PMP Passing Score: What PMI Publishes and What It Does Not

Written by the AgileFever editorial team. Facts checked on November 12, 2026 against the official pages of the organizations named in this post. AgileFever sells training for some of the topics covered here, and we say so wherever it applies. Figures come from PMI’s PMP certification page, its July 2026 exam content outline, its Certification Handbook (revised June 2026) and its US store.

Search for the PMP passing score and you will find confident numbers: 61%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 106 correct answers. None of them comes from PMI’s current pages. This post separates what PMI states in writing from what circulates, shows how the exam is scored, explains how to read the result report, and gives you a readiness check that does not rely on a percentage nobody can prove.

If you are still deciding whether to apply, start with PMP eligibility and the 35 contact hours. This post assumes you are heading for the exam.

PMP passing score: what PMI publishes and what circulates

The table puts each claim next to PMI’s own wording. The right-hand column holds the figures that are repeated across the internet. Where PMI’s own older documents are the source of a stale number, we say so.

Sources: PMI PMP certification page, PMP Examination Content Outline July 2026 and January 2021 editions, PMI Certification Handbook (revised June 2026), and PMI’s sample Exam Result Report, all read on November 12, 2026.

The practical meaning is simple. Any article that gives you a PMP passing score as a single percentage is quoting something other than PMI. That may be an old rule, a training provider’s internal benchmark, or a guess built from candidate reports. You cannot check any of those against PMI, and PMI can change the exam without telling you the new cut-off.

How PMI scores the PMP exam

Three statements from PMI’s own documents describe the method.

• The handbook says the passing score for all PMI exams “is determined by sound psychometric analysis”. The PMP is a criteria-based exam: it decides who passes by whether they meet the criteria for a qualified person in the role, an experienced project manager for the PMP.
• Only scored questions count. The July 2026 outline lists 170 scored questions and 10 pretest questions that “do not affect the score”. PMI places them at random, and you cannot tell which is which.
• PMI’s sample result report says subject matter experts decide how many questions you must answer correctly to pass, that each scored question is worth one point, and that your total places you in a performance category.

Source: PMI Project Management Professional Examination Content Outline, July 2026, exam information section, read November 12, 2026.

Here is why a PMP passing score stated as one percentage cannot be verified. PMI says the number of correct answers needed is set by expert judgment, and it publishes neither the number nor the method’s output. PMI also changed the exam in July 2026: new domain weights, 240 minutes, 10 pretest questions instead of 5. A cut-off quoted before that date described a different exam. And a percentage from a practice test is a different measure again, because a practice exam is written by its publisher, not calibrated by PMI’s psychometricians.

The exam in numbers

None of these figures is a PMP passing score, but all come from PMI and all can be checked. Put your study time where the weight is.

Weights and task counts: PMI July 2026 outline. The last column is our arithmetic (weight times 180, rounded). PMI states the weights as a share of items on the exam and does not publish a count per domain.

Source: PMI Project Management Professional Examination Content Outline, July 2026, read November 12, 2026.

Two more facts from the same outline matter for how you practise. About 40% of items reflect predictive approaches and the remaining 60% are split between adaptive/agile and hybrid approaches, spread across all three domains rather than sitting in one. And the questions include multiple-choice, multiple-response, drag-and-drop and practicum questions that may use tools, data and case studies. The outline notes that you may finish in less than the 240 minutes.

The exam fee, the retake fee and the membership trade-off are in PMP exam fee: member, non-member and retake.

How to read your PMP score report

After a computer-based exam you receive a score report with an overall pass or fail and, in the handbook’s words, diagnostic information for each domain. The handbook adds that any score shown at the end of the session is preliminary until PMI confirms it is official, and that a preliminary report appears in the online results system within 10 business days of the exam.

PMI’s sample result report, which is a 2016 specimen hosted on pmi.org, shows how the ratings work. Your own report may use different layout or wording, so read the key printed on it. The sample uses four categories:

Source: PMI sample Exam Result Report on pmi.org (specimen dated May 2016), read November 12, 2026. The sample shows overall ratings; PMI uses the same categories for each domain.

Worked example: reading two illustrative reports

Both reports below are invented to show the reading method. They are not real candidate data.

Illustrative example, not real candidate data.

Report A. The candidate passed even though one domain is Below Target. PMI’s own sample report has the same pattern, an overall pass with one domain below Target, so a weak domain does not by itself decide the outcome. Rules that say you need Target in all three domains are not what PMI’s sample shows. The candidate has nothing to retake, but the report still tells them which area to build before the next time they study: Business Environment, which covers governance, compliance, change and external factors.

Report B. The overall result is a fail, and the weakest area is Business Environment. Business Environment is 26% of the exam, so about 47 of 180 questions. A candidate who spent most of their time on People and Process practice would leave exactly this pattern. The next step is to study the eight Business Environment tasks first, then recheck Process.

What the report does not tell you: your raw score, the number of questions you got wrong, or how close you were inside a category. Treat the category as a direction, not a measurement.

A readiness check that does not need a PMP passing score

Because PMI publishes no PMP passing score, base your booking decision on evidence you control. This method works whatever number PMI uses.

Practice-exam percentages still help, but only as a trend across your own attempts and domains. A score of 80% on one provider’s exam and 65% on another’s describes the exams as much as you, and PMI publishes no conversion between any practice score and its official standard. If someone sells you a threshold, ask what evidence links it to PMI’s results.

What to do after missing the PMP passing score

PMI’s rules are short. You have a one-year eligibility period. If you fail the first attempt, you may attempt the exam two more times in that period, and repayment of fees applies to the second and third attempts. If you fail three times, you wait one year from your last exam before reapplying. If the year ends without a pass, you must reapply, with no waiting period, and your experience must still fit PMI’s 10-year window. In PMI’s US store the retake fee is $275 for members and $375 for non-members, read on November 12, 2026. Other stores may price differently, so read the amount in your cart.

• Read the report within a day and write down the domain ratings while you remember the exam.
• Rebuild the plan around the lowest domain, not around the whole syllabus.
• Redo a full-length practice exam under timed conditions before booking the retake.
• Pick your retake date inside the one-year period, with a margin so a third attempt remains possible.

A structured calendar helps here. Our sibling post, an 8-week PMP study plan, sets out one way to allocate those weeks across the three domains.

After you pass

Your three-year cycle begins and you need 60 PDUs to keep the certification. The split and costs are in PMP renewal: PDUs and cost.

Where AgileFever fits

AgileFever lists a PMP course on its PMP training page. Check that page for current batches. Whichever provider you choose, confirm that a live class meets PMI’s training rule for your application date. We do not claim a pass rate, because PMI does not publish one and we cannot prove one.

For an independent view of exam difficulty and study habits, read how hard the PMP exam is and how to crack it.

Questions people ask

What is the PMP passing score?

PMI does not publish one. Its Certification Handbook says the passing score is determined by psychometric analysis, and the exam is criteria-based. You receive an overall pass or fail plus a rating for each domain, not a percentage. Any single figure you read elsewhere is not from PMI’s current pages.

What percentage do you need to pass the PMP?

No percentage is published. PMI says subject matter experts decide how many scored questions must be answered correctly, and each scored question is worth one point. Figures such as 61% or 75% are older rules or provider benchmarks, so do not plan around them as PMI’s standard.

How is the PMP exam scored?

Only the 170 scored questions count, out of 180. The 10 pretest questions do not affect the score and appear at random. Each scored question is worth one point, and the total places you in a performance category. PMI sets the cut-off through psychometric analysis.

What do Above Target, Target and Below Target mean?

On PMI’s sample result report, Above Target exceeds the minimum requirements, Target meets them, Below Target is slightly short and Needs Improvement is far short. The first two are passing. The same categories are used for each domain. Read the key printed on your own report.

Can you pass the PMP with a Below Target domain?

PMI’s sample result report shows an overall pass with one domain rated Below Target, so the domain ratings alone do not decide the result. PMI does not state a rule that links domain ratings to the final outcome, so read your overall result line.

How many times can I retake the PMP exam?

You can take it up to three times within your one-year eligibility period. After three failed attempts you wait one year from your last exam to reapply. In PMI’s US store a retake costs $275 for members and $375 for non-members. Fees apply to the second and third attempts.