ISO 21502 certification when a member is PMP?

PMP shows your project management knowledge aligned with global best practices, including concepts found in ISO 21502, but it is not an official ISO 21502 certification.

ISO 21502 certification is usually about organizational compliance, not individual certification.

A similar example:

ISACA’s COBIT framework is a set of governance best practices, and CGEIT is the individual certification for governance professionals. Having a CGEIT cert shows you understand COBIT, but COBIT itself is a framework, not a certification.

So, PMP is like CGEIT—an individual certification based on best practices—while ISO 21502 is like COBIT—a standard/framework organizations align with.

dagornet pascal
Excellent question.
Quite relevant, especially with the growing interest in the convergence between ISO standards and PMI certifications.

ISO 21502:2020 is an international guidance standard for project management, applicable to any type of organization — public or private.

However, it’s important to clarify two key points:
- ISO 21502 is not a certification for individuals, nor is it a certifiable standard for organizations.
Unlike standards such as ISO 9001 (quality) or ISO 27001 (information security), ISO 21502 provides guidelines, not requirements.
Therefore, it does not allow formal certification - neither for people nor companies.
- Regarding the PMP® (Project Management Professional), there is a high degree of convergence with ISO 21502 - especially since the release of the PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, which adopted a principle-based approach more aligned with the ISO structure

That said:
- Holding the PMP® is not the same as being “ISO 21502 certified”, because such certification doesn’t formally exist.
- However, the PMP® is a strong indication of alignment with the good practices recommended by the ISO 21502 standard.
- Some training providers offer courses based on ISO 21502, and even certificates of attendance, but these are not official ISO certifications.

If the goal is to adopt ISO 21502 as a standard inside an organization, the most common approach is:
- Conducting a gap analysis between current processes and ISO 21502 guidelines;
- Integrating those guidelines into the project management system;
- Using the standard as a basis for internal development, maturity assessment, or informal audits.

In summary: ISO 21502 is a valuable strategic reference, and PMP® remains a globally recognized mark of individual excellence.
One complements the other.
But they do not replace each other.