PRINCE2 Exams
12 facts about PRINCE2 exams
- 1996 - The first PRINCE2 exam was sat.
- 2012 – The 1 millionth exam was sat.
- 2019 – The 2 millionth exam was sat (* estimate based on data from PRINCE2 popularity).
- More people have sat a PRINCE2 exam than any other project management exam anywhere in the world.
- Approximately 2 PRINCE2 Foundation exams are taken for every 1 PRINCE2 Practitioner exam.
- Approximately half of all PRINCE2 exams have been sat in the UK.
- PRINCE2 exams have been sat in 20 languages.
- UK national pass rates for PRINCE2 Foundation exam is 97%.
- UK national pass rates for PRINCE2 Practitioner exam is 73%.
- PRINCE2 exams can be sat online or in traditional paper format via an Accredited Training Provider (ATO).
- PRINCE2 exam results are immediate (if taken online) or can take up to 3 days if taken in paper format with an ATO.
- Students can use their PRINCE2 manual when sitting a PRINCE2 Practitioner exam.
PRINCE2 Foundation exam
- Duration: 1-hour.
- Questions: 60 multiple-choice.
- Pass-mark: 55%.
- Pass rate (UK): 97%.
- Style: Closed book.
- Pre-requisite: None.
- What it shows: Passing this exam shows that a candidate understands the terminology and key concepts of the PRINCE2 methodology. It also shows that a candidate can act as an informed member of a project management team using PRINCE2.
PRINCE2 Practitioner exam
- Duration: 2.5-hours.
- Questions: 68 multiple-choice.
- Pass-mark: 55%.
- Pass rate (UK): 73%.
- Style: Open book (PRINCE2 manual allowed).
- Pre-requisite: Any one of the following qualifications is a prerequisite for students before they can sit the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam (out of date certifications do not qualify):
- PRINCE2 Foundation
- PMI®Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®
- PMI® Project Management Professional (PMP)®
- IPMA Level A® (Certified Projects Director)
- IPMA Level B®(Certified Senior Project Manager)
- IPMA Level C®(Certified Project Manager)
- IPMA Level D®(Certified Project Management Associate) – in the UK, the equivalent qualification is the Association for Project Management (APM) Project Management Qualification (PMQ) certificate.
- What it shows: Passing this exam shows that a candidate can apply PRINCE2 to a project within an environment supporting PRINCE2 and is able to tailor the PRINCE2 themes, processes and management products to a non-complex project.
PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation exam
- Duration: 1-hour.
- Questions: 50 multiple-choice.
- Pass-mark: 55%.
- Pass rate (UK): Unknown.
- Style: Closed book.
- Pre-requisite: None.
- What it shows: Passing this exam shows that a candidate understands the PRINCE2 governance requirements clearly and comprehensively. It also shows that a candidate has a range of knowledge of agile concepts and techniques such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean Start-up and Cynefin.
PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner exam
- Duration: 2.5-hours.
- Questions: 50 multiple-choice.
- Pass-mark: 60%.
- Pass rate (UK): Unknown.
- Style: Open book (PRINCE2 Agile manual allowed).
- Pre-requisite: Any one of the following qualifications is a prerequisite for students before they can sit the PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner exam (out of date certifications do not qualify):
- PRINCE2 Foundation
- PRINCE2 Agile Foundation
- PMI®Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®
- PMI® Project Management Professional (PMP)®
- IPMA Level A® (Certified Projects Director)
- IPMA Level B®(Certified Senior Project Manager)
- IPMA Level C®(Certified Project Manager)
- IPMA Level D®(Certified Project Management Associate) – in the UK, the equivalent qualification is the APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) certificate.
- What it shows: Passing this exam shows that a candidate canblend PRINCE2 structure, governance and control with agile methods, techniques and approaches on a non-complex project.
PRINCE2 exams infographic

“PMI“, “PMP“ and “CAPM” are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
IPMA Level A®, IPMA Level B®, IPMA Level C® and IPMA Level D® are Registered Trade Marks of IPMA in Switzerland and other countries.
PRINCE2 Agile® is a registered trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.