Earn PDUs as a Project Management Practitioner

After earning a Project Management Institute (PMI) certification, you don’t want to let it lapse. I had a friend who spent weeks cramming for webinars and conferences before her renewal deadline, only to discover later she could have claimed credit for the project work she was already doing. To maintain your PMI certification, you must earn Professional Development Units (PDUs) every three years, but one of the easiest PDU methods is often overlooked. You can claim PDUs for “Work as a Practitioner.”

Whether you’re managing projects, serving as a Sponsor, or handling any role with project management responsibilities, your existing work already counts toward your PDU requirements.

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Professional Development Unit (PDU)

PMI’s measurement for project management-related continuing education is the Professional Development Unit (PDU), defined as “one-hour blocks of time that you spend learning, teaching others, or volunteering.”  Your may also record your PDUs in .25 hour increments.

And while it does take effort to earn the necessary PDUs to keep each of your PMI certifications active, you have flexibility within the process because of the variety of ways to earn a PDU.

Access the PMI Certification Requirement handbook for PDU certification specifics, including any limit for PDU categories.

PMI PDU Categories

PMI has defined two PDU categories: Education and Giving Back. To keep your PMI certificate active, you must report Education PDU and Giving Back PDU claims via the PMI’s Report PDU portal. The Work as a Practitioner PDU type falls within the Giving Back PDU category.

PMI requires credential holders to maintain their status through Education PDUs or with a combination of Education and Giving Back PDU credits. How many Education PDUs you can earn within a cycle is unlimited. However, there are minimums for PDU types within each certification’s renewal cycle. For example, PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) certification requires a minimum of 60 PDU hours every three years, which can be earned as only Education PDU credits or a distribution of Education PDU and Giving Back PDU credits (with a minimum of 35 hours coming from the Education category).

Giving Back PDU Category

PMI defines the “Giving Back” PDU category as: “a unique opportunity for you to expand your knowledge and skills while growing personally and professionally.” There may be a limit to PDU claim types within a PMI certification, so constantly monitor your progress within renewal cycles. Giving Back includes volunteering and Working as a Practitioner.

Earning PDUs Through Your Work

Have you searched the internet for help with “PMP PDU Work as a Practitioner,” expecting to find a restrictive listing of what job title or task type qualifies? Good news! As with any PMI credential, a PMP PDU Work as a Practitioner claim means you get professional development credit for the work you already do for your job.

The number of PDUs for working as a practitioner will vary, but how to earn them is the same. There is no specialty “PMP Work as a Practitioner PDU” because PMI records these PDUs the same way for all certifications. If you’re maintaining your PMP certification, you can earn up to 8 PDUs per renewal cycle just for doing your regular project management work. That includes running meetings, managing schedules and budgets, or leading project teams. PMI calls this “Work as a Practitioner,” and it falls under the Giving Back category—not Education. The key is that your work involves active use of project management skills, not just generic tasks.

Refer to the PMI Certification Requirement handbook, if you want to know the answer to the question: “How many PDUs for Work as a Practitioner do I need?” .

Earning “Work as a Practitioner” PDUs

Regardless of your job title—Project Manager, Project Coordinator, Program Manager, Project Associate, or another —your ongoing work as a practitioner can earn you Giving Back PDU credits for your PMI credential.

If the PMI conducts an audit, be sure to have your formal job description or other documentation to support your practitioner’s claim.

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How Many Work as a Practitioner PDU Credits Can I Earn

That answer depends upon your PMI certification and I’ve separated them into three categories of PMI Certifications:

• Category #1: PMP, PgMP, PfMP, PMI-PBA
• Category #2: PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP
• Category #3: CAPM

To maintain your PMI certification, you need to earn and report Professional Development Units (PDUs) in specific categories during each renewal cycle. The exact number of PDUs required varies depending on your certification type, so there isn’t a universal answer to: “How many PDUs do I need to maintain my PMI certification?”

After obtaining your initial certification through the application process and exam, you must continuously earn PDUs and submit them to PMI for approval to keep your credential active throughout each renewal period.

PDU Requirements for PMI Certification: PMP, PgMP, PfMP, and PMI-PBA

Using the PMP as an example, the 3-year total must be 60 PDU hours with a minimum of 35 Education PDU and an optional maximum of 25 Giving Back PDU (including the 8 Work as a Practitioner PDU limit).

PDU Requirements for PMI Certification: PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP

As an example, the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® credential has a 30 PDU requirement for a 3-year renewal cycle distributed as a minimum of 18 Education PDU with a maximum of 12 Giving Back PDU (of which you can claim 4 Working as a Practitioner PDU).

PDU requirements for PMI certification: CAPM

In contrast to the PMP and PMI-ACP, the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) has a 15 PDU 3-year renewal cycle requirement distributed as a minimum of 9 Education PDU with a maximum of 6 Giving Back PDU (within which you can claim 2 Working as a Practitioner PDU).

How to Calculate PDUs Working as a Practitioner

No complicated formula is needed to calculate PDU credit! PMI assigns a PDU value for all efforts including learning, training others, volunteering, and your work as a practitioner. Each PDU claim represents hour increments with limits determined based on the PMI credential being maintained (for example, you can record a maximum of 8 PDU hours when maintaining a PMP certification).

How to Report PDU Work as a Practitioner

For all your PMI certifications you will report your PDU claims in the same way. Always have documentation to verify the effort occurred as you submitted it because PMI may randomly select your claims for an audit.

• Log into the PMI.org website.
• Navigate to “report PDUs” in the Continuing Certification Renewal System (CCRS)

Benefits of earning Work as a Practitioner PDUs

The work you do as part of your job matters. With each project, program, and/or project-related effort, you gain professional experience and grow your expertise. Being able to also use that time as part of your PMI certification maintenance is a benefit on top of the inherent project professional development.

Takeaways

The Work as a Practitioner PDU claim is an easy way to continue your professional development while also maintaining your PMI certification. Keep these key points in mind:

• PMI certifications have specific PDU requirements within multi-year renewal cycles.
• To keep your certification active, you must know PMI’s PDU requirements for your certification including reporting PDUs, the type and amount of PDUs you need, and the diverse ways to earn PDUs.
• There is no limit to how many PDU credits you can earn in a renewal cycle but there is a maximum for Giving Back PDUs that differs based on the PMI credential being maintained.
• Have an accurate job description in support of your Work as a Practitioner PDU claim

Know the PMI certificate PDU requirements to ensure you enjoy the benefits of an active professional designation.

FAQs: Earning PDUs from Project Work

Q: Can I really earn PDUs just by doing my job?
Yes. If your job involves applying project management knowledge—like leading teams, managing budgets, or handling project risks—you can earn what’s called “Work as a Practitioner” PDUs. PMI recognizes that real-world project experience is part of your professional development.

Q: How many of these PDUs can I claim toward my PMP renewal?
You can claim up to 8 PDUs per three-year cycle for PMP, PgMP, PfMP, or PMI-PBA certifications. Other certifications have lower caps—like 4 for PMI-ACP or 2 for CAPM.

Q: Does PMI require proof when I submit these PDUs?
Not at the time of submission—but keep your job description or a project summary on file just in case. PMI conducts random audits, and you’ll need to show that your work involves project management responsibilities.

Q: Where do I report these in the PMI system?
Log into PMI’s CCRS (Continuing Certification Renewal System), select the Giving Back category, and then choose Work as a Practitioner. You’ll describe your role and the time spent on project work during your renewal cycle.

Q: Do I need to be a “Project Manager” by title?
Not at all. As long as you’re using project management skills—whether you’re a coordinator, analyst, engineer, or sponsor—your work can still qualify.

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