How Many Questions Are There In The PMP Exam? [2024]

The PMP certification exam has 180 questions that need to be completed in 230 minutes. Let’s understand the exam format and look at the number of questions that are tested in the PMP exam.

In this article, you will find information about total number of questions and different types of questions that appear in the exam – agile, situational, ITTO (Inputs, Toots & Techniques, and Outputs), mathematical (formula-based), and PMI code of ethics.

Table of Contents

How Many Questions Are There in the PMP Certification Exam?

The PMP exam is conducted as an online test – Computer Based Test (CBT) . But you can also take a physical Paper Based Test (PBT) under special conditions. Whether you take CBT or PBT, the exam format is same – you have to answer 180 questions.

The PMP certification exam has 180 multiple-choice questions that came from the three different performance domains. The names of these domains and the percentage of questions appearing from each domain are described in the table below.

Performance Domain	%age of Questions	Number of Questions
People	42%	76
Process	50%	90
Business Environment	8%	14

The questions from the above-mentioned domains are randomly distributed in the exam. You don’t get to know which question is from which domain.

These performance domains are described in the PMP Exam Content Outline (ECO). ECO is like a syllabus for the PMP exam.

Duration of the PMP Exam

Out of the 180 questions, 175 are scored and 5 are pretest questions. The pretest questions are not scored, but you don’t get to know which ones are scored questions and which ones are pretest questions. They are randomly distributed in the exam.

The exam is divided into three parts, of 60 questions each. You get an option to take a break of up to 10 minutes after completing part 1 and part 2.

There is no prescribed time limit for completing a part, but you get a total of 230 minutes to complete the exam. These breaks time is counted in 230 minutes. So, how you utilize your time is totally up to you e.g. you can complete the first 100 questions in 80 minutes, the next 60 in 70 minutes, and the last 60 in 80 minutes.

You can budget approximately 76 minutes for completing each part, i.e. about 76 seconds for each question.

Since the scheduled breaks are not considered as part of the allotted 230 minutes, you can take a maximum of 250 minutes to complete the test.

After you have completed 60 questions, you are asked to review your responses before submitting and taking the break. Once you start a new part, you cannot return to the old part. So you should review the questions before taking the break.

Format of the PMP Exam

The test can be either taken as a computer-based test (CBT) or paper base test (PBT). You can take PBT only under special conditions. You can write to PMI to check with them if you can take PBT.

CBT is a preferred mode of examination – it is easier to apply and write an online exam. You can take online exam either from your home or by going to the Pearson VUE center. Home-based tests are proctored.

I would suggest you to take the test from the Pearson VUE center as home-based tests are fraught with problems – Internet connection, setup issues, waiting for the proctor etc.

How Many Agile Questions are there in the PMP Exam?

As per the PMP ECO, about half of the questions come from the hybrid and agile approaches, and the other half come from the predictive project management approaches.

How Many ITTO Questions are there in the PMP Exam?

Over the last few years, PMI has reduced the number of direct and ITTO questions in the exam. Nowadays, most of the questions are situational questions where you are asked to determine a solution for the stated project management problem.

How Many “PMI Code of Ethics” Questions are there in the PMP Exam?

PMI has not defined how many “PMI code of ethics” questions come in the exam, but you can accept a few of these. These questions are quite easy. To solve these questions, you have to study and adhere to the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.