How many times can you take the PMP exam?

Learning Mudra, Category - PMP


The project management professional (PMP) certification exam is not an easy exam. With the changes made by Project Management Institute (PMI)in the existing pattern,the exam is to be completed within 230 minutes and it comprises of 180 questions. The types of questions included in the exam are multiple-choice, multiple responses, matching, hotspot and fill in the blanks type of questions. With the changes implemented PMP certification exam becomes little harder than before because the candidate is not allowed to move and has to sit constantly in front of the screen until the exam gets over.

Understand the value of PMP certification

Although PMI has given flexibility of taking the PMP exam at your convenience which should be an advantage but somehow the candidates still faildue to one or the other reason. Are you afraid of getting failed? Or have you failed and you are worried what to do now? First thing to do is stop worrying as you are not the only one who has failed the exam. PMI has not disclosed the passing or failure percentage of candidates but has said that passing this exam is not everyone’s cup of tea and this makes this exam more valuable.

Don’t be afraid to take PMP exam

So now you can understand that you are on the right track, only a little more effort can help you achieve this valuable certificate and when you pass the exam you know that you are one of those few individuals who are PMP certified and put PMP at the end of their names, which is a huge accomplishment in the PMP community. Now the answer to your question "how many times can I take the PMP exam?", if you fail at the first attempt you can retake the exam two more times within 1 year of your eligibility period.

Take your time to prepare well for PMP exam

Now you must be having a question that ‘how long should I wait before reappearing for the PMP exam?’ As per PMI there is no such rule regarding how long you should wait before reappearing for the PMP exam but it is recommended to take your time to prepare again. As you have 1 year time to reappear for the exam you should utilize it better and practice more so that you don’t fail in the next attempt.If you fail third time as well you have to wait for your 1 year eligibility to expire and reapply for the exam.

To reappear for the PMP exam you need to apply for re-examination through PMI’s online Certification System and pay the re-examination fee. If you wish to apply for re-examination as soon as you get your result for previous PMP exam, then you must wait for 4 business days as usually it takes 3-4 business days for previous PMP exam result to get registered on PMI’s systems. After this duration you can schedule your exam as per your choice but it is advisable to take your time and then reappear for the exam.

The next step

After facing failure at the first attempt, you should avoid thinking about quitting. You’ll be glad to know that as per a report the chances of successfully clearing the exam in second attempt is higher as per a report.The score report will consist of your proficiency level in each domain. The four possible levels of domains are: needs improvement, below target, target and above target. These levels will help you understand the areas of concern, for which you must work and do more practice.

how many times can you take the pmp exam

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Make proper strategy

As the PMP examination is quite expensive, you should do proper planning and design a strategy to work upon in order to achieve your goal in the next attempt. Now as you know the areas of improvement you should take help from your training institute and you should use the PMBOK Guide which is recommended by PMI for preparation for PMP certification exam. In the PMBOK Guide outline the topics which require more practice and preparation and practice as many questions as you can to strengthen your knowledge about that topic.

While studying again from the PMBOK Guide you should also understand where your answers went wrong. Understanding this is really important as your motive should not only be to crack the exam but to gain knowledge so that once you get certified no one can question your knowledge. Some PMP aspirants fail to handle the exam stress after knowing the difficulty level of this exam and mess up during the exam. You should be confident while taking the exam but don’t get over-confident. Having positivity in your mind and with rigorous practice, can increase your confidence level.

Don’t Panic

You have to understand that this is only an examthough with higher level of difficultly and there is no exam in the world that you cannot pass. There are times when you know the correct answer but it’s hard to figure out the correct option. To avoid this situation you should do only one thing and that is PRACTICE. Even if you fail at first attempt you can try second time and if you fail at second attempt you can try for the third time. A well prepared candidate can clear this exam and can become PMP certification holder.

The Author : Learning Mudra


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