Should You Take the PMP Before July 2026 or After? A Decision Framework

The most common question in PMP communities right now is whether to sit the current exam before 9 July 2026 or prepare for the new version. The honest answer is that it depends entirely on your current preparation state — and there is a clear framework for deciding.

Sit before July if...

• You are already 60% or more through your preparation using current materials
• You have completed or nearly completed your 35 contact hours of education on the current ECO
• You have a solid mock exam score (above 65%) on the existing question bank
• Your study materials were purchased within the last 12 months and are PMBOK 7-aligned
• You work in a predominantly predictive (waterfall) environment and the new agile weighting feels like a stretch

Prepare for the new version if...

• You are just starting your preparation — there is no advantage in studying an exam that retires in months
• You already work in agile or hybrid environments and the new weighting plays to your strengths
• Your organisation expects AI awareness or sustainability governance — the new topics reflect real practice
• You prefer a more coherent framework: PMBOK 8's 6 principles are significantly cleaner than PMBOK 7's 12

The experience requirement stays the same

Both versions of the exam require the same eligibility: 36 months of project management experience (with a four-year degree) or 60 months (with a high-school diploma), plus 35 hours of project management education. The application process is unchanged. What changes is only the exam content itself.

What the new exam actually tests differently