Below are the 8 steps that candidates need to complete to submit their application for the PMP^® application (and other PMI certifications), and to pay for the PMI membership fee and the PMP^® exam fee.

Step 1: Create a PMI account according to the instructions 

(If the candidate already has one, this step can be skipped)

Step 2: Choose the certification to apply for the exam

Go to Certifications > Select Project Management Professional (PMP)^® (If you are taking other certifications, choose the corresponding certification) and click the APPLY NOW button

Step 3: Complete the Application

Open the application review file provided by Atoha, and copy and paste the necessary information into the PMI application form. Follow the sequence: Education (Academic & Professional) first, then Experience. After completing all fields, click "Submit" to submit your application.

Note: Project experience should be entered in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent. If there are multiple projects, the system will prompt candidates to continue entering until the required 36 months/60 months are completed.

Note: If you have not yet prepared the exam application, please complete the PMP^® exam application by filling in the PMP exam application preparation template and sending it to Atoha via email at hop.tran@atoha.com and chau@atoha.com.

Step 4: Receive the Result

PMI will notify you via email regarding your application status. Your application may be randomly selected for an audit. If your PMP^® application is audited, continue to step 5; if not audited, continue to step 6.

Step 5: Prepare documents to support the audit process

Audit package include:

• Scanned/Photographed copy of your university/college degree declared in the application in step 3
• A digital copy of your 35-contact-hour training certificate (Atoha can assist if needed)
• Reference information for projects declared in the application in step 3 (Projects with the same organization can declare the same reference information)

After receiving your audit documents, PMI will notify you via email, and feedback on the audit results will also be sent to you after 5 working days, so you can take the next steps.

Steps 6 and 7: Pay the PMI membership fee and the PMP^® exam fee

Candidate pays these 2 fees at the same time by going to Dashboard > Select Certification > In the PMP section, select Pay for Exam

It is highly recommended to become a PMI member during your first year of certification, as this offers substantial cost savings and exclusive member benefits.

Note: Since 01/2023, PMI has updated the fee adjustment according to each country. Candidates in different countries may pay different membership and exam fees. Luckily, candidates in Vietnam have a significant fee reduction. First, let’s compare the PMP^® exam fee between PMI members and non-PMI members:

• PMI member: $99 PMI membership fee for 1 year + $10 document fee + $284 PMP exam fee = $393
• NOT PMI member: $575 PMP exam fee. 

Some other benefits of registering as a PMI member are as follows:

• In the unfortunate event of failing the first exam, PMI members have lower re-examination costs (Candidates are allowed to take the exam a maximum of 3 times within 1 year from the date the application is approved) compared to non-PMI members.
• PMI members can take many other PMI certifications within 1 year with a lower exam fee for other certifications compared to non-PMI members
• PMI members have unlimited access to pmi.org and projectmanagement.com websites for free within 1 year, thereby being able to:
  • Download documents on pmi.org for free
  • Accumulate free PDUs by attending webinars on projectmanagement.com. Then you can renew your PMP^® certification within the same year while your PMI membership is still active (this effectively extends the validity of your PMP^® certification from 3 years to 6 years and helps you save on the renewal fee). See more: Earn 60 PDUs and Renew Your PMP Certification

Step 8: Choose the exam date and pass PMP^® !!!

Important notes that you need to pay attention to

Note 1: DO NOT select “Accommodation” (click “I will NOT need special arrangements”) unless you genuinely require support for individuals with disabilities. 

If you selected it by mistake, contact PMI through live chat at PMI Contact (at https://www.pmi.org/about/contact) or email both PMI Customer Care USA (customercare@pmi.org) and PMI Customer Care Asia Pacific (customercare.asiapac@pmi.org) for faster support.

Note 2: Candidates should schedule the exam and choose the most suitable time slot at any test center in the most convenient country (if taking the offline exam) or choose the most suitable online proctored exam slot. It is POSSIBLE to reschedule the exam later (can change the test center, change the online/offline format, change the date), in which:

• More than 30 days before the exam date, rescheduling is free of charge
• Within 30-2 days before the exam date, rescheduling is possible with a fee of $70
• Within 2 days before the exam date, rescheduling is not possible; only cancellation is allowed, and the entire exam fee will be forfeited. Cancelling the exam does not count as one failed attempt (a maximum of 3 attempts are allowed within one year)

Note 3: After paying the exam fee in step (7), the exam date can be chosen at any time (within 365 days from the date the application is approved by PMI). However, it is recommended that candidates choose the exam date early to have a specific goal, thereby increasing motivation for studying.

Note 4: After receiving the exam schedule confirmation email from Pearson VUE, Atoha students should forward this information to their Atoha instructor or Atoha's representatives to be added to the WEEKLY PMP PASS group for more detailed, comprehensive, and up-to-date support. Please note that the date and time information in the Pearson VUE email is accurate; the date and time information on the PMI website is often incorrect due to time zone differences, as the PMI Dashboard usually displays GMT (not GMT+7 for Vietnam).

Note 5: Turn off the annual PMI Membership auto-renewal feature to avoid losing $99 if you do not genuinely intend to auto-renew.

Since PMI Membership is not required to be renewed annually, candidates should remember to disable the automatic membership renewal feature on the PMI Dashboard if they do not wish to renew it automatically each year. To do so, follow these steps:

Go to the PMI Dashboard at https://my.pmi.org/. Then, go to the sections below in order and turn off the membership auto-renewal function to complete.

Dashboard > Membership > Manage Membership > Membership Automatic Renewal > Turn off

Additional information:

• Membership is automatically renewed annually by default
• PMP/PMI certifications need to be renewed every 3 years (except for Disciplined Agile certifications such as DASM, DASSM, DAC, DAVSC, which need to be renewed annually)
• In year 1 after passing PMP/PMI certifications, while still a PMI member, renewal is for 6 years immediately and costs 42 USD per certification, saving 63 USD per certification compared to non-PMI members [the renewal fee for non-PMI members is 105 USD]💥💥
• Years 2, 3, 4, and 5: Membership is not mandatory. Those who wish to register for membership annually do not need to pay attention to this guidance. PMI members will have access to many documents, articles, publications, and other benefits.
• Year 6: Register for membership, accumulate 60 free PDUs, then renew PMP^® for another 3-year cycle.
• Years 7 and 8: Membership is not mandatory.
• Year 9: Register for membership, accumulate 60 free PDUs, then renew PMP^® for another 3-year cycle. The same applies to subsequent cycles.

💥💥 Candidates who forget to accumulate PDUs and renew immediately in year 1 will have to register as a PMI member in year 3 to accumulate PDUs and renew for the next 3-year cycle, and will incur an additional cost of $109 due to this oversight.

Note 6: After passing the PMP^®, it is necessary to accumulate 60 PDUs and renew the PMP^® certification within 1-2 weeks to take advantage of the benefits of still being a PMI member and save hundreds of USD

See more: PMP GUIDE - PMP Exam Prep Guide