CAPM and PMP Certification: How to Prepare | Free Project Management Course

What you'll learn

Compare PMI's CAPM and PMP certifications and decide which one fits you now.
Check the current eligibility requirements, including how to count experience months.
Know the current exam formats and content areas for both exams.
Build a realistic study plan and pace yourself on exam day.
Keep your certification active and get your free certificate for this course.

The two best-known project management certifications in the U.S. come from the Project Management Institute (PMI): the CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management), an entry-level credential that requires no project experience, and the PMP (Project Management Professional), the senior credential for people who have led projects for several years. This lesson explains the current requirements and exam formats (checked against PMI's published exam documents in November 2026), how to count your experience, and how to prepare without wasting months. Requirements change from time to time, so always confirm the details on PMI.org before you apply.

180 · 240 minPMP exam: 180 questions (170 scored) in 240 minutes, in the format introduced in July 2026

150 · 3 hCAPM exam: 150 questions (135 scored) in three hours

3 yearscertification cycle: 60 PDUs to renew the PMP, 15 PDUs for the CAPM

Pick CAPM or PMP
Check eligibility
Know the exam
Study with a plan
Pass and renew

Step 1: CAPM or PMP?

CAPMCertified Associate in Project Management

For: Students, career changers, team members and new coordinators
Education: Secondary degree (high school diploma or equivalent)
Training: 23 contact hours of project management education
Experience: None required
Exam: 150 questions, 3 hours

Start here if you're new

PMPProject Management Professional

For: People who have led projects for several years
Education: From secondary degree to bachelor's or higher
Training: 35 contact hours (or an active CAPM)
Experience: 24 to 60 months leading projects, depending on education
Exam: 180 questions, 240 minutes

The senior credential

A practical rule: if you already meet the PMP experience requirement, go straight for the PMP. If you don't, the CAPM shows employers you know the vocabulary and the methods, and it also counts toward the PMP's training requirement later. PMI membership isn't required for either exam, but fees depend on membership and region, so compare the member and non-member prices on PMI.org.

Step 2: check your eligibility

PMP requirements

According to PMI's PMP Examination Content Outline for the July 2026 exam update, you need 35 contact hours of project management training (an active CAPM waives this) plus experience leading projects within the last 10 years. How much experience depends on your education:

Your education	Months leading projects
High school diploma or global equivalent	60 months
Associate's degree or global equivalent	48 months
Bachelor's degree or global equivalent	36 months
Bachelor's or postgraduate degree from a PMI GAC-accredited program	24 months

How to count experience months

Months count only once, even if you led two projects at the same time. Here's Tasha, a bachelor's-degree holder and operations manager in Atlanta:

Project A: Jan 2023 – Jun 2024 = 18 months
Project B: Mar 2024 – Dec 2024 = 10 months, but Mar–Jun 2024 (4) overlap A → adds 6
Project C: Feb 2025 – Jan 2026 = 12 months
Unique months = 18 + 6 + 12 = 36 → meets the 36-month requirement

Adding the raw durations (18 + 10 + 12 = 40) would overstate her experience. Keep records of each project (dates, your role, what you delivered and a contact who can confirm it) in case PMI asks you to verify your experience.

1. You led one project from January to December 2025 and another from July 2025 to June 2026. How many months of experience can you count?

24 months
18 months
12 months

July–December 2025 overlaps, so those 6 months count once. Unique months run from January 2025 to June 2026: 18 months.

CAPM requirements

The CAPM requires a secondary degree (a high school diploma or global equivalent) and 23 contact hours of project management education completed before the exam. No work experience is needed.

About this free course and contact hours

This course gives you a solid foundation in everything both exams cover, but it is not a PMI Authorized Training Partner course, and its certificate is a certificate of completion, not a PMI credential. PMI sets the rules for which training counts toward the 23 or 35 contact hours, and those rules can change, so check PMI's current handbook before you rely on any course for your hours.

2. You hold an active CAPM and have a bachelor's degree. What does the CAPM do for your PMP application?

It satisfies the 35 contact hours of training, but you still need 36 months leading projects
It replaces the experience requirement
Nothing; the two are unrelated

An active CAPM waives the 35-hour training requirement. It doesn't replace experience: with a bachelor's degree, you still need 36 months of leading projects within the last 10 years.

Step 3: know the exams

The PMP exam (July 2026 update)

PMI updated the PMP exam in July 2026. According to the new Examination Content Outline, the exam has 180 questions (170 scored and 10 unscored pretest questions), including but not limited to multiple-choice, and you have 240 minutes. Questions are spread across three domains:

Process 41%Planning and managing scope, schedule, budget, risk, quality and delivery, predictive and agile.
People 33%Leading teams, conflict, stakeholders, collaboration and coaching.
Business Environment 26%Strategy, value, governance, compliance and organizational change.

Source: PMI's PMP Examination Content Outline for the July 2026 update. Business Environment grew substantially compared with the previous exam's 8%.

The previous exam weighted the domains 42% People, 50% Process and 8% Business Environment, so many older prep books and question banks are now out of date. Make sure your materials say they cover the July 2026 exam.

PMI writes the exam from the Examination Content Outline, not from any single book. The PMBOK® Guide, now in its Eighth Edition (released by PMI in November 2025), is a key reference: it's organized around six principles and seven performance domains (governance, scope, schedule, finance, stakeholders, resources and risk). Other references cover agile practices and business analysis.

The CAPM exam

Under PMI's current CAPM Examination Content Outline (the 2023 update), the exam has 150 questions (15 of them unscored pretest questions) in 3 hours, across four domains: project management fundamentals and core concepts (36%), business analysis frameworks (27%), agile frameworks and methodologies (20%) and predictive, plan-based methodologies (17%).

3. On the PMP exam (180 questions in 240 minutes), what's your average time per question?

60 seconds
80 seconds
2 minutes

240 minutes × 60 = 14,400 seconds ÷ 180 questions = 80 seconds per question. For the CAPM: 180 minutes × 60 ÷ 150 = 72 seconds per question.

Step 4: study with a plan

Most working adults do best with a fixed weekly schedule rather than cramming. Here's a 12-week PMP plan at about 8 hours a week (roughly 96 hours in total), assuming you've completed your 35 contact hours:

Weeks 1–2Map the examRead the Examination Content Outline line by line. Take a short diagnostic test to find your weakest domain.
Weeks 3–6Process domainScope, schedule, cost, risk, quality, change control, earned value and agile delivery. This course's Levels 1–4 map straight onto it.
Weeks 7–8People domainTeam development, conflict, servant leadership, stakeholder engagement, virtual teams.
Week 9Business EnvironmentBenefits and value, governance, compliance, organizational change, strategy alignment.
Weeks 10–12Full practice examsAt least three timed, full-length practice exams. Review every wrong answer and write down why the right one is right.

How to think on situational questions

Most questions describe a situation and ask what the project manager should do next. The best answer usually assesses the situation before acting, follows the agreed process (change control, the risk register, the team charter), talks directly to the people involved, and escalates only when it's beyond the PM's authority. Answers that ignore a problem, or that fix it alone without involving the right people, are rarely correct.

Exam day

Checked my appointment, ID requirements and testing rules (test center or online) in my PMI confirmation.
Planned my pace: about 80 seconds per question, with checkpoints at each third of the exam.
Flag hard questions and move on; come back if time allows.
Answer every question: unanswered questions can't earn credit.

4. A question says a key stakeholder is unhappy with a deliverable that met all acceptance criteria. What's usually the best first step?

Tell the stakeholder that the criteria were met, so the matter is closed
Immediately rework the deliverable to make the stakeholder happy
Meet with the stakeholder to understand the concern, then follow the change control process if needed

Understand first, then act through the agreed process. Rework without a change request is uncontrolled scope change, and dismissing the stakeholder damages engagement.

Step 5: keep your certification active

Both certifications run on a three-year cycle. To renew, you earn professional development units (PDUs) through courses, webinars, volunteering, reading and work experience: 60 PDUs every 3 years for the PMP and 15 PDUs every 3 years for the CAPM. Log them as you go instead of scrambling in the last month.

Common mistakes

Studying from materials written for the pre-July 2026 exam.

Use materials updated for the current Examination Content Outline.

Adding up overlapping project months.

Count each calendar month once, within the last 10 years.

Memorizing formulas without practicing situations.

Most questions are situational; practice deciding what to do next.

Taking the exam before a single full-length timed practice test.

Do at least three, and review every mistake.

Practice exercise

Jasmine has an associate's degree and works as a project lead at a logistics company in Memphis. Her projects: September 2019 – August 2021, May 2021 – April 2023 and January 2024 – June 2025. She plans to apply for the PMP in December 2026.

(a) How many unique months of experience can she count, and does she meet the requirement? (b) What else does she need before applying? (c) She can study 7 hours a week for 10 weeks, plus 6 full practice exams of about 4 hours each. How many study hours is that?

See solution

(a) Project 1: Sep 2019 – Aug 2021 = 24 months
    Project 2: May 2021 – Apr 2023 = 24 months; May–Aug 2021 (4) overlap → adds 20
    Project 3: Jan 2024 – Jun 2025 = 18 months
    Unique months = 24 + 20 + 18 = 62
(c) 10 × 7 + 6 × 4 = 70 + 24 = 94 hours

(a) With an associate's degree she needs 48 months; she has 62, all within the last 10 years. She's eligible on experience.

(b) She needs 35 contact hours of qualifying project management training (or an active CAPM). She should confirm on PMI.org which training providers count, keep her certificates and project records, and choose materials that cover the July 2026 exam.

Summary

CAPM: secondary degree + 23 contact hours, no experience; 150 questions in 3 hours.
PMP (July 2026 update): 35 contact hours (or CAPM) + 24–60 months leading projects within 10 years, depending on education; 180 questions in 240 minutes.
PMP domains: Process 41%, People 33%, Business Environment 26%. The PMBOK Guide is in its Eighth Edition (November 2025).
Count experience months once, even when projects overlap.
Study on a fixed weekly plan with full timed practice exams; renew with 60 PDUs (PMP) or 15 PDUs (CAPM) every three years.

Congratulations: you've finished the course!

You've gone from "what is a project?" to charters, WBS, Gantt charts, the critical path, budgets, risk matrices, Scrum, Kanban, change control, earned value, team leadership, closure and certification. That's the full toolkit of a working project manager.

Get your free certificate of completion: create a free account (or log in), mark each of the 16 lessons as completed, and download your certificate from the course page. Then put the skills to work: pick a real project at your job or in your community, write a one-page charter and run it with the template from this course. When you're ready to keep learning, explore our free online courses.