Question: I know that I can read a book to earn PDUs. However, how would I verify that I read a book in case that I am audited by PMI?

Answer: You are correct. Every hour that you spend reading a book will count as 1 PMP PDU. The PDUs that you earn for reading books fall into Category C “Self-Directed Learning”. In this category you can also earn PDUs for reading articles or instructional manuals, watching videos, Podcasts or other source material, and even having formal discussions or being coached by a colleague, coworker or consultant.

In this way you can earn a maximum of 30 PDUs. (Of course, the book has to be related to project management. You cannot read “Twilight” and then claim 30 PDUs.)

During an audit PMI will ask you to provide some evidence to support your claim. In particular, PMI writes the following: “Evidence supporting your reported learning project, including notes from and dates of discussion or reading.”

This means that the easiest way for you to provide this evidence is in form of a “logfile” in which you keep track of what book you read. This can be a simple sheet of paper on which you keep track of the book you read, when you read which pages, and how long it took. Or alternatively you can use the Category C PDU Logfile provided by The PM Podcast at bit.ly/PDU-Logfile - Simply download this logfile and use it to keep track of your hours when you listen to either podcasts or when you are reading a book.