 PDUs maximum in this category (F)45 PDUs maximum in Categories D, E, and F total if you hold the
PMP or PgMP credentials
20 PDUs maximum in Categories D, E, and F total if you hold the
PMI-SP, PMI-RMP or PMI-ACP credentials➞Category C: Self-Directed Learning
30 PDUs maximum in this category if you hold the PMP orPgMP credentials
15 PDUs maximum if you hold the PMI-SP, PMI-RMP or
PMI-ACP credentials

Category 3:
REP/PMI Component Courses➞Category A:
Courses offered by PMI’s R.E.P.s or Chapters and Communities

Category 4:
Courses offered by Other Education Providers➞

Category B:
Continuing Education

Category 2SDL:
Self-Directed Learning
15 PDUs maximum

Category 5A:
Volunteer Service – Elected Volunteer Officer
20 PDUs maximum in all Category 5 activities
Category 5B:
Volunteer / Appointed Committee Member
20 PDUs maximum in all Category 5 activities
Category 5C:
Volunteer project management-related services
20 PDUs maximum in all Category 5 activities
PDU Category Structure and Policies➞Category E:Volunteer Service(includes old 5A, 5B, 5C, plus volunteering directly for PMI)
45 PDUs maximum in Categories D, E, and F total if you hold the
PMP or PgMP credentials
20 PDUs maximum in Categories D, E, and F total if you holdthe PMI-SP, PMI-RMP or PMI-ACP credentials© 2013 Project Management Institute. All rights reserved. “PMI”, the PMI logo, “CAPM”, “PMP”, “PgMP”,“PMI-SP”, “PMI-RMP” and “PMI-ACP” are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.

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