PMP Audit Process

What is a PMP exam application audit, and why does PMI conduct PMI audits? This is one of the frequently asked questions from PMP aspirants.  This blog answers these Questions – 

1. What is a PMP exam application audit?

2. Why does PMI conduct PMP audits?

3. What is the PMP Exam Application Audit Process?

Let’s look into the details –

What is a PMP exam application audit? – PMP Audit is a process to verify or confirm the following, which you mentioned on your PMP Exam Application –

• Your 36 months of Leading and Directing project experience and 
• Your Education details, both academic and 35 hours of professional education.

Is there a way to avoid PMP Application Audit? – Upon PMP exam submission, PMI randomly selects PMP applications for Audit; therefore, it is impossible to know beforehand if PMI will choose your application for an audit before submission. So, you can’t avoid the PMI audit as it is a random process.

What percentage of PMP Applications get Audited? – Nobody knows how many Audits the PMI system selects in a year but based on experience, PMI selects around 5% of applications for Audit.

Why does PMI conduct PMP audits? – The purpose of the PMP audit is to maintain the credibility of the PMP certification program and the certification holders. So, a PMP exam application audit is important to ensure the PMP certification holds value in the project management field.

The PMP application audit is simple; you just need to upload the required documents and information to verify the details you submitted in the PMP exam application.

What is the PMP Exam Application Audit Process? – When the PMI system selects your application for Audit upon submission, you get notified that your application is selected for the Audit. Once you have chosen for PMP audit process, you can access the “Audit Package” from your PMI account dashboard . This Audit package needs the following –

I. A transcript of your Academic Education –  This section is available to upload a copy of your degree or transcript from the institution where you did your academic degree. When you submitted your PMP exam application, you mentioned details of your bachelor’s or master’s degree; now, it is time to upload a copy of your degree certificate.

II. Certificate of your Professional Education –  This section requires that you upload a course completion certificate or a letter of attendance from the institution that provided your essential 35 hours of training. 

iZenBridge is the Premium Authorized Training Partner to deliver this Professional Education. But iZenBridge PMP certification training is not just about 35 hours of essential Live training; it also includes 60-70 hours of pre-recorded videos, 1400+ questions to test exam readiness, and end-to-end support until you certify.

III. Details of former or current colleagues to verify your professional experience – This section requires you to provide the name and email address of a reference who can validate your professional experience for each project. As you mentioned 36 months of  Leading and Directing experience in your PMP exam application; here, you need to submit details of a colleague, peer, client or sponsor who knows the project to vouch for your experience. Once you submit the “Audit package”, PMI sends an email to the person whose details you submitted. You must check the audit package dashboard in “my PMI” to determine if a response was provided by the reference.

The most important thing is that this section verifies your 36 months of leading and Directing experience, so this section should be well written as per the guidelines; kindly refer  – How To Fill The Work Experience Details In PMP®️Application Form? (PMP Sample Application Included)

Avoiding application rejection in the Audit Process is important. So, You should write your 36 months of experience per the abovementioned guidelines.

Now the question is – How many days do you have to complete the audit package? 

Kindly note you have 90 days to complete and submit your audit paperwork. You can log into your PMI.org dashboard to view the number of days left to complete your audit process. 

The next question is: Can you access audit packages after submission? As soon as you upload documents and submit, you cannot access a submitted Audit Package; If you try to select ‘Access Audit Package’ after submission, you will be redirected to the landing page advising that the audit has been submitted.

Tips On PMP Application And Audit Process – 

1. You can talk to your manager or reporting authority that you are submitting the PMP exam application. It may help you to complete the Audit process quickly if your application comes in for Audit.
2. If your manager or reporting authority is not around anymore,  in that case, you can get a colleague or someone else who has good knowledge of the project to vouch for your experience. 
3. If the previous reference did not respond, then the question is – can you update a new reference? Yes, you can update your reference at any time. Please be advised you have 90 days to complete the audit package.
4. Under any circumstance, you should complete the Audit process within 90 days, or your application will expire. After expiry, you can apply after one year only. And upon re-submission, PMI will select your application for Audit for sure. So your PMP exam application, once selected for Audit, has no option to avoid it.
5. Be careful to follow the guidelines to write Project Experience in the PMP application to accept the PMP application in this Audit process.

PMP Audit Process other FAQs:

1. What if my application gets rejected in the PMP audit process?  

 It is rare if you submit all required documents asked by PMI. Instead, PMI typically provides the reason for rejecting your PMP application. So read your email carefully to understand why PMI rejected your application. A careful review of this email is enough; you can still connect to the Audit team by requesting PMI support. If you get feedback from the reviewers, it will help you to address concerns to make the audit process successful.

2. How long does the PMP audit process take?

The PMI takes 5-7 business days after the critical reviews.  And after the approval of audit materials, PMI will send an e-mail including your payment instructions.

3. What happens in the case I fail the PMP Audit process?

You need to contact PMI, as the Certification Department will address further actions on a case-by- case basis.

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Summary –

The PMP audit process is simple; there is no need to worry about this PMP exam application Audit process. You only need to ensure that you have all the documents required to verify the education and experience details mentioned in your PMP application. 

I hope this blog helped you to know the PMP Exam application Audit Process. Feel free to add your comments and questions on PMP Audit Process in the comment area. 

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