TOPIC: Fail Exam

What happens if I fail the first time?

Nothing !!

If you fail the examination three times within your one-year eligibility period, you must wait one year from the date of the last examination you took to reapply for the certification. However, after failing a certification examination three times, candidates may opt to apply for any other PMI certification.

-Neeraj

Effectively nothing, Cristina. You can immediately set up the next exam (and pay an exam fee). However, I would strongly recommend that you look the breakout of the exam areas instead of just the major groups to see where your weakest areas were, then go back and study those more intently.

Neeraj pointed out there is a waiting period if you fail it three times in a year's period. Don't dwell on that though.

Hi Cristina,

Here’s some advice from Cornelius from several years ago that may help you . . .

First of all you should definitely not be afraid of the PMP exam. Thousands of people have taken this exam in the past and my nearly 10 years of training experience has shown me that if you study the materials and practice often using a simulator then the exam is no more difficult than a driving test. It's simply a matter of knowing the material and be able to select the correct answer.

As you get closer to your test date . . .

My recommendation for you at this point is the one that has helped most students who are getting close to the actual exam date: Focus your energy mostly on answering sample questions. Do as many "full" exams as you possibly can. And for each answer that you have incorrect you should open up the books to review why you had it wrong and learn from the mistake. So invest 4 hours into taking the exam and then another 4 hours into reviewing the incorrect answers, before moving on to the next exam.

So don't look at the PMP exam as something to be feared. Instead look at it as something that you can knock out of the ballpark.

Here are some links you may find helpful:
How To Get PMP Certification in 10 Easy Steps
The PMP® Exam is Changing on 1 July 2020

If you do fail the exam, here's a link from the PrepCast Team to help you recover and retake the exam:
How to Recover from a Failed PMP Exam - The Complete Guide

We are rooting for you, Cristina!