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CompTIA Project+ is the project management certification written for people who run IT projects, and this guide covers it as of October 2026. It walks through the current PK0-005 exam, the four domains and their weights, the exam format and passing score, the October 2025 move to continuing education, the jobs Project+ fits, and how it compares to CAPM and PMP.
CompTIA Project+ is a vendor-neutral project management certification for IT professionals who coordinate small to medium-sized projects. The current exam, PK0-005, launched on November 8, 2022.
It is aimed at people who run projects as part of a technical job, often before anyone gives them a project title. Think of a sysadmin leading a server migration or an analyst coordinating a software rollout. The exam follows a project from business case to sign-off, tests agile and waterfall side by side, and adds a domain on IT basics and governance that neither CAPM nor PMP includes.
Project+ has no formal prerequisites. CompTIA recommends the equivalent of 6 to 12 months of hands-on experience managing projects in a tech environment, but nobody checks before you book. Since October 1, 2025, it has been part of CompTIA’s Continuing Education program, so a new certification is valid for three years. The credential is issued and maintained by CompTIA, the same body behind A+, Network+ and Security+.
Methodologies, agile versus waterfall, change control, risk, schedules and teams. 33% of the exam.
Discovery, initiation, planning, execution and closing, in the order a project runs them.
Tracking charts, logs, productivity tools and the quality charts you have to read.
ESG, security, privacy, IT concepts and operational change control. The lightest domain at 18%.
Four things that set Project+ apart from the PMI credentials most people weigh it against in 2026.
CAPM and PMP have no domain on technology itself. Project+ spends 18% of PK0-005 on IT: cloud models, infrastructure, software change control, CI/CD and the difference between production and staging. Objective 4.5 even asks how change control differs between cloud and on-premises systems.
PMP asks for years of documented project leadership plus 35 hours of education, and CAPM requires 23 hours of project management education before the exam. Project+ has no eligibility application at all, which suits people who have run projects informally and never kept a log of the hours.
Objective 1.2 asks you to compare agile and waterfall and pick the right fit for a project, and objective 1.1 names Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, XP, PRINCE2, DevOps and DevSecOps. The domain breakdown below shows what each domain is worth.
Project+ used to be good for life. On October 1, 2025, CompTIA moved it into the Continuing Education program, so a certification earned today is valid for three years. Renewal takes 30 continuing education units and a $150 CE fee per cycle, or a pass on the current exam version. Anyone who already held Project+ was given the CE version automatically, with a renewal deadline of October 1, 2028.
Project+ is not a DoD 8140 qualification. CompTIA’s framework alignment page lists seven CompTIA certifications approved under DoD Manual 8140.03, and Project+ is not among them. For federal roles that need one, see our DoD 8140 pathways.
The certification, the PK0-005 exam and what it takes to keep Project+ current, as of October 2026.
Project+ works well as a first project credential on an IT résumé. The three below are the usual next moves, and each points a different way. None of them require Project+, but each builds on the planning, risk and change control vocabulary it teaches.
The step up once the experience is in place. PMP asks for 36 months of documented project leadership with a bachelor’s degree, 60 months with a high school diploma or 24 months with a degree from a GAC-accredited program, plus 35 hours of project management education or an active CAPM. Its current outline took effect July 9, 2026, and the exam runs 180 questions in 240 minutes.
For people whose projects run in sprints. The PMI-ACP outline effective November 8, 2024 covers four domains: Mindset, Leadership, Product and Delivery. Unlike Project+, it has eligibility rules, including two years of agile project experience in the past five (or one of PMI’s alternatives) and formal agile training.
The service management direction, for projects that end with a handoff to operations. Project+ objective 2.3 covers transition and release planning, and ITIL® Foundation (Version 5) picks up with how those services are run and improved. PeopleCert released it on February 12, 2026, with no prerequisites and a 40-question, 60-minute exam.
Project+ needs no earlier certification, so the first stage is the technical and project background you bring. Domain 4.0 tests infrastructure, cloud and change control basics, which is where an IT background pays off. From Project+ the path usually splits toward project leadership, agile delivery or IT service management.
What you bring
The vendor-neutral PM base
Pick your path
Two questions to answer before you commit: can you sit it, and should you pursue Project+ specifically. Here’s a straight answer to both.
No prerequisites, no application.
Project+ has no formal prerequisites and no eligibility review. You buy a voucher, schedule with Pearson VUE and sit the exam. That makes it a realistic first project credential for someone whose job title still says engineer, administrator or analyst.
The scenarios assume you’ve run something.
CompTIA pitches the exam at 6 to 12 months of hands-on experience managing IT projects, and 11 of the 24 objectives open with “Given a scenario.” If you have never built a schedule or walked a change request through approval, plan extra time on domains 1.0 and 2.0 before you book.
CompTIA lists project coordinator, junior project manager, business analyst, quality assurance analyst and systems administrator among the jobs people with Project+ have held. Most are roles where project work sits next to technical work.
Keeps the schedule, status reports and the risk, issue and change logs current for a project manager or PMO. Most of domain 3.0 describes the tools this job touches every day.
Runs small to medium-sized IT projects from charter and kickoff through closeout and sign-off. That is the scope CompTIA writes PK0-005 around.
Leads larger IT projects and the teams behind them. Project+ covers the fundamentals, and once the experience is documented, PMP is the usual next credential for this role.
Gathers requirements, builds the business case and works with stakeholders on scope. Discovery artifacts, ROI and CapEx versus OpEx all sit in objective 2.1.
Plans test cycles and reports on quality. Objective 3.3 covers the charts this role reads, from Pareto and control charts to burndown and velocity charts.
Manages servers and accounts and often leads the migrations, upgrades and rollouts that touch them. The infrastructure and change control content in domain 4.0 matches that work closely.
Project+ is CompTIA’s project credential. CAPM and PMP are PMI’s entry-level and professional credentials. Here’s how the three line up as of October 2026.
| Project+ | CAPM | PMP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | CompTIA | PMI | PMI |
| Level | Entry-level | Entry-level | Professional |
| Focus | Small to medium-sized IT projects | PM fundamentals across predictive, agile and business analysis | Leading projects across all approaches |
| Current Exam | PK0-005, launched November 8, 2022 | 2023 ECO, effective July 25, 2023 | 2026 ECO, effective July 9, 2026 |
| Exam Format | Up to 90 questions, 90 minutes | 150 questions (135 scored), 3 hours | 180 questions, 240 minutes |
| Passing Score | 710 of 900 | Not published | Not published, rated by domain |
| Eligibility | None (6 to 12 months suggested) | Secondary degree plus 23 hours of PM education | 24 to 60 months leading projects, by education, plus 35 hours |
| Exam Fee | $399 | $225 member / $300 non-member | $405 member / $655 non-member |
| Renewal | 30 CEUs over 3 years | 15 PDUs over 3 years | 60 PDUs over 3 years |
| DoD 8140 Approved | No | No | No |
| Best For | IT pros who run projects alongside a technical role | People starting a project career | Experienced project leaders |
Fees are in US dollars as of October 2026. PMI charges members less than non-members, and regional pricing differs for all three. If PMP is the long-term goal, an active CAPM covers PMP’s 35-hour education requirement, which is the strongest reason to pick CAPM over Project+.
Certification Matchups: the published facts, strengths and weak spots of 33 certifications, side by side.
Our CompTIA Project+ boot camp covers all four PK0-005 domains in three days of live, instructor-led training, in person or online. Official CompTIA courseware, the $399 exam voucher and a free retake are included, and on-site Pearson VUE testing is available. If you’d rather study on your own schedule, the self-paced course includes 365 days of access and the exam voucher.
The PMP step up, renewal rules, CompTIA voucher costs and where Project+ fits among the other CompTIA certifications.
The usual step up from Project+ once you can document the experience. PMI’s fees, the experience thresholds for each education level, the 35-hour training rule and what changed on the exam in July 2026, in one place.
What certified project managers earn in 2026 by role, experience and industry, and which jobs see the biggest pay change from the credential.
Where Project+ sits among CompTIA’s options outside security, listed as the pick for anyone who wants to run projects instead of tickets.
The directions that open up after A+, including the IT management and project track, where the article names Project+ as a reasonable starting point.
How continuing education works across ISC2, ISACA and CompTIA, including why Project+ renews on its own instead of through the CompTIA certification hierarchy.
CompTIA voucher prices after the June 2026 increase, plus the legitimate ways to pay less: training partner bundles, academic pricing, employer reimbursement and military programs.
A comparison of free project management tools and where their free plans run out. Useful background for domain 3.0, which tests the scheduling, collaboration and ticketing tools teams use.
The PK0-005 exam is organized into four domains with 24 objectives between them. Project Management Concepts and Project Life Cycle Phases together make up 63% of the exam. Click any domain for what it covers.
The largest domain, holding 11 of the exam’s 24 objectives. It starts with project characteristics and the frameworks IT teams use (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, XP, PRINCE2, DevOps and DevSecOps), then asks you to choose between agile and waterfall for a given project. From there it covers change control, risk and issue management, scheduling, quality and performance, communication, meeting management, team and resource management, and procurement and vendor selection.
Five objectives that follow a project from start to finish. Discovery artifacts such as the business case, ROI and CapEx versus OpEx come first. Initiation covers the charter, stakeholder assessment and a RACI matrix. Planning covers the schedule, budget, QA plan and transition plan. Execution brings vendor management, conflict and phase gate reviews, and closing covers contract closure, the closeout report and sign-off.
Three objectives on the tools project teams use every week. Objective 3.1 covers tracking charts and logs such as Gantt and PERT charts, risk registers, change logs and dashboards. The second compares communication, collaboration, scheduling and ticketing tools. The last one deserves the most practice, since it hands you a histogram, Pareto chart, fishbone diagram, control chart, burndown chart or decision tree and asks what the data means for the project.
The IT-specific domain that CAPM and PMP do not have. Five objectives cover ESG impacts on a project, physical, operational and data security, compliance and privacy regulations, basic infrastructure, cloud and software concepts, and operational change control, including CI/CD and the difference between production and staging environments.
Domains and weights reflect the CompTIA Project+ PK0-005 (V5) exam objectives, launched November 8, 2022. As of October 2026, CompTIA has not posted a retirement date for PK0-005.
The questions candidates ask most often when researching the CompTIA Project+ certification.
CompTIA Project+ is a vendor-neutral project management certification for IT professionals who manage small to medium-sized projects. It covers the project life cycle, agile and waterfall methods, change control, risk, project tools, and a domain on IT basics and governance. It suits people who run projects alongside a technical job as well as people moving into project coordination.
The current exam is PK0-005, also called Version 5, which CompTIA launched on November 8, 2022. It replaced PK0-004 and grew the objective list from 18 to 24, with more agile content and a sharper focus on IT environments. As of October 2026, CompTIA has not posted a retirement date for PK0-005 or announced a successor exam.
No. Project+ has no formal prerequisites and no eligibility application, so anyone can buy a voucher and book the exam. CompTIA recommends the equivalent of 6 to 12 months of hands-on experience managing projects in a tech environment, but that’s a recommendation, not a requirement.
PK0-005 has a maximum of 90 questions and a 90-minute time limit. The questions are a mix of multiple choice and performance-based items. You need a scaled score of 710 on a scale of 100 to 900 to pass. CompTIA offers the exam in English, Japanese and Thai.
Under PK0-005 the four domains are Project Management Concepts (33 percent), Project Life Cycle Phases (30 percent), Tools and Documentation (19 percent), and Basics of IT and Governance (18 percent). The first two make up 63 percent of the exam, so most of your study time belongs there.
As of October 2026, a Project+ exam voucher costs $399 at CompTIA’s US store, or $519 with Retake Assurance, which adds a second attempt. Prices vary by region. Training Camp’s Project+ boot camp and self-paced course both include the exam voucher in the course price.
CompTIA lists IT project coordinator, junior IT project manager, business analyst, quality assurance analyst and systems administrator among the jobs people with Project+ have held. It also fits anyone in a technical role who leads migrations, rollouts or upgrades and wants a credential that covers that work.
No. CompTIA lists seven of its certifications as approved under DoD Manual 8140.03, and Project+ is not one of them. For the DCWF IT Project Manager work role (802), CompTIA’s own alignment page lists Security+ and SecurityX as the approved CompTIA options. See which credentials are 8140 approved.
Yes, since October 1, 2025. CompTIA moved Project+ from good for life into its Continuing Education program, so a new certification is valid for three years. You renew by earning 30 CEUs and paying the $150 CE fee for the cycle, or by passing the current exam version. Holders certified before that date were given the CE version automatically, with a renewal deadline of October 1, 2028.
Project+ is CompTIA’s entry-level credential for IT project work, with no prerequisites and a domain on IT basics. CAPM is PMI’s entry-level credential and requires 23 hours of project management education. PMP is PMI’s professional credential for experienced project leaders and requires documented project leadership plus 35 hours of education. None of the three is DoD 8140 approved.
Take Project+ if your projects happen in IT and you want change control, infrastructure and cloud basics on the exam. Take CAPM if you plan to move to PMP and want to stay with PMI, since an active CAPM meets the PMP’s 35-hour education requirement. Both are entry-level, and neither requires project experience.
Once you can document the experience, PMP is the usual step up. People on agile teams often look at PMI-ACP next, and people whose projects end in a handoff to operations pair Project+ with ITIL Foundation (Version 5). Staying technical is a fine outcome too, since Project+ renews on its own cycle and doesn’t depend on a next credential.
Project+ is an entry-level exam, but it isn’t a vocabulary test. Eleven of the 24 objectives start with the words Given a scenario, so many questions ask what a project manager should do next. Practice the change control steps, the risk responses and quality charts such as Pareto and control charts until you can apply them, not just define them.
For IT professionals who run projects without a project title, yes. It’s one exam with no prerequisites, it covers both agile and waterfall, and unlike CAPM or PMP it tests IT change control and infrastructure basics. It’s a weaker fit if you can already document PMP-level experience, need a DoD 8140 qualification, or want a credential that never needs renewing.
Whether you’re weighing the certification, working out funding, or planning training for a team, tell us where you are and we’ll help you map out the right path.