Skip to content
Baseline BinderGet the app

Pocket binder

PMP practice questions on iPhone and Android.

Get the appPractice free on this site
3.3

Exam fact

Is there a PMP® passing score?

There is no published PMP passing score. PMI® releases no cut score, no percentage and no pass rate; its handbook says the passing score “is determined by sound psychometric analysis.” What you get after the exam is a pass or fail and a read-out for each domain.

Exam
PMP
Source
PMI Certification Handbook (rev. June 2026)
Checked
Oct 13, 2026
Updated
Oct 13, 2026

Published passing score

None no cut score, percentage or pass rate

PMI publishes no passing score for the PMP. Its Certification Handbook describes PMI exams as criteria-based: you're measured on the scored items against the standard expected of an experienced project manager.

Source: PMI Certification Handbook (rev. June 2026) · checked

01How PMI sets the bar instead

The handbook treats each scored question as a sample of your proficiency and compares the overall picture with a standard for a qualified person in the role, which for the PMP means an experienced project manager. Only scored items count, so the 10 pretest questions among the 180 on the PMP exam play no part (PMP Examination Content Outline, as of October 2026).

The July 2026 update left this alone. PMI's new-exam page says “the scoring method for the PMP certification exam has not changed.” New weights and new item types, same method.

Target percentages circulate on forums for this exam. None of them come from PMI, which keeps the cut score to itself, so a mock score tells you about your weak domains and nothing about where the line sits.

02From the last question to the result

  1. Preliminary result on screen

    A computer-based session ends with a result. PMI treats any score given at that point as preliminary until it confirms the result.

  2. Report online within 10 business days

    Your exam report appears in PMI's online certification results system no later than 10 business days after the exam, and PMI emails you when it's there. Paper-based sessions take 6 to 8 weeks.

  3. Read the domain diagnostics

    Next to the pass or fail status, the report gives diagnostic information on your performance in each domain: People, Process and Business Environment. That's the part worth keeping.

  4. Badge or retake

    A pass brings a digital badge by email from Credly. A fail leaves you more attempts in your eligibility year; see PMP exam retake rules.

PMI grades against a standard and keeps the line private. The only number worth chasing is your weakest domain.

03Scoring, asked plainly

What is the PMP pass rate?

PMI doesn't publish one, and its handbook describes no such figure. A pass rate quoted online isn't a PMI number (PMI Certification Handbook, as of October 2026).

Will my report show a percentage?

The handbook describes the report as an overall pass or fail plus diagnostic information for each domain. It mentions no percentage, so don't plan around one.

Can a mock exam predict my result?

No conversion from practice scores to the real result exists, because the cut score isn't public. The timed PMP mock still rehearses exam pace and shows which domain drags.

Is the bar higher on the 2026 exam?

PMI says the scoring method hasn't changed with the July 2026 update (PMI new-exam page, as of October 2026). How demanding the new exam feels is a separate question: is the PMP exam hard.