PMP 35 Contact Hours in 2027: Which Training Counts After December 1, 2026

The PMP 35-hour rule for 2027 applications

If you apply for the PMP in 2027, you still need at least 35 hours of project management training aligned with the 2026 Exam Content Outline (ECO), finished before you submit the application, unless you hold an active CAPM. The difference from earlier years is live training. A class taught by an instructor, in person or online, that you complete on or after December 1, 2026 counts only if a PMI Authorized Training Partner (ATP), an eligible accredited academic program, including PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC) programs, or, in China, a Registered Education Provider (REP) delivered it. Self-paced courses still count from any provider, and anything you completed before December 1, 2026 stays eligible.

How the change was announced and when it applies:

• Announcement. PMI's new-exam page carries a notice headed "Planned update to PMP training hour requirements (effective 1 December 2026)." The page does not say when the notice first went up. PMI's blog explained the rule in detail on September 25, 2026.
• Effective date. December 1, 2026, for live training completed from that date.
• What retires. Counting live classes from any other provider, such as an employer's in-house trainer, a training company, or a consultant, for courses completed from that date.
• What does not change. The 35-hour total, the self-paced route, the CAPM waiver, and the eligibility of training completed earlier. PMI's blog says courses completed before December 1, 2026 remain eligible "even if you apply after the new live-training rules take effect."

Which PMP training counts in 2027, by provider

This table follows PMI's PMP page, the new-exam notice, the ECO, and the September 2026 blog, as checked on October 25, 2026.

For a self-paced course from a provider other than PMI, the blog lists what to confirm before you enroll: formal instruction in project management, topics aligned with the current ECO, a stated number of training hours, an end-of-course assessment, and a certificate or other completion record. PMI can still reject training it judges to be of poor quality, and all training is subject to audit. The PMP exam overview, including its notes for 2027 candidates, summarizes the same rule next to the exam format.

Three gray areas in PMI's December 1 wording

PMI's pages leave three questions open. Where they do, this guide says so rather than guessing.

1. Live courses that straddle December 1. PMI ties eligibility to completion: "Any training completed before 1 December 2026 will still be eligible under our current requirements." It does not address a live course from another provider that starts in November and ends in December. Read literally, that course was not completed before December 1, so plan as if the new rule applies unless PMI tells you otherwise.
2. What "eligible, accredited" means for a college course. The ECO marks "Project Management course(s) from Accredited Higher Education Institution" among the providers whose live training is accepted after December 1. PMI's web pages say "eligible, accredited higher education program" or "eligible, accredited academic program" and do not define "eligible." If you are counting a single live project management course from a school outside GAC, taken on or after December 1, confirm it with PMI before you rely on it.
3. When the hours must be finished. The ECO says the coursework "must be completed before the certification is granted." PMI's PMP page and its September 2026 blog say before you submit your application. Follow the stricter version: finish all 35 hours first, since the form also asks for each course's completion details.

How to count PMP training hours for a 2027 application

PMI's counting rules are short:

• One hour of classroom instruction equals one training hour. PMI's own example: a college course that met 3 hours a week for 15 weeks gives 45 hours.
• Only the project management part counts. If a broader course spent part of its time on project management, only those hours apply.
• Courses can be combined. The 35 hours do not have to come from one course or provider.
• Hours do not expire. PMI's blog says qualifying training taken years ago, even for an earlier version of the exam, can still count. Compare its content with the current ECO anyway, to find topics you still need to study.
• A label is not proof. A course advertised as "35 hours" or "35 PDUs" does not qualify automatically. PMI asks you to check the description and completion requirements.

Practice questions never count either, including Passy's. Full PMP prep on Passy is exam practice, not qualifying training, and it is still being prepared for launch: you can check what full PMP prep is planned to include, but do not count it toward your 35 hours.

A worked count for Devon, a fictional applicant who plans to apply in March 2027:

Now move one date. If Devon's employer workshop had taken place in February 2027 with the same in-house trainer, it would be a live class completed after December 1, 2026 from a provider outside PMI's list. Those 14 hours would drop out, leaving 15 + 12 = 27 hours, eight short. A self-paced course of at least 8 hours, or a live course from an ATP, would close the gap.

Logging your training hours on the PMP application

PMI's September 2026 blog describes the training section. For each course you are counting, you enter the training provider, the course title, and the number of hours, then select whether it was delivered by a live instructor or self-paced on demand. That last choice is where the December 1 rule shows up on the form.

You do not upload certificates when you submit. Keep them anyway, because if your application is selected for audit, PMI's handbook asks for copies of certificates or letters from the training provider for each course you recorded. Useful records include a completion certificate, a college transcript, a record from an employer program, a syllabus that shows the project management content, and anything that documents the hours. The guide to applying for the PMP covers the rest of the form and the audit.

Choosing a live PMP course for a 2027 application

PMI's PMP page gives four checks for a live course: search for ATP classes starting soon, look the provider up in PMI's ATP directory, look for the official PMI ATP badge, and ask the provider directly whether it is a PMI Authorized Training Partner. Treat the directory as the deciding check, not the provider's own description.

Two warnings from PMI apply whichever route you choose. The ECO tells candidates to be careful with organizations that make misleading claims or guarantee exam success, and the blog repeats that caution about providers promising you will pass.

CAPM and GAC routes around the PMP training requirement

An active CAPM waives the 35 hours entirely, but PMI's blog is precise about status: an expired CAPM does not, and a CAPM in its suspension period must be renewed before you apply to use the waiver. You still need to meet the education and experience requirements. If you graduated from a GAC-accredited degree program, the ECO says that coursework can count toward the 35 hours.

Training is one of three parts of eligibility. The education tiers and month counting are in the PMP eligibility requirements guide, and the PMP exam 2027 guide covers the outline your exam will follow. While your application moves forward, you can compare the planned PMP prep options alongside the free PMP study planner.