Free ARE PjM Practice Exam (Project Management)
Contracts, schedules, budgets and quality-control questions with case studies, every answer explained.
A firm wants to reduce errors in a set of documents before issuing them for bid. Which practice is most effective?
97 original PjM questions · 6 case studies · 63% of attempts passed in 2025
PjM practice questions by section
NCARB divides Project Management into 5 sections and sets each one’s share of the exam. Every section has a free ten-question drill with an explanation after each answer, and the case study drill gives you three scenarios with ten questions.
Resource Management (7–13%)
About 7 of 75 questions · 2 objectives
Assembling the project team and allocating staff and consultants
Project Work Planning (17–23%)
About 15 of 75 questions · 3 objectives
Work plans, project schedules and communication with the owner, contractor and consultants
Contracts (25–31%)
About 21 of 75 questions · 4 objectives
Owner-architect, architect-consultant and owner-contractor agreements and owner’s consultants
Project Execution (17–23%)
About 15 of 75 questions · 4 objectives
Budget control during design, scope changes, documentation for the delivery method and approvals from authorities having jurisdiction
Project Quality Control (19–25%)
About 17 of 75 questions · 4 objectives
Laws and regulations, quality control and risk reduction, coordination and constructability, and design intent
Case studies
16 questions in our practice exam
A project scenario with one or two resources such as contracts, budgets, schedules, code or zoning excerpts and drawings, followed by three or four questions.
7 free drills in PjM; each drill’s first attempt is free.
Ready for the full exam?
75 questions on the real 3 hr clock, standalone questions then case studies, with check-all-that-apply items, a score by section and an explanation for every answer.
Or start with a free 10-question drillThe PjM exam at a glance
Project Management covers running a project: assembling the team, work plans and schedules, the owner-architect, architect-consultant and owner-contractor agreements, budget and scope control, approvals from authorities having jurisdiction, and quality control. Facts below are from NCARB’s ARE 5.0 Guidelines effective October 1, 2026, and its website.
- Questions
- 75 items: 68 scored and 7 unscored pretest items you cannot identify
- Time
- 3 hr of testing time and 30 minutes of optional break time, in a 3 hr 40 min appointment
- Case studies
- Up to 7 case studies with up to 16 questions, after the standalone questions
- Question types
- Multiple choice, check-all-that-apply and hotspot; one point each, no partial credit
- Passing score
- NCARB: 59–71% of scored items correct, depending on the form
- Fee and retakes
- US$263 per attempt; retake after 60 days, at most three attempts in 12 months
- Pass rate
- 2023: 67% · 2024: 60% · 2025: 63%
- Sections
- Resource Management 7–13%; Project Work Planning 17–23%; Contracts 25–31%; Project Execution 17–23%; Project Quality Control 19–25%
What PjM tests
- Contracts is the largest section (25–31%): what the AIA B101 owner-architect agreement requires, how consultant agreements flow down the architect’s duties, the owner-contractor agreement, and how to fold an owner’s separate consultants into the work.
- Project Work Planning (17–23%) covers work plans, staffing hours and fees by phase, critical-path schedules, float and fast-tracking, and who should hear about what and when.
- Project Execution (17–23%) tests keeping the design inside the construction budget, handling scope creep and additional services, documenting for each delivery method, and code and zoning approvals.
- Project Quality Control (19–25%) and Resource Management (7–13%) cover peer reviews, coordination checks, constructability reviews, keeping the design intent through value engineering, and assembling the right team.
Our practice exam draws questions per section inside NCARB’s expected counts and ends with 5 case studies. It does not include hotspot items, and it scores every question, including the share that would be unscored pretest items on the real exam.
Common questions
How many questions are on the PjM exam?
Project Management has 75 items: 68 scored and 7 unscored pretest items. You get 3 hours of testing time and 30 minutes of optional break time, in a 3 hour 40 minute appointment. The division includes up to 7 case studies with up to 16 case study items.
What score do you need to pass PjM?
NCARB says you need to answer between 59 and 71 percent of the scored items correctly to pass Project Management. The exact cut score depends on the form you get, because forms differ slightly in difficulty. Every item is worth one point, with no partial credit and no penalty for a wrong answer. Pass or fail depends on your total across the division, not on any one section.
Can I retake PjM if I fail?
You can retake a failed division 60 days after your previous attempt of that division, and take the same division no more than three times in any 12 months. Each attempt costs US$263. A failing score report shows your relative strengths and weaknesses by section on page two.
Are these real ARE questions?
No. NCARB keeps its exam content confidential, and candidates agree not to share it. Every question and case study here is original, written to the objectives NCARB publishes in the ARE 5.0 Guidelines, with an explanation and a reference for each answer.
Ready for exam day?
75 questions on the real 3 hr clock, standalone questions then case studies, with check-all-that-apply items, a score by section and an explanation for every answer.
Or start with a free 10-question drillThe other ARE divisions
One ARE pass covers every division’s practice exam and drills.
Format, scoring, fees and pass rates checked November 2026: NCARB: ARE 5.0 Guidelines (effective October 1, 2026) · NCARB: ARE 5.0 question types · NCARB: What score do you need to pass the ARE? (updated June 2025) · NCARB: ARE 5.0 pass rates · NCARB: fees.
ARE® and Architect Registration Examination® are registered marks of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Game Assessment Prep is an independent practice site, not affiliated with or endorsed by NCARB. Every question and case study is original, written to the published ARE 5.0 objectives; none is an ARE question, a recalled question or taken from NCARB’s practice exams.