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PM² Certification Guidelines

The Open PM² GROUP certification program is based on the guidelines of the European Commission's Centre of Excellence in PM².

Guidelines

European Commission guidelines for PM² Certification

The European Commission's Centre of Excellence in PM² (CoEPM²) created a professional certification program to establish a common understanding of the expertise level of project management professionals in PM². Unfortunately, this program is only available for EU staff members.

The PM² GROUP is the first organization to offer a public certification program based on the internal certification guidelines of the European Commission, with the same certification levels for theoretical and practical knowledge. Both programs have exams with the same covered topics, required level of understanding, number of questions, passing score, and exam time.

For the first time, non-EU staff can now be certified the same way as EU staff. The PM² GROUP establishes a common understanding of proven skills for each certification level between all professionals, both EU staff and non-EU staff.

PM² Certification Guidelines document cover

A level playing field for PM² certification

The European Commission's Centre of Excellence in PM² created a professional certification program to establish a common understanding of the expertise level of project management professionals in PM². Following these requirements, the PM² GROUP opens the PM² certification to the general public, creating a common language among all professionals.

Requirements

The PM² GROUP certification guidelines

Three sets of requirements safeguard the quality, independence and equity of the public PM² certification program.

Requirements for the organization issuing the certificate

Must comply with ISO/IEC 17024:2012 (Conformity assessment — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons), guaranteeing independence, objectivity, GDPR compliance and equal treatment of candidates.
The organization's registered office must be in a member state of the European Union.
Must have relevant experience: a portfolio of at least three different certification programs with more than 100 certified professionals per year.
Cannot use, reference, promote or share any outdated PM² materials.
Needs to contribute actively to the PM² community.
Must ensure certification exams are available to the public independently of purchased training material.

Requirements for the certification program

Must be administered by an organization that fully complies with the requirements above.
Must issue a certificate based on a written exam that complies with the latest published version of the PM² certification syllabus issued by the European Commission.
The exam must be solely based on the latest versions of relevant documentation, such as the PM² Guide.
The exam giving access to certification must be available in at least: French, Italian, German, Spanish and English.

Requirements for a training organization that offers access to a certification exam

Must be accredited by the organization responsible for the certification program related to the exam, which is accountable for the quality assurance of its courses.
Cannot use, reference, promote or share any outdated PM².
Must have a quality management system and be ISO 9002 certified or equivalent.
Needs to contribute actively to the PM² community.

Get certified the European way

Discover how the PM² GROUP makes the European Commission's certification standards available to everyone.

Explore PM² Certification