PMI-ACP® Application Process and Eligibility Criteria

So. you want to get your PMI-ACP®  certification and are wondering what the PMI-ACP®  Certification course requirements and processes are! You are in the right place and this post will hopefully be beneficial in guiding you with regard to all the optional and mandatory steps required to apply for the certification. It’s obvious, whenever someone start a process (Certification Education) or anything new, the first question that comes to mind is, where should I start , and what are the requirements. The PMI-ACP® certification has been recently launched by PMI® . Here we have compiled a list of all the PMI-ACP® certification requirements and processes step by step in detail.

PMI-ACP® Certification Application Process

There are basically seven steps required for PMI-ACP® certification; some are optional while others are mandatory.

Step #1: User ID

This is optional. Go to PMI.org and create a User ID.
This is not mandatory but there are benefits and I will mention a few of them:

• Free.
• You will be able to create a profile and your mode of payment, which makes later access easy.
• You will get up-to-date information from PMI®.

Step #2: PMI-ACP Eligibility

This is the tricky part and most people get confused. (You can also go to PMI.org and perform the following steps to get updated information as PMI® may change their rules from time to time. Go to PMI.org —> select Certification —>select PMI-ACP. The eligibility is listed.

When to Apply

Apply if you have 1-3 years of project management experience. 

Value

With this certification, you can demonstrate your agile team experience. Beyond knowledge and comprehension, you can also demonstrate experience and apply agile methodologies. The PMI-ACP® is registered against the ISO 9001 standard.

Education Requirements

• High school diploma or Bachelor’s degree
• 21 contact hours of training in agile practices

Experience Requirements

• 12 months of general project experience within the last 5 years (A current PMP® or PgMP® will satisfy this requirement but is not required to apply for the PMI-ACP®)
• 8 months of agile project experience within the last 3 years

Certification Maintenance Requirements

Must earn 30 PDUs per three-year cycle to maintain certification.

Exam Information

3 hours, 120 questions, multiple choice

If you think you are eligible, move to step 3.

Step #3: Membership

This is optional and is different than your user id. PMI® has a membership service, which offers some benefits. There are several types of membership and the fee is different for each type. Please do check PMI® Membership and Types, PMI® Membership Fee and PMI® Membership Benefits. Also please visit PMI.org for updated information on membership, types, and benefits in details and check whether the membership suits your needs or not. We are mentioning a few benefits of membership here:

• Free access to PMI® library and a free copy of PMBOK
• Access to Local PMI® chapter, useful for getting PDUs and networking
• Waiver in PMI®-ACP fee and re-certification fee

Step #4: Application

Refer to Step #2, mentioning the education and project hours. Now you have to submit an application to PMI® showing proof of your education, the project hours and project management training that you have undergone. Previously, you had to do it online but now PMI® offers a downloadable pdf as well. You have to fill in the required details covering all processes and the hours you spend on each process.

Step #5: Fee

When you submit your application, you will be contacted within a few working days and will be asked to deposit the fee for certification. Now as was mentioned previously, the fee is different for both members and non-members. The cost of ACP Certification will be determined by PMI Membership status and the examination delivery type mode you select. The exam fee is given in the following table:

Exam Type	Member Status	US Price
Computer-based testing (CBT)	Member	$435
Computer-based testing (CBT)	Non-member	$495
Paper-based testing (PBT)	Member	$385
Paper-based testing (PBT)	Non-member	$445

The PMI Member rate is applicable only if you are a member of PMI. In case if your membership has not yet completely refined before you pay for the credential, you will charged the non-member rate. The cost of ACP Certification in Indian currency is -

Member: ₹23,555.00
Non-member: ₹26,799.00

Step #6: Application and Audit

A: Application accepted: You will be asked to proceed and schedule your exam at a Prometric center. [/one_half]

B: Audit: PMI® randomly selects some applicants for an audit process.[/one_half]

Step 6 has two parts as you can see; either your application will be accepted or put a hold for an audit. If you are one of the unlucky ones that are caught in the audit process then you have to show written confirmation from the bodies who authorize the education, experience and project management training.

Step #7: Schedule Your Exam

Once you are done with the above steps, the last step is to schedule your exam according to your convenience at Pearson Vue. However, before you schedule your exam, I would encourage you to read this article to familiarize yourself with the PMI®-ACP Exam Format. Learn more about the online proctoring testing experience from Eric D'Astolfo Vice President, Business Development Pearson Vue.

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Why PMI ACP over the other courses?

• This certification helps people who practice Agile approaches while working. 
• Having a PMI ACP certification proves your credentials when it comes to Agile practices, you have to study almost all the Agile practices- their differences, approaches and methods to pass the exam.
• The certification not only requires hard work from your side, but also requires the candidate to have at least 2,000 hours of Project Experience. 
• PMI ACP is used as a standard for employers to gauge your knowledge about Agile practices, which is especially for companies that use Agile.Their high levels of knowledge of various Agile practices, like Scrum, Kanban, Lean, XP and Crystal also help you rise to the top of the stack. 
• The certification never becomes irrelevant, and contributes towards your professional growth significantly. 
• The average salary of a Certified Practitioner is almost 20% higher than their non-certified colleagues- clearly enhancing the value of this certificate. 

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Conclusion

Project management practitioners are increasingly embracing Agile techniques for the successful management of projects. As the Agile community is growing and organizations have begun to exceedingly implement the Agile methodology to execute their projects in dynamic environments, the PMI-ACP is becoming a popular and fast-growing certification. Organizations often rely on project practitioners for the application of diversified methods to project management and PMI-ACP is one such global certification that enables professionals to support that need.