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Entry-level PMI certification proving core project management, agile and business analysis knowledge.
Set by Project Management Institute (PMI)
Free to start · 30 lessons · 2 mock exams · about 26 h of study
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The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is PMI’s entry-level certification. Students, graduates, project coordinators, team members and career changers take it to show they know the fundamentals of predictive, agile and business analysis ways of working. You don’t need project experience. It also counts toward the PMP: an active CAPM waives the PMP’s 35-hour training requirement.
The exam is 150 questions in 3 hours, with one break after question 75. It covers four domains from the current Examination Content Outline: Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts 36%, Predictive, Plan-Based Methodologies 17%, Agile Frameworks/Methodologies 20% and Business Analysis Frameworks 27%. Questions include multiple choice, drag-and-drop matching, hotspots and short animation or comic-strip scenarios. There are a few calculations, such as critical path and earned value variances. You get a pass or fail result, plus a performance rating for each domain.
A top result means passing with Above Target in all four domains. Courselo covers every ECO task in 30 focused lessons, from project life cycles and critical path to Scrum, Kanban, requirements traceability and product roadmaps. Topic banks, a diagnostic and a full-length mock timed like the real exam show which domains are costing you points. Your plan then drills them until every domain is Above Target.
Format
3 h in total · 2 sections
The first 75 questions, drawn from all four domains and every item type in random order. When you finish, you review your answers and can take a 10-minute break. Starting the break locks Part 1, so you cannot come back to it.
Scoring
Pass or fail
Elite
Near-complete command of the ECO, including calculation, matching and hot spot items.
Syllabus
5 units · 30 topics · about 26 h of lessons and core practice
≈ 3.5%50 min
Task 1.1. What a project is and how it differs from operations, programs and portfolios, and how projects deliver change and value. Covers organisational influences (OPAs, EEFs, PMOs) and the PMBOK Guide 7th Edition principles and performance domains at a recognition level.
Your course
AI-generated · reviewedParts of this course are generated from the official specification the first time they’re needed, then checked and kept.
Lessons
30
One for every syllabus topic, generated from the official specification and checked
Practice questions
Adaptive
Generated for each topic as you practise, checked before you see them, each with an explanation
Mock exams
2
Questions
Not yet. As of September 2026 the CAPM still uses the Examination Content Outline released in 2023: four domains weighted 36/17/20/27, 150 questions and 3 hours. Its reference list still includes the PMBOK Guide – Seventh Edition, Process Groups: A Practice Guide, the Agile Practice Guide and PMI’s business analysis guides. The July 2026 changes applied to the PMP only. PMI announces exam updates months ahead, so check the CAPM page on pmi.org before you book.
You need a secondary diploma (high school, GED or global equivalent) and 23 hours of project management education, completed by the time you sit the exam. The hours can come from courses, e-learning with an end-of-course assessment, university programmes, PMI chapters or employer training. No project experience is needed. Registration is usually processed within 24 hours unless you are selected for audit.
Set a target and a test date. You’ll take a diagnostic, see a predicted score with its range, and get a plan for every week until the exam.
Question types
PMI sets one 180-minute clock for the whole exam; 90 minutes per part is Courselo's pacing budget (72 seconds per question). Aim to reach question 75 with 90+ minutes left.
The remaining 75 questions, with the same domain and item-type mix as Part 1. The exam ends when you submit or the clock runs out. Leave a few minutes to answer any flagged items, because blanks score zero.
Question types
Pacing target: finish question 150 with 8–10 minutes left for flagged items.
Delivery. Computer-based testing at Pearson VUE test centres or online proctored with Pearson VUE OnVUE (online exams use comic strips instead of animation videos). Paper-based testing is used where PMI requires it. Registration is processed within about 24 hours unless selected for audit.
The CAPM is one computer-based exam of 150 questions in 180 minutes, which is about 72 seconds per question. 135 questions are scored and 15 are unscored pretest items, placed randomly and not identified. The exam has two halves. After question 75 you review your answers and can take a 10-minute break, which does not count against the 3 hours. Once you start the break, you cannot return to questions 1–75. An optional tutorial and survey (5–15 minutes) are not timed.
Item types are multiple choice (most items, 4 options), enhanced matching (drag and drop), where you match boxes in two columns, and hot spot / hot area items, where you click the correct area of an image. Animation video and comic strip items show a short workplace scenario followed by one multiple-choice question. Online-proctored candidates see comic strips only. Candidates also report occasional multiple-response items. Questions are shorter and more knowledge-based than PMP questions. You still need to apply concepts to simple situations, and a few items need calculations (critical path and float, schedule and cost variances, CPI/SPI, three-point estimates). A basic on-screen calculator is available. There is no penalty for guessing.
90of 100
Top marks: Above Target in all four domains
The Courselo goal: 80%+ overall and in every domain, including Business Analysis.
80of 100
Safe pass
Book the exam once you reach this on the full mock and no domain is below 68%.
75of 100
Pass (Target)
Estimated passing line on a Courselo full mock. PMI does not publish a pass mark.
68of 100
How PMI scores the CAPM. Only the 135 scored questions count. The 15 pretest items are hidden among them. PMI sets a criterion-referenced passing standard, determined psychometrically for each form, and does not publish a pass mark or percentage. You get Pass or Fail and a performance rating for each of the four domains:
The overall result reflects performance across all scored items, and the domains count in proportion to their weights (36/17/20/27). There is no negative marking, so answer every question.
How Courselo estimates your result. Every Courselo mock question is scored, and the readiness score is your percentage correct. We compute it overall and for each domain, then map each figure to the PMI rating bands with these estimates: 80%+ Above Target, 68–79% Target, 55–67% Below Target and under 55% Needs Improvement. These cut-offs are conservative estimates, not official PMI figures. Matching, hot spot and multiple response items score only when the whole answer is correct.
What the targets mean. A score of 68% is a likely but thin pass. Book when you reach 75%+ with no domain under 68%. For top marks, keep going until all four domains reach 80%+. Business Analysis (27%) is the domain most candidates under-prepare for.
| Band | From |
|---|---|
| Above TargetWell above the passing standard. PMI describes this rating as performance that exceeds the minimum requirement. It is the Courselo top-marks band. | 80+ |
| TargetMeets the passing standard. On a realistic mock this is a likely pass, but with little margin. | 68+ |
| Below TargetSlightly below the passing standard. A Below Target overall result is a fail. | 55+ |
| Needs ImprovementWell below the passing standard. Go back to the lessons for the weak domains before taking another full mock. | 0+ |
≈ 4%1 h
Task 1.1. Predictive, iterative, incremental, adaptive and hybrid life cycles. Covers phases and phase gates, how the five process groups relate to a life cycle, and the factors that favour each approach.
≈ 3%45 min
Task 1.1. Tell apart the four concepts candidates confuse most, record each in the right log, and review or critique a project scope statement.
≈ 2%35 min
Task 1.1. Applying the four values (responsibility, respect, fairness, honesty) and the difference between aspirational and mandatory standards to workplace scenarios.
≈ 4%1 h
Task 1.2. The purpose of the cost, quality, risk, schedule and other subsidiary plans and baselines. Covers the project management plan compared with project documents and product plans, milestones compared with task durations, and determining resource needs.
≈ 3.5%55 min
Task 1.2. Practical use of the two registers the ECO names: recording and responding to risks, and identifying, analysing and engaging stakeholders.
≈ 2%35 min
Task 1.2. How projects and phases close and hand over deliverables, and what happens when a project ends early.
≈ 3.5%50 min
Task 1.3. Covers the responsibilities of the project manager, sponsor and team and how they differ, the many roles a project manager plays, and the other roles around a project.
≈ 3%50 min
Task 1.3. Leadership compared with management, common leadership styles, emotional intelligence and why it matters, plus basic team dynamics and conflict handling.
≈ 3.5%50 min
Task 1.4. Responding to situations by following the agreed plan or framework (communication, risk, escalation). Also covers how projects are initiated and how benefits are planned.
≈ 3%45 min
Task 1.5. Judging whether a meeting was effective, knowing the purpose of common meeting and group techniques, and using basic problem-solving and decision tools.
About 8 h 55 min of study, lessons and core practice
≈ 2.5%45 min
Task 2.1. The conditions that suit a plan-based approach, how organisational structure affects the project manager’s authority, and the main project components.
≈ 3%1 h
Task 2.1. The typical activities and outputs of the processes in each process group and knowledge area (Process Groups: A Practice Guide), and the logical order of predictive planning.
≈ 3%45 min
Task 2.2. Decomposing scope into a WBS and work packages, the WBS dictionary, the scope baseline, and the difference between validating and controlling scope.
≈ 3.5%1 h 10 min
Task 2.2. Building network diagrams, applying the critical path method with float calculations, estimating durations and compressing schedules.
≈ 2%45 min
Task 2.2. Putting a quality management plan and an integration management plan into practice: quality metrics and tools, cost of quality, and integrated change control.
≈ 3%1 h
Task 2.3. The artifacts used to control plan-based projects, and calculating and interpreting cost and schedule variances and performance indices.
About 5 h 25 min of study, lessons and core practice
≈ 4%50 min
Task 3.1. The Agile Manifesto values and principles, the pros and cons of adaptive and predictive approaches, and the organisational structures, OPAs and EEFs that help or hinder agile work.
≈ 4.5%1 h 5 min
Task 3.2. The units of adaptive work, the pros and cons of iterations, turning a WBS into a backlog, inputs to adaptive scope, and why adaptive tracking differs from predictive tracking.
≈ 3.5%50 min
Task 3.3. The artifacts adaptive projects use to plan, track and show progress, and how to read the charts and metrics built from them.
≈ 4.5%1 h 10 min
Task 3.4. Distinguishing the roles, events, artifacts and practices of Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming, Lean and scaled frameworks such as SAFe.
≈ 3.5%50 min
Task 3.5. Success criteria for adaptive tasks and stories, prioritising work, and self-organising task execution.
About 4 h 45 min of study, lessons and core practice
≈ 4%55 min
Task 4.1. Covers stakeholder roles in business analysis, why roles must be identified early, internal and external roles, and how the business analyst and project manager work together.
≈ 4%50 min
Task 4.2. Choosing the right communication channel or tool for a business analysis need, and why the business analyst’s communication between teams matters.
≈ 4.5%1 h
Task 4.3, part 1. Choosing and preparing elicitation techniques for a situation, and classifying the requirements they produce.
≈ 4.5%1 h
Task 4.3, part 2. Matching analysis tools to scenarios, writing good requirements and user stories, and tracing requirements with a requirements traceability matrix or product backlog.
≈ 3%45 min
Task 4.4. How product roadmaps are used and how to decide which components go into which release.
≈ 3%45 min
Task 4.5. How the chosen methodology changes the business analyst’s role and the timing, formality and documentation of business analysis work.
≈ 4%50 min
Task 4.6. Defining acceptance criteria and validating requirements through reviews, demos and user acceptance testing. Covers deciding whether a product is ready for delivery using the traceability matrix or backlog.
About 6 h 5 min of study, lessons and core practice
≈ 1%40 min
A practical method for every CAPM item type. Covers the pacing plan around the break after question 75, how to separate near-synonym PMI terms, and fast calculation routines.
About 40 min of study, lessons and core practice
1 diagnostic · 1 full-length, timed and scored like the real test
Strategy guides
6
Pacing, section strategy and test-day guides
Free to start
Every lesson and guide is free, with 40 practice questions a day and the diagnostic. Pro removes the limits.
Compare plansPMI does not publish a pass mark. The standard is criterion-referenced and set psychometrically. You get Pass or Fail and a rating for each domain: Above Target, Target, Below Target or Needs Improvement. On Courselo’s realistic mocks, about 68% correct is the estimated passing line. Book at 75%+ and aim for 80%+ in every domain for Above Target.
They show a short workplace scenario, either an animated video with audio and captions or a comic strip you scroll through. Each is followed by one multiple-choice question. At test centres you can replay the video, and headphones are provided. Online-proctored exams show comic strips only. Treat them like any scenario question: find what the situation is really asking, then apply the PMI concept.
Yes, a few. The ECO asks you to apply critical path methods and to calculate schedule and cost variances. Expect items on forward and backward pass, float, CV, SV, CPI and SPI, and possibly three-point estimates, simple EAC, communication channels and velocity forecasts. A basic on-screen calculator is available. Learn the formulas cold, because each calculation is quick marks.
The PMP requires 35 hours of project management training. An active CAPM waives that requirement, although you still need the PMP’s project-leading experience. The CAPM’s agile, predictive and business analysis content is also a strong base for the PMP’s situational questions.
You can take the exam up to three times within your 1-year eligibility period, and retakes are discounted. After three failed attempts you wait one year before reapplying. The certification is valid for 3 years and is renewed with 15 PDUs and a renewal fee. If you need to retake, use your domain ratings to target weak domains, then score 75%+ with no domain under 68% on a Courselo full mock before rebooking.