Guide
From 1 December 2026, live PMP® training hours only count from a PMI Authorized Training Partner
Self-paced courses still count from anyone. Live ones will not. Here is PMI’s own wording, and what it means if you have already booked.
Updated 25 September 2026
Anyone applying for the PMP® exam has to show 35 hours of project management training. For years that could come from almost any credible course, live or recorded. On 1 December 2026 one of those routes narrows, and if you are booking a class between now and then it is worth knowing which.
This page quotes PMI directly rather than paraphrasing, because the distinction is precise and most summaries of it are not. Everything below was read from PMI’s own PMP certification page on 25 September 2026. PMI can change its requirements; check the current wording before you rely on any of this, including this page.
What PMI actually says
Under the heading “Project Professional Training Requirements”, PMI states that you need 35 hours of Project Professional training via one of three routes.
The first is an online, on-demand class — and PMI’s wording there is deliberately open: “Self-paced courses from any organization.” That route is unchanged.
The second is a live, instructor-led class, and this is the one that changes. PMI’s wording: “Starting 1 December 2026, live classes (taught by an instructor in-person or online) are eligible only if delivered by a: PMI Authorized Training Partner (ATP) or China Registered Education Provider (REP) or Eligible, accredited higher education program (including PMI GAC programs).”
The third route is a credential rather than a course: “An active Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® Certification” also satisfies the training requirement on its own.
Note what “live” covers. PMI says “taught by an instructor in-person or online”, so a live virtual classroom is a live class for this purpose. It is the presence of an instructor teaching in real time that matters, not the room.
| Route to the 35 hours | Who can provide it | Changes on 1 Dec 2026? |
|---|---|---|
| Online, on-demand (self-paced) | PMI’s own course, or “self-paced courses from any organization” | No |
| Live, instructor-led — in person or online | PMI Authorized Training Partner, China REP, or an eligible accredited higher education programme | Yes — restricted |
| Active CAPM® certification | Satisfies the requirement without a course | No |
What this does and does not tell you
It tells you that from 1 December 2026, choosing a live class means checking the provider’s status first. PMI maintains a directory of Authorized Training Partners and says plainly: “Search the directory before enrolling to confirm your training provider qualifies.” That takes a minute and it is the only check that settles it — a logo on a website is not the directory.
It tells you that the self-paced route stays open to everyone. If the 35 hours are the only obstacle, an on-demand course from any organisation still satisfies PMI, including PMI’s own.
It tells you that if you already hold an active CAPM, you do not need the 35 hours separately at all.
How to check whether a provider is an ATP
Use PMI’s directory at pmi.org rather than the provider’s own page. That is not a comment on anyone’s honesty; it is that ATP status is granted, renewed and withdrawn by PMI, so PMI’s list is the only record that is current by definition.
Some Malaysian providers publish an ATP number, which makes the check quick. Others state ATP status without one, in which case search the directory by company name.
Ask which entity holds the partnership. Training is often delivered by an associate trainer working with several companies, and the partnership belongs to a company, not to a person. A trainer who is individually excellent does not make the class an ATP class.
Get it in writing on the quotation. If your 35 hours depend on it, the invoice is the right place for the claim to appear.
If you are buying for a team rather than for yourself
The question splits in two, and they have different answers.
If people on your team genuinely need the PMP credential — because a client requires it, a tender asks for it, or a role is defined around it — then the 35 hours matter and an ATP is the route for live delivery from December. That is a certification purchase, and it should be bought from an Authorized Training Partner.
If what you actually need is for a group of people to run projects the same way, the 35 hours are not the point at all. Nothing in PMI’s requirements governs practical in-house training, because it is not exam preparation and does not claim to be. The test there is whether the team leaves with one shared method, and it is measured on your own projects rather than in an exam.
Plenty of organisations need both, usually for different people. The mistake is buying one and expecting the other — certifying one person rarely changes how a team works, and training a team does not produce a credential.
For the record, so nobody has to ask: we are not a PMI Authorized Training Partner, and we do not run PMP exam preparation. Our courses are two to three days of practical in-house training, and 21 hours is not 35 in any case. If the credential is what you need, PMI’s directory is the right place to start.
The rest of PMI’s PMP requirements, for context
The 35 hours are one requirement among several, and the others are unchanged by this. PMI asks for one of four combinations of education and experience.
A high school diploma with five years of experience managing projects; an associate’s degree or vocational diploma with four years; a bachelor’s degree or higher with three years; or a degree from a PMI Global Accreditation Center programme with two years.
PMI adds two conditions on the experience: it must fall within the last ten years, and, in their words, “Don’t double-count time for projects that overlapped.”
The exam itself is 180 questions in 240 minutes, weighted People 33%, Process 41%, Business Environment 26%, with two ten-minute breaks. PMI lists the fee as US$425 for members and US$675 at full price, payable once the application is accepted. Certification is maintained with 60 PDUs per three-year cycle.
All of the above was read from PMI’s page on 25 September 2026. Figures like exam fees change, so treat the date as part of the fact.
Questions
›Does this mean my live course before 1 December 2026 no longer counts?
We do not know, and we are not going to guess. PMI’s page states the restriction as applying to live classes starting 1 December 2026; it does not address hours already completed at a non-ATP before that date.
Ask PMI directly and get the answer in writing. This is exactly the sort of question where a provider’s confident reassurance is worth nothing and PMI’s written answer is worth everything.
›Does a live online class count as “live”?
Yes, on PMI’s wording: “live classes (taught by an instructor in-person or online)”. A virtual classroom with a live instructor is a live class for this purpose.
The distinction PMI is drawing is between real-time instruction and recorded self-paced content, not between a physical room and a video call.
›Can I still use a self-paced course from any provider?
On PMI’s current wording, yes — the on-demand route says “Self-paced courses from any organization”, and it is not affected by the December change.
It is worth confirming the hours the course claims and keeping the completion record, since you will need to state the training on the application.
›We are a company sending several people. Does this change what we should buy?
If they need the credential, it changes who you can buy live training from after 1 December. Check the PMI directory before committing to a date.
If the goal is that a team runs projects consistently, the 35-hour rule is not relevant to that purchase at all — it governs exam eligibility, not practical training.
›Are you a PMI Authorized Training Partner?
No. We run practical in-house project management training, typically two to three days, and we do not deliver PMP exam preparation.
If PMP certification is what you need, PMI’s Authorized Training Partner directory is the right starting point, and we would rather point you there than sell you something adjacent to what you asked for.
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