Becoming a PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP®) can be difficult. Not only must you pass a challenging exam, but you must meet the qualifications for experience and contact hours. Project managers are busy people. How can these individuals earn the required PMI-RMP contact hours?
What is a Contact Hour?
Contact hours are educational hours. One hour of project risk management instruction equals one contact hour. For example, if you attend a company-sponsored project risk management course that meets two hours per week for five weeks, you have earned 10 contact hours.
see the pmi-rmp exam content outline and specifications for eligibility requirements
Some Education Doesn't Qualify
Any education unrelated to project risk management does not qualify, even if it’s project management training. For example, education on project schedule management or cost management would not qualify if there was no instruction related to risk management.
PMI Chapter meetings with no risk management content do not qualify.
Reading books or watching instructional videos do not qualify, even if they include project risk management content.
What Type of Distance-Learning Qualifies?
Many individuals take online distance-learning courses. These courses only qualify for contact hours if the course:
Has an end-of-course assessment (e.g., final exam)
Provides a certificate of completion or other documentation
Why is the Certificate of Completion Important?
When you submit your application, PMI may conduct an audit. You may be asked to provide PMI with documentation for each contact hour.
What is the Time Frame?
There is no time frame for education. So, if you took a project risk management course eight years ago, you can count those contact hours. Of course, all coursework must be completed at the time of your application.
Places You May Find Risk Management Training
There are numerous places that you may earn contact hours, including but not limited to:
Local or online community colleges
Online training
Company-sponsored training
PMI Chapter courses, symposiums, conferences, and meetings
PMP courses
Agile courses
Only education related to project risk management qualifies. If you had a two-hour PMI Chapter meeting and one hour was dedicated to project risk management, you would earn one contact hour. If you took a three-day PMP exam prep course and two hours were dedicated to project risk management, you would earn two contact hours.
PMI-RMP Exam Prep Course
Learn & Apply Risk Management
PROJECT RISK COACH
Types of Risk Management Training
The PMI-RMP® Exam Content Outline specifies that the education must be project risk management training. The new Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs, and Projects (2019) includes:
Enterprise risk management
Portfolio risk management
Program risk management
Project risk management
Some agile project management courses include risk management content. If you took an eight-hour class and one hour covered risk management, you would earn one contact hour.
Contact PMI Customer Care
If you have specific PMI-RMP® questions, you can email the Project Management Institute (PMI) at customercare@pmi.org.
The Project Risk Coach
The Project Risk Coach provides online courses and instructor-led courses to help you prepare for the PMI-RMP® exam and earn contact hours.