To apply for a PMP, you must hold a four-year degree (a bachelor's or global equivalent), preferably in some form of business studies, and have at least 4,500 hours leading and directing company projects. You may also possess a secondary diploma (high school or global equivalent) with at least five years of project management experience (within the past seven years) and 7,500 hours of project directing within a company. In addition, you must completely 35 hours of project management education in both cases.
If you do not have the required experience or education, then PMI offers an entry-level certification. It's called the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) credential, and it's designed to teach the fundamental knowledge, terminology and processes of effective project management. You only need a secondary diploma (high school or global equivalent), or 1,500 hours of project managing and directing or 23 hours of project management education. If you successfully complete the CAPM course, then you will be eligible for the PMP certification.
You can obtain the 35 project management education hours that a PMP credential requires can by successfully participating in 35 hours of any project management course, some of which are offered by PMI. (If you have a CAPM credential, then you do not need additional hours.) Check the course guidelines and ensure they count as "contact hours" and not "professional development units," which are not eligible as professional education hours.
Once you get a PMP credential, then you must maintain the PMP by accumulating 60 professional development units (PDUs) per three-year cycle. You can obtain PDUs by posting project management articles and reporting these to PMI, taking PMI quizzes, volunteering to other organizations other than your employer, attending seminars, teaching project management or attending project management events approved by PMI.