1.1 Current Exam Facts

PRINCE2 7 Practitioner — Current Exam Facts

Quick Answer: The PRINCE2 7 Practitioner exam is a 70-mark, 150-minute open-book assessment administered by PeopleCert on behalf of AXELOS. The pass mark is 60% (42 of 70 marks). It uses two scenario-based question types — Classic (1 mark) and Matching (3 marks) — and tests Bloom's Levels 3 (Apply) and 4 (Analyse) across four learning outcomes weighted Principles 10%, People 9%, Practices 51%, and Processes 30%.

The PRINCE2 7 Practitioner is the advanced, scenario-driven credential in the PRINCE2 project management method, owned by AXELOS and delivered through its accreditation partner PeopleCert. Where the Foundation exam checks that you know the method, the Practitioner checks that you can apply and tailor it to realistic project situations. The credential is recognized in over 150 countries and is a common requirement on public-sector and enterprise procurement frameworks.

Format and Logistics

A critical format point: this is an open-book exam, but only the official PRINCE2 7 Managing Successful Projects book may be brought in. You may annotate it — highlighting, sticky tabs, and handwritten margin notes are all permitted — but no loose notes, printed summaries, or second books are allowed. The invigilator checks this at check-in.

Question Types

PeopleCert publishes the paper as 56 questions and sub-questions worth 70 marks — so the marks available exceed the number of items you actually answer. That arithmetic is a useful sanity check: 49 one-mark Classic items plus 7 three-mark Matching items gives 56 items and 70 marks. Every question is scenario-based. Each scenario opens with an Additional Information block describing a project — its personnel, current management stage, and a situation — followed by one or more questions.

Classic items (1 mark each). Four options, one correct. Many use the "Yes/No, because…" stem: the first part is a yes/no judgement, the second part is the justification. Both halves must be correct for the answer to be correct. A "Yes" with a wrong reason scores zero.

Matching items (3 marks each). You are given three items (for example, three project situations) and 5–6 options (for example, risk responses). You must match each of the three items to one option. Each option can be used once, more than once, or not at all — so elimination is not as simple as "use each option once." A single matching item is worth three marks, so getting it right moves your score quickly.

Blueprint: Four Learning Outcomes

Practices dominate the exam at 51% — more than half of your marks come from LO3. Plan your study time accordingly: be fluent in every practice's purpose, primary technique, supporting techniques, and management products before you move into process detail.

Prerequisite, Validity, and Renewal

You must hold one of the following before booking the Practitioner: PRINCE2 7 Foundation; PRINCE2 6 Foundation or Practitioner; PMP (Project Management Professional); CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management); PMQ; PPQ; or IPMA Levels A–D (IPMA-A through IPMA-D). If you are coming from PRINCE2 6, note that v7 renamed themes to practices, added the People element, and consolidated management products from 26 to 15 — do not assume the v6 syllabus maps cleanly onto v7.

The credential is valid for 3 years from the date you pass. PeopleCert offers three renewal routes: resit the Practitioner exam; pass another exam within the PRINCE2 product suite (which renews every certification you hold in that suite); or log 60 CPD points — 20 per year for three consecutive years — through an active PeopleCert Plus membership. Older guidance referring to a MyAxelos subscription is stale: that platform has been retired and CPD points previously held there now sit in PeopleCert Plus accounts. There is no separate "re-registration exam" in the v7 scheme.