Unlock Free PDUs for PMP/PMI-ACP: A Step-by-Step Guide!

PDU Requirements for PMP / PMI-ACP Certifications

Starting December 1, 2015, holders of PMP and PMI-ACP Certifications must categorize their Professional Development Units (PDUs) according to the PMI Talent Triangle, which consists of three key areas:

Technical Project Management: This involves knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to specific aspects of Project, Program, and Portfolio Management.

Leadership: This covers knowledge, skills, and behaviors that are essential for leadership roles and contribute to achieving organizational business goals.

Strategic and Business Management: This area focuses on industry knowledge and expertise that enhances performance and improves business outcomes.

For PMP certification, a minimum of 8 PDUs is required in each skill area, while for PMI-ACP®, the requirement is 4 PDUs. You can check your specific PDU requirements on your PMI.org certification dashboard. For instance, you may find that you still need 0.5 PDUs in the Strategic & Business category to meet the minimum requirements outlined in the PMI Talent Triangle.

Although the total number of PDUs required for re-certification has not increased, obtaining PDUs in the designated PMI Talent Triangle areas from non-PMI training organizations has become more challenging. This is because only PMI or PMI Authorized Training Partners can classify training activities for PDU purposes. Therefore, the most reliable way to earn PDUs in these categories is through PMI.

How to Earn Educational Technical Leadership, and Strategic PDUs for Free.

Is it possible to earn Educational Technical, Leadership, and Strategic PDUs at no cost?

Yes! If you've recently passed your certification exam, remember that your PMI membership fee allows you to earn FREE PDUs. Importantly, these PDUs are classified as Educational and have no upper limit; you can accumulate all 60 PDUs (or 30 for PMI-ACP required for re-certification through this method.

PMI offers numerous live and recorded webinars available at www.projectmanagement.com. Valid PMI members can log in using their PMI account credentials. You can find hundreds of recorded webinars (also known as On-demand Webinars) by navigating to the Webinar menu.

On this page, you'll see various filters on the left side designed to help you find appropriate recorded webinars for earning PDUs. You can filter by PMI Certifications (for specific certifications like PMP or PMI-ACPnor by PMI Talent Triangle categories (for specific PDU types: Technical, Leadership, or Strategic).

For example, if you need at least 0.5 PDU in the Strategic area, you would select the Strategic checkbox. There are currently 177 recorded webinars available in this category—more than enough for each re-certification cycle. The results will be displayed sorted by “date added, though you can adjust this sorting as needed.

You may notice a red "PREMIUM" label beneath the webinar title; however, this does not imply any additional cost. Your PMI Membership includes access to PREMIUM content on projectmanagement.com. Simply click on the title to access the recorded webinar page.

Before starting the webinar, check how many PDUs you will earn in Technical, Leadership, and Strategic areas by scrolling down the page. Each webinar lists its corresponding PDUs for different PMI Certifications across each skill area.

For instance, a selected webinar might provide 1 PDU towards PMP re-certification (0.5 PDU in Technical and 0.5 PDU in Strategic) and 0.5 PDU for PMI-ACP re-certification (0.5 PDU in Strategic).

Once ready, click the Play button on the video box to start the webinar (ensure you have a stable internet connection). It's important to watch the entire session from start to finish to qualify for the PDU.

How to Report Your PDUs

The great news is that Educational PDUs earned through projectmanagement.com are automatically reported to PMI.org within a few days. After watching a recorded webinar, I received an email from PMI confirming my PDU claim within less than 24 hours.

Additionally, these claims are instantly approved since webinars on projectmanagement.com have already been pre-approved by PMI to meet PDU requirements. This allows you to earn FREE Educational PDUs for your PMI Certification effortlessly.