Lesson 1: Before You Start: What PMI Owns and What This Course Is

Why This Level Comes First

Before you study any exam content, be clear about who owns what. PMI sets the PMP exam, writes its blueprint, decides who may sit it and sets the price. This course helps you prepare for it. It has no say in any of those things. If you know where the line falls, you will always check the right source when a rule matters.

Think of it like a building inspection. The building code belongs to the regulator, and a consultant can help you meet it. When code and consultant disagree, the code wins. Here, PMI's documents are the code.

Step 1: Get the Official Documents from PMI

PMI launched a new PMP exam in July 2026. It is based on a new PMP Examination Content Outline (ECO). The ECO is PMI's own document. It is free from PMI, and this course does not reproduce it. Later levels explain its structure in our own words.

Do this now:

1. Go to pmi.org and open the PMP certification pages.
2. Download the current PMP Examination Content Outline (the 2026 version). It is a free PDF.
3. Download the current PMP Certification Handbook. It covers eligibility, the application, the audit, scheduling, exam rules and fees.
4. Save both files with the date you downloaded them, for example PMP-ECO-2026_downloaded-2026-10-19.pdf.
5. Download them again before you apply and before you book your exam. PMI updates its documents.

Rule: this course does not quote the question count, exam time or fee. PMI can change these, and fees depend on membership and have changed during 2026. Take them from the current handbook.

Step 2: Confirm Your Eligibility Route

The eligibility rules belong to PMI. Each route combines experience leading projects with education. The two common routes are:

• Four-year degree: 36 months leading projects, plus 35 hours of project management education/training or a CAPM certification.
• Secondary diploma or associate's degree (or global equivalent): 60 months leading projects, plus 35 hours of project management education/training or a CAPM certification.

The handbook lists the full set of routes and any extra conditions. Use it as the final word.

Do this now:

1. Write down your highest qualification.
2. List your projects with start and end months, your role and what you led. You will need this detail if your application is audited.
3. Decide how you will meet the education part: 35 hours of training, or an active CAPM.
4. Check where your 35 hours come from. From 1 December 2026, PMI accepts live instructor-led training only if a PMI Authorized Training Partner or an eligible accredited academic program delivers it. Self-paced training can come from any provider if it is aligned with the current ECO. PMI says courses completed before 1 December 2026 keep the eligibility they had under the rules at that time.

Example: Priya has a bachelor's degree and has led projects for four years. She meets the experience part of the degree route. She still needs 35 hours of education or a CAPM. This course does not supply those hours, so she enrols in a qualifying course separately.

Step 3: Know What This Course Is and Is Not

This course is independent study material. It:

• Does not grant contact hours and cannot be used toward the 35-hour requirement.
• Is not a PMI Authorized Training Partner and is not endorsed by PMI.
• Does not promise a pass. Your result depends on your preparation and on PMI's exam.
• Does not reproduce the ECO, the handbook or PMI's guides. It teaches the ideas in its own words and writes its own scenario questions.

PMI, PMP and PMBOK are marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. This course uses them only to name the exam and the publications.

Step 4: Get the Main Reference Texts

PMI's exam questions are scenarios, not quotes from books. Two PMI publications still shape the terms and thinking the exam expects:

• The PMBOK® Guide (A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge), now in its Eighth Edition.
• PMI's Agile Practice Guide, now in its Second Edition. PMI developed it with Agile Alliance and aligned it with the PMBOK Guide Eighth Edition.

Do this now:

1. Get the current editions. PMI members get a digital copy of the PMBOK Guide as a membership benefit. Confirm the current benefits on PMI's site.
2. Use both books as references to look things up, not as texts to memorise. The exam rewards judgement, not recall.
3. Treat the ECO as your study checklist and the guides as background reading.

What the Exam Asks About This

The exam does not test eligibility rules, fees or trademarks. This level matters for your application and your study plan. A wrong assumption here can cause a rejected application, a failed audit or a booking at the wrong price. The habit it builds does matter on the exam, though: go to the authoritative source before you act. Many PMP scenarios reward checking the governing document, such as the charter, the plan or the agreement, before you assume anything.

Key Takeaways

• The PMP Examination Content Outline (July 2026) is PMI's. It is free from PMI and is not reproduced here.
• Take the question count, time and fee from PMI's current PMP Certification Handbook, not from any course.
• Eligibility combines project experience with 35 hours of project management education or a CAPM. PMI sets the rules.
• From 1 December 2026, live instructor-led hours count only from a PMI Authorized Training Partner or an eligible accredited academic program.
• This course grants no contact hours, is not a PMI Authorized Training Partner, is not endorsed by PMI and promises no pass.
• Your main references are the PMBOK Guide (Eighth Edition) and PMI's Agile Practice Guide (Second Edition).