Validates knowledge of project leadership, team management and delivery across predictive, agile and hybrid approaches.
695AdvancedHas prerequisites
Best PMI Certifications in 2026
PMI is a global professional association for project managers whose certifications cover project, program and agile management, plus managing AI projects.
Validates foundational knowledge of project management, predictive delivery, agile approaches and business analysis for supporting project work.
330EntryHas prerequisites
Validates knowledge of agile mindset, leadership, product and delivery practices across Scrum, Kanban, Lean and hybrid approaches.
525IntermediateHas prerequisites
Validates knowledge of program management, including strategic alignment, life cycle management, benefits delivery, stakeholder engagement and governance.
1,000AdvancedHas prerequisites
Validates knowledge of managing AI projects from business understanding and data preparation to deployment and governance.
899EntryHas prerequisites
How PMI certifications work
- Membership
- $164/year. Members pay less for exams (PMP $425 instead of $675) and renewal ($60 instead of $150)
- Renewal
- Professional development units every 3 years: 60 for PMP and PgMP, 30 for PMI-ACP and PMI-CPMAI, 15 for CAPM
- Attempts
- Up to 3 attempts within one year of application approval
- Audits
- A share of applications is randomly audited
- Delivery
- Pearson VUE test center or online · PgMP: test center only
Choosing the right PMI certification
Where to start
- Starting in project management: PMI CAPM. Covers project management fundamentals, predictive and agile approaches, and business analysis basics. It needs a secondary diploma and 23 hours of project management education but no work experience, and an active CAPM counts as the 35 hours of education PMP requires. If you will qualify for the PMP within a year, you can go straight to the PMP.
- Leading projects: PMI PMP. For people with 3 to 5 years of experience leading projects, covering predictive, agile and hybrid delivery. An active CAPM or the Google Project Management Certificate meets its project management education requirement.
- Agile delivery: PMI-ACP. Covers Scrum, Kanban, Lean and hybrid approaches for practitioners on agile teams. An active PMP meets its project experience requirement.
- Managing AI projects: PMI-CPMAI. A methodology for managing AI, machine learning and data projects. It requires no prior project management, technical or AI experience; completing the PMI-CPMAI exam prep course is the only prerequisite.
- Program management: PMI PgMP. For people who manage programs of related projects. An active PMP covers the four years of project management experience it requires, but you still need program management experience.