CAPM Prep
CAPM Renewal: Keeping Your Certification
The CAPM isn't permanent once you pass — it runs on a three-year cycle you maintain with professional development. Here's how renewal works, so future-you isn't caught off guard.
Under PMI's Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program, the CAPM is valid for a three-year cycle. To keep it, you earn a set number of professional development units (PDUs) within that window and pay a renewal fee. This is a future concern for most people — but knowing it now means no surprises later.
The requirement
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cycle length | 3 years from your certification date |
| PDUs required | 15 PDUs per cycle |
| Renewal fee | Lower for PMI members than non-members |
The exact PDU count and fees are set by PMI and can change, so confirm the current CCR requirements on pmi.org when your cycle begins. (Notably, the CAPM has fewer required PDUs than the PMP's 60 — a lighter maintenance load.)
What's a PDU?
A Professional Development Unit is one hour of qualifying professional development. PMI groups PDUs into two families:
- Education PDUs — learning activities: courses, webinars, PMI events, reading, or on-the-job learning in project management topics.
- Giving Back PDUs — contributing to the profession: working as a practitioner, volunteering, or creating knowledge. (There are limits on how many "giving back" PDUs count per cycle.)
For a 15-PDU cycle, most people cover it comfortably through a mix of short courses and their day-to-day work — 15 hours over three years is not a heavy lift.
Log PDUs as you earn them in your PMI dashboard rather than scrambling at the end. Free and low-cost webinars, PMI chapter events, and relevant work activities add up quickly. Don't let a valuable credential lapse over 15 hours you probably did anyway.
How to renew
- Earn your PDUs across the three-year cycle and record them in your PMI account.
- Complete the CCR renewal in your dashboard once you've met the requirement.
- Pay the renewal fee (member rate is cheaper — another small reason membership pays off).
What if it lapses?
If you don't meet the requirement by the end of your cycle, your certification enters a suspension period, and if it's still unmet after that, it expires — at which point regaining it means re-applying and re-examining. The whole point of tracking PDUs as you go is to never get near that edge. For the broader picture of qualifying and maintaining, see CAPM eligibility & requirements.
First things first — pass the exam
Renewal is a problem you only get to have after you're certified. Ascent gets you there: an adaptive path, 1,000+ questions with written explanations, spaced repetition, and a live readiness score. Free to start, no account required.
Get Ascent — CAPM PrepCAPM and PMP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc. Ascent is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with or endorsed by PMI. Renewal requirements and fees are set by PMI and change over time; confirm current CCR details on pmi.org.