PMP AUDIT FAQs

I got this Faq’s when I got audited. Thought it will be useful for someone who is currently preparing the Application.

Thank you for your interest in a PMI certification. As the project management profession matures, PMI’s credentials must evolve concurrently as well. PMI must ensure that project management practitioners who obtain the credentials have met requirements that reflect the evolving profession. One way in which PMI works to maintain the integrity of its credentials is to conduct candidate audits. As stated in the Credential Handbooks, all eligible applications are subject to audit. Your application has been selected to participate in the Certification Audit. Upon successful completion of the audit, candidates will be able to move to the next step in the application process. The information that you provide to PMI in the candidate audit is confidential, and should only be discussed with the PMI certification department and your immediate managers or supervisors that are required to assist in experience verification.

Your application falls under the following category:

PMP, Category One Candidate

Category One Applicants:

•             Verifying Bachelor's/equivalent university degree.

•             Verifying your Project Management Experience.

•             Verifying 35 contact hours of Project Management Education.

Submission of the Experience Verification Form(s)

A manager, supervisor, or colleague who is intimately familiar with the experience on your application is required to review your Experience Record and then complete the Experience Verification Form. After they verify, they will put the completed Experience Verification Form and Experience Record in an envelope, sign his/her name over the sealed flap of the envelope, and return the envelope to you via in person or by mail. If one person is verifying multiple projects for the same company, they can fill out one form and initial or highlight on the Experience Record the projects that they are verifying. Faxed or scanned forms will not be accepted as the forms need to be placed in a sealed and signed envelope for security purposes. No substitutions will be accepted.

Documenting the 35 hours of Project Management Related Education

Documentation for each course submitted for meeting the 35 hours of project management education outlined in the attached Education Record. To properly document these activities you must include a certificate, transcript, or letter of attendance from the company, Registered Education Provider (R.E.P), school, or institute that provided the training. The courses submitted must have learning objectives that are directly related to the project management profession. No substitutions will be accepted.

Documenting educational background degree (Bachelors, Masters, or PhD only)

A copy of your degree or transcript from the educational institution where your Bachelors, Masters, or PhD (or global equivalent university degree) was earned is required.

Completed audit forms can be sent back to PMI via regular or postal mail to the address below. PMI will not accept faxed or e-mailed audits. Upon receipt, the Certification Audit Team will process your audit expeditiously. If PMI requires clarification from you during the course of processing your audit materials, a representative will contact you directly.

PMI Global Operations Center

14 Campus Blvd., Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA

Tel: +1-610-356-4600 (Option 8 from phone menu)

The GOC Service Center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. US Eastern time (EST), Monday through Friday, and will follow the United States holiday calendar.

Fax : +610-356-4647

E-mail : customercare@pmi.org

Do not include partial submissions, as that would be considered an automatic fail of the audit. The date that the audit materials are received and processed at PMI is the completed audit date, and no other documents will be accepted after that date.

If you are unable to complete the audit within the required 60-day time frame of the audit, PMI can grant you an extension of 30 days. If the audit is not completed during the 60- or 90-day time frame, or you fail the audit due to partial or inaccurate submissions, you will not be eligible to move to the next step of the application process, examination. In the case of a failed audit, a partial refund will be issued. After the required waiting period before you reapply, you would need to submit another application, forms, and payment, and your application will be re-audited.

Thank you for your cooperation. Below this letter, you may find some frequently asked questions and answers that may assist you. If your questions are not addressed, please contact your local service center. If you are located in the Asia Pacific region and require assistance, you may contact the Regional Service Center. Please note that the Asia Pacific Service Center does not process audits but can assist you with any questions that you have.

Why does PMI Audit?

PMI conducts audits to ensure that applicants meet the basic requirements necessary to gain accreditation with PMI. The purpose of the audit is to enhance the credibility of the Certification and of the Certificants. For each credential, a specified percentage of applications are selected for audit.

Can audit materials be sent back to PMI via express mail, DHL, Federal Express, UPS, or other courier service, or does it have to be by regular mail?

You can send your completed audit forms via regular postal mail or express courier service, to the below address. PMI will not accept faxed or emailed audits documents.

PMI Global Operations Center

Attention Certification Audit

14 Campus Boulevard

Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA

How long does it take to process the audit? When will the eligibility letter be sent?

The certification audit team processes audits within 1 week upon arrival at PMI. Upon approval, an email will be sent to you containing your eligibility and test scheduling information.

A large group of colleagues applied to take the credential exam but only one application was chosen for an audit. Why?

The audit process is random, with a percentage of all applications selected automatically by PMIs computer system. The other members of a group were not audited because PMI did not pull their ID numbers from the pool of applications received by PMI.

A prep course advises students to take the exam immediately after completion of the course for the best chance of a passing score. Is it necessary to pass the audit in order to take the exam?

Yes. Certification candidates are expected to complete the audit process before they are provided eligibility for the examination.

Will PMI call a local testing center to hold a testing spot?

PMI will not communicate with any Thomson Prometric Centers for the purpose of reserving a testing seat. Candidates are not able to reserve testing appointments until they have been granted eligibility for the examination. Eligibility is not granted until the audit is completed. Without an eligibility letter, the only information that a testing center may provide is whether a testing date or a particular test site is near or at capacity. If you need to locate a testing center near you, please log onto the Thomson Prometric website at www.2test.com and follow the links to your respective area.

What happens in the case of a failed audit?

In the case of a failed audit, the examination fee, minus the processing fee will be refunded. Further actions or eligibility issues will be addressed on an audit-by-audit basis as determined by the Certification Department.

Does PMI return the original audit materials after review?

No. PMI retains the originals according to its internal auditing procedures.

Are audit materials confidential?

Yes. Audit materials are strictly confidential and are not shared with any external organization unless required through legal action involving PMI.

How can an audit candidate explain to their manager why they are being audited?

PMI can furnish an audit candidate with a general letter outlining the purpose of the audit to any verifying manager or supervisor.

What steps need to be taken when an audit candidate decided not to proceed with the audit?

If a candidate chooses not to complete the audit, it is considered a failed audit due to non-conformance. In the case of a failed audit, the examination fee, minus the processing fee will be refunded. A candidate may reapply after one-year suspension period. At that time, a new credential application and payment must be submitted, and the application will be subject to a re-audit.

Can a manager or supervisor type their contact information on the form or does it have to be handwritten?

A manager or supervisor can type their contact information, as long as their signature is handwritten.

Do the Experience Verification Forms need to be notarized?

No.

Will PMI accept an email signature?

No.

How should an audit candidate verify programs and/or projects that they were the manager or supervisor for?

Candidates can have a colleague, peer, client or sponsor who has intimate knowledge of the project verify.

If the projects and / or programs listed were completed in a highly classified environment, or a company is very sensitive about proprietary information being seen by other employers of individuals outside the company, how should this be handled?

PMI is very sensitive to this situation, and encourages candidates to have the information verified in a way that is consistent with company practices and policies. Candidates may black out any proprietary information so as long as there are no changes or omissions to the original information provided to us. PMI may also provide a letter of intent to any managers or supervisors.

Can a manager or supervisor physically hand the envelopes to an audit candidate or do they need to be mailed to the candidate?

A manager may physically hand the sealed and signed envelopes back to the audit candidate.

A manager accidentally mailed the envelope directly to PMI. The cover letter states that partial submissions are considered an automatic failure of the audit. Is this oversight considered an automatic failure?

PMI will not penalize an audit candidate for this oversight; however it is important that we are aware of the situation so that we can flag the piece of mail in anticipation of the remaining audit materials.

The individual who verified my work experience forgot to sign the back of the envelope. Will this be a problem?

Although it is preferred that your experience verification form(s) are returned to PMI in a signed and sealed envelope, PMI understands that this may not be possible in some cases due to internal business regulations, customs inspections, and the like. Please make a note on the back of the envelope in question that the signature was omitted.

A manager or supervisor is across the world. Can the audit materials be faxed or sent directly to PMI?

The Experience Verification Form and Experience PDF attachment can be emailed to any verifying manager or supervisor; however because the original audit forms need to be submitted in the sealed and signed envelopes, PMI will not accept faxed copies. PMI prefers that the candidate mail all documents in one parcel.

A supervising manager is no longer at the company. How can this project be verified?

The supervising manager can still verify although they are not at the company. If this option is not feasible, a colleague from the project can verify, or a current manager or supervisor who has intimate knowledge of the project can verify.

Will PMI contact a verifying manager or supervisor?

Not always. PMI does reserve the right to do so if there is a specific question related to verification.

An audit candidate was laid off, a consultant, or is no longer with the company, or the company no longer exists. How is this situation handled?

The supervising manager can still verify although they are not at the company. If this option is not feasible, a colleague from the project can verify, or a current manager or supervisor who has direct knowledge of the project can verify.

Are photocopies of education certificates of completion sufficient or does PMI require the originals?

Copies of your certificates are sufficient. PMI recognizes that your certificates of completion are treasured by the recipient; therefore suggests that copies of the originals be sent. PMI cannot guarantee that original certificates will be returned.

Do certificates in a foreign language need to be translated?

A copy of the original and a letter by the candidate outlining a general translation of the document is required.

If a certificate states educational hours in PDUs and Units, how will PMI translate this information to meet the contact hours of education required for a CAPM or PMP candidate?

Contact hours are the actual amount of time a candidate spends receiving instruction in project management or any of the 5 knowledge areas of project management (Initializing, Planning, Executing, Controlling, Closing). For example, if a candidate takes a 1-day class that last 8 hours and provides instruction in project management, the candidate earns 8 contact hours. Contact hours are not equal to PDUs or CEUs. Additionally, Test Candidates cannot obtain PDUs; they can earn contact hours only. Candidates can submit any class, seminar, on the job training, online training, and distance teaching classes whose learning objectives include Project Management or any of its domains. Independent study and PMI chapter meetings are not accepted for the contact hour requirement.

If an in-house course did not issue a certificate, what type of verification will PMI accept?

PMI will accept a letter of completion from the course administrator, HR department, or manager on company letterhead verifying that the course was completed.

If a course was completed at a PMI-certified educational institution, can PMI contact them for my certificate?

No. Audit candidates must contact the PMI certified education provider directly for the necessary verification.

Will PMI accept a receipt or course roster as educational verification?

No, as this does not provide any information relating to completion of the course.

If a bachelors degree was listed on the original application but the candidate has since been awarded a higher degree, is the former degree necessary to include?

The former degree is not necessary.

Will PMI accept a school transcript to meet the degree requirement?

Yes.

If a certificate is in a professional frame, does it need to be taken out?

The degree does not need to be taken out of the professional frame. If it is too large to photocopy, please submit a transcript.

Audit Requirements:

To meet this requirement for the audit, a copy of your degree or transcript from the educational institution where your Bachelors, Masters, or PhD (or global equivalent university degree) was earned is required.

Audit Requirements:

Documentation for each course submitted for meeting the 35 hours of project management education outlined in the attached Education Record. To properly document these activities you must include a certificate, transcript, or letter of attendance from the company, Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.), school or institute that provided the training. The courses submitted must have learning objectives that are directly related to the project management profession. No substitutions will be accepted.

Audit Requirements:

A manager, supervisor, or colleague who is intimately familiar with the experience on your application is required to review your Experience Record and then complete the Experience Verification Form. After they verify, they will put the completed Experience Verification Form and Experience Record in an envelope, sign his/her name over the sealed flap of the envelope, and return the envelope to you via in person or by mail. If one person is verifying multiple projects for the same company, they can fill out one form and initial or highlight on the Experience Record the projects that they are verifying. Faxed or scanned forms will not be accepted as the forms need to be placed in a sealed and signed envelope for security purposes. No substitutions will be accepted.