That's not my understanding (but I could be wrong)
I understood it to be:
You have to have the PCC issued no earlier than 3 months before you APPLY. But then the pcc itself is valid for a year. so it should be fine for the rest of the application process. Which means cic can take their sweet time after you've submitted to actually check the PCC and it'll be good for the year (if you've submitted it the same month as it having been issued)