Failure in a PMP audit is the worst nightmare of every PMP aspirant. If you are interested in the PMP Certification, you may have many worries. Failing the PMP audit is the scariest.
It’s not just you; almost all aspirants wonder what will happen if they are selected for an audit and fail it. Many professionals worry more about the audit than the PMP exam itself.
Honestly, you should not fear an audit; it is nothing but a verification of the facts you provided while filling out the PMP exam application form. You will be asked to submit copies of your education, experience, and PMP training certificates.
Once you provide these documents, your audit will be cleared within one week. If you are truthful, provide legitimate information to the PMI, and all your papers are in order, you will not fail the PMP audit.
How Can You Fail the PMP Audit?
- When the situation is beyond your capability.
- When you decide not to proceed with the audit.
- If you have provided incorrect information to the PMI.
#1. When the Situation is Beyond Your Capability
You failed the audit due to no fault of your own.
It happens. Perhaps your company is closed, or your boss is not available. This means that you cannot verify the information given to the PMI, which is not your fault.
In this case, you will fail the audit; however, you can apply again once this issue has been resolved.
You will not be suspended in this case.
#2. When You Decide Not to Proceed with the Audit
The PMI will simply ban you from applying for the one-year PMP exam.
#3. When You Have Provided Incorrect Information to the PMI
You failed the audit because you provided the wrong information and tried to persuade the PMI to believe in your false claim.
You will be banned for life and cannot apply for the exam again.
If you have provided false information by mistake or entered the wrong data while typing in a hurry, you must contact the PMI’s customer care to correct the error.
You should never intentionally submit incorrect information to the PMI.
These days, I have noticed that the PMI is selecting more candidates for audits, and many aspirants are failing. The checking has become more rigorous. Ensure you provide the correct information while filling out the PMP application form.
Please refer to my blog post on how to avoid a PMP audit.
Summary
The PMI audit is essential to ensure that people are who they claim to be. This process establishes the credibility of the PMI and its certification process. Be truthful and honest; this is the only way to pass the audit.
If you fail the audit, you may not get a suspension period. However, a lifetime ban is possible if you provide false information intentionally.
Have you failed the PMP audit? If yes, please share why and how you plan to proceed now.
I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.
Dear Fahad,
Am i eligible for PMP.
I need your advice and suggestions
My highlight details are as follows:-
Diploma completed – 2015 to 2018
Full time Job in project management started after Diploma from July 2019 till current date working.
Btech degree batch (2018 – 2021) :
Degree completed in Dec 2021
Degree pursued & completed along with Job as company given NOC for Higher study
While filling application for PMP
Can we present degree in higher education &
Experience of 3 years which started from 2019 & will this experience will be counted as gained along with job
Dear Fahad,
I submitted the documents of my Audit last Jan 1, 2020 to PMI and received last Jan 3, 2020.
Yesterday I got email from PMI that I fail the Audit apart from the document send as to Audit Report which signed by my Direct Manager.
PMI message on email yesterday:
“Thank you for submitting your complete audit materials.
After thorough review of your application, it has been determined that your application does not meet the minimum eligibility requirements. At this time your application has been closed.
Eligibility Not Met: Domains are not included
It is required that candidates show that they led and directed the project as identified with the tasks, knowledge, and skills specific in the PMP Exam Content Outline. The PMP candidate is not required to show experience leading and directing projects in all five project domains for each project, but must have this experience within the total number of experience hours and in their project deliverable descriptions.
Review Feedback:
For all experience – Project domains (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, Closing) and domain-specific deliverables are incomplete; project management methodology used is unclear; without clear project domains we are unable to determine if a project is valid. Wherever work hours are claimed within a domain, elements of that domain as detailed in the PMBOK Guide or the PMP Exam Content Outline must also be conspicuous in the description.
Additional Comments:
1. We have reviewed your education documents. Your attained education and project management education are approved and will be waived for your next audit.
2. Should you choose to submit a new application, please note that for best results, project descriptions should be formatted as noted below:
– A brief, one-sentence project objective
– Project deliverables summarized by process areas (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing – abbreviations are acceptable IN, PL, EX, MC & CL)
– A brief, one-sentence project outcome.
If you wish to submit a new application, you may do so at any time. Please note, if you choose to submit a new application for this certification, your application will again be audited. For your convenience, please visit Things to Consider When Applying for tips and guidelines on how to better present your experience.”
For this reason, How I will apply again for it is the same project I will write.
Could you please assist me in detail sir.
Hello Filart,
Please send me an email at [email protected] to discuss it further.
My name in Educational Certificate is “Vinod Prabhakar” and in all my professional experience letter it is with my surname “Vinod Kulkarni” if my file selected for audit then how to convey them ?
It is a different name. Do you have any certificate showing your name as Vinod Prabhakar Kulkarni or Vinod Kulkarni Prabhakar?
I took the pmp exam in 2011 but failed the exam. I am giving a 2nd try. Can i use projects experience which i listed in 2011 to apply for the exam OR do i need to update my most recent project experience?
You will have fill the application again. You can list your old experience starting from the latest.
I failed the audit due to the following reasons:
“Deliverables do not show leading and directing. The deliverables documented do not indicate how you lead and directed cross functional teams in all five process groups on the application (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing) as detailed in the PMP Exam Content Outline and the PMBOK Guide.
Project domains (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, Closing) and domain-specific deliverables are incomplete; project management methodology used is unclear; without clear project domains we are unable to determine if a project is valid. Wherever work hours are claimed within a domain, elements of that domain as detailed in the PMBOK Guide or the PMP Exam Content Outline must also be conspicuous in the description.”
Seems I failed to write the project description in the way its required to be presented. Although the mail says, “If you wish to submit a new application, you may do so at any time. Please note, if you choose to submit a new application for this certification, your application will again be audited”, I just want to know whether I can re-apply with the same projects, but rewriting the descriptions and making them conspicuous with the claimed work hours. Or I need to re-apply with different projects (as I don’t have any other)?
Hello Debu, I am sorry to know that you have failed the audit.
Can you share with me the information you shared with PMI for your job responsibility/resume.
Send me email at [email protected]
Once the listed contact name signs the document on the pmp verificaton audit form, does pmi contact them to verify that they signed it.
Yes, it may contact them.
Hello Fahad,
I just failed the audit because of the project descriptions. PMI says: “your audit was not passed because your descriptions did not clearly define your role in leading and directing cross-functional teams through the project management processes (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, closing) in line with the tasks outlined in the PMP Exam Content Outline.”
I can apply again but I need to update the project descriptions to proof my project management experience. I am wondering how to do that because if I remember it right there is only a field with about 400 digits during the application process to describe the project and my role. Also during the audit process, I couldn’t figure a possibility to give more information about the project. There were only the attached documents with the same description (of about 400 digits) that my colleagues had to sign.
Did I miss something during the application or audit process where I can describe the project and my role as project manager in the project in more detail?
Thanks.
Best
Katrin
I think it is 400 characters.
Try to write how were you involved with all phases of the project.
Hello Fahad,
I failed the audit with no fault and received the comments from PMI as follows.
“The content within several of your project management work experiences offered a significant amount of detail regarding the challenges and attributes of the projects. For several of the experience items the content addressed task level details which appear to have been relevant to the requirements of the project(s). However, for several of the experience items listed on your PMP application, the content did not demonstrate that you led and directed as project manager using skills specific within the PMP Examination Content Outline.”
Does that mean at least one of the project description I submitted met the verification guidelines of PMP?
Could you please help evaluate the following project description that I submitted?
Role: Administrator
PO: Program overhaul to a new degree
Duties: Assigned to a XX-year project to transform XXX (old program) to XXX (new program). Involved in the project initiation phase to review course curriculum change, draft program budget, and conduct stakeholders’ analysis. Participated in risk analysis and the development of project schedule to address the needs of marketing and to enrich student experience. Program transition phase completed by XXX (date) with XXX students enrolled.
Thanks!
Penny
I think you are missing executing and monitoring and controlling processes here. How about your other experiences?
You need to match it with the PMBOK Guide, if it matches, you can count the hours.
Hi Fahad,
Thank you for this detailed article.
I have the required amount of hours as per eligibility. However, for the credits, I have already completed my MBA in Project Management from Sikkim Manipal University (Distance) for which I have a certificate which shows that I have done well and passed. Would this suffice? (This was a 2 year course that I completed along side my work).
Thank you again!
How to prove: When the situation is beyond your capability (no fault of your own)…
Like in my case, I had submitted 5 projects for PMI – ACP.
1. One project – my manager is not alive. I have left organization – so can not convince others.
2. 2nd project – it was in different city. As its 4 years ago, I know only 2 people – out of which one has left organization and 2nd one is not responding.
3. 3rd project – it was in Staff Augmentation. Client is not ready to sign anything in written. My colleague and org manager was not aware of work as it was staff augmentation.
4. Even in all the cases, colleagues are scared to sign anything in written as they consider it as some contract and may face some legal issues anytime. They do want to do any charity work to help somebody which doesnt have any benefit but some possible risk.
Now, under these circumstances, there is no meaning also to submit Audit Package and I just want to cancel my application. So is it audit failure? If yes, how do I convince about my condition? As I am cancelling application without PMI spending anytime on it, why should they even deduct processing fees?
Hello Biren, don’t cancel your audit.
Although your situation is unique, I suggest you contact PMI customer care. They are smart people and understand situation like yours.
I am sure that there will be some solution for this problem.
Hi Fahad – sorry, I could not replied earlier on the thread. Yes, I had mentioned details to PMI Customer care and then, I asked to cancel audit as I was not in position to submit. It was considered as audit failure after explaining my condition. Though, they were nice to understand that it was not my fault – so they waived off 1-year ban for me. I still lost $200 – audit fees. May be – I could have some more dialog but somehow, I lost interest and thought to give CSM/SAFe if I just need certification of my knowledge and experience.
Thanks Biren for updating us.
what is supposed to be placed in project description: is it the description what was project was initiated for and it’s deliverable or my activities as a PM done in scope of the project
Please read following article:
http://www.mymanagementguide.com/how-to-write-a-project-description-key-criteria-and-steps/
Suppose someone is fresher and cleared s/he CAPM exam, can s/he go for PMP certification right away or do s/he need to earn/wait for 4500 hours to complete. Please guide.Thanks
You must have required experience to apply for the PMP exam.
I just failed audit because of project description. My work was deamed administrative. Still wondering how I could appeal…
What was your job responsibilities?
Is there any possibility of failing the audit because of project description.?
Are you talking about the project description or your job responsibility in the project?