What the PMP® exam looks like — and the July 2026 numbers we cannot yet confirm
[PMP-F##] tag that resolves to a fact in our store. This lesson rests partly on a verified-secondary fact. The July 2026 update to the examination content outline is reported by independent training providers [PMP-F15]. PMI's own handbook URL still served the January 2021 document when we checked [PMP-F19]. Read the shape numbers below as the January 2021 picture, and confirm the current format on PMI's site before you sit.Why this lesson is split in two
The exam's content outline was updated, and the update takes effect for exams from July 2026 [PMP-F15]. That fact comes from independent providers, not from PMI's own document.
When we retrieved PMI's canonical handbook on August 8, 2026, the file still identified itself as the January 2021 outline [PMP-F19]. So we publish both halves and label which is which.
The January 2021 shape
Under the January 2021 outline, the exam ran to 180 questions [PMP-F10]. Five of those were pretest questions, which left 175 scored [PMP-F10].
The document stated that every question, scored or not, was placed at random [PMP-F10]. Position told you nothing about which five were unscored, so every question had to be answered as if it counted.
The document gave 230 minutes of examination time for the center-based exam [PMP-F11]. That was one pooled total across all sections, not a per-section allowance [PMP-F20].
Budget more than 230 minutes at the test center. The source states you resumed after each break with the time still left [PMP-F31]. It states the two 10-minute breaks separately from the 230 [PMP-F18].
It does not say in so many words whether those breaks come out of the allowance. Assume they might, and do not plan to spend all 20 minutes.
A tutorial ran before the exam and a survey after it. Both were optional, and the source states they take 5 to 15 minutes [PMP-F30] — outside the 230 [PMP-F25]. You could decline both.
Plan for 230 minutes of exam time, up to 20 of breaks, the tutorial and survey, plus check-in.
Breaks
The January 2021 outline described two 10-minute breaks [PMP-F18]. The first came after you completed and reviewed questions 1 through 60, and the second after question 120 [PMP-F18].
Once you had started a break, you could not return to the previous section's questions [PMP-F18]. Review each section before you stand up, because the door did not reopen.
What the July 2026 update reportedly changes
Independent providers also report changed numbers behind the new outline — a different question count, and a different balance between the domains. Our store does not carry those numbers as a fact [PMP-F15]. We have not confirmed them against PMI's own outline, so we do not print them here.
Our store tracks the official file's fingerprint [PMP-F19] and will publish the new numbers as primary facts once PMI serves them. Until then, treat any figure you read anywhere — including ours — as pending confirmation.
What this means for you
Study the domain content and the practice behind it. The outline that sets how the domains are weighted is being replaced [PMP-F15], and we cannot yet show you the new balance. So do not build a study plan around any weighting you read anywhere, ours included.
What to do next
The source points readers to PMI's PMP Exam Updates page for the current list of item types [PMP-F35]. That is the page to check in the week you book — for the format, and for anything the July 2026 outline changed.
See the evidence behind every number on the facts page. Each entry names the section and page to check in your own copy.
If you are still deciding whether to apply, start at lesson 01.
Check yourself
Answer before you open each one. Retrieving an answer from memory is what makes it stick.
Under the January 2021 outline, how many of the 180 questions were scored?
175. Five of the 180 were pretest questions [PMP-F10].
Under that outline, could you skip the questions you thought were unscored?
No. The document stated that all questions were placed at random [PMP-F10], so answer every one as if it counted.
Under that outline, what had to be finished before you started a break?
Reviewing that section. Once a break started you could not return to the previous section's questions [PMP-F18].
Why does this lesson refuse to print the new question count?
Because that number is secondary reporting, and PMI's own handbook URL still served the January 2021 document when we checked [PMP-F15][PMP-F19].
Evidence for this lesson
Every tag above resolves here. Each entry names the section and page to check in your own copy, with the short quote we relied on — we link the source and never reproduce it.
Under the January 2021 ECO (in effect for exams before the July 2026 update — see PMP-F15), the exam ran to 180 questions, 5 of them unscored pretest items (175 scored), and the document states that every question, scored or not, is placed at random in the exam.
“comprised of 180 questions. Of the 180 questions, 5 are considered pretest questions”
Under the January 2021 ECO (see PMP-F15), candidates sitting the center-based exam were given 230 minutes of examination time.
“the center-based examination is 230 minutes”
PMI has published an updated PMP Examination Content Outline that takes effect for all PMP exams from July 2026, replacing the January 2021 version.
“will come into effect for all PMP® exam tests from July 2026”
Under the January 2021 ECO (see PMP-F15), the PMP exam included two 10-minute breaks — the first after completing and reviewing questions 1–60, the second after question 120 — and after starting a break you could not return to the previous section's questions.
“there are now two 10-minute breaks in the exam”
As of 2026-08-08 (UTC), PMI's canonical PMP handbook URL served the document self-identified as the Examination Content Outline – January 2021 (whole-file SHA-256 3a840ea9bc8afa0c360362fa03b6879003cfe680ba9f018b6d4760fc9f98b63e), i.e. the pre-July-2026 version remained the one PMI distributed at that address.
“Examination Content Outline – January 2021”
Under the January 2021 ECO (see PMP-F15), the stated total across all sections of the exam was 230 minutes, covering 180 questions.
“In total, you will have 230 minutes to respond to 180 questions.”
Under the January 2021 ECO (see PMP-F15), the source states that the time spent on the tutorial and survey was not part of the 230 minutes of examination time.
“The time used to complete the tutorial and survey is not included in the examination time of 230 minutes.”
Under the January 2021 ECO (see PMP-F15), a tutorial ran before the examination and a survey after it. The source states both were optional and puts them at 5 to 15 minutes.
“both of which are optional, and take 5-15 minutes to complete”
Under the January 2021 ECO (see PMP-F15), the source states that a candidate returning from each break had whatever time was still left in the allowance for the sections not yet done.
“you will have the remaining allotted time to complete the remaining section(s)”
For the current list of item types used in the exam, the source directs readers to PMI's PMP Exam Updates page.
“please refer to the PMP Exam Updates page on pmi.org”