How many times is ICAI CA exam held in a year?

CA exams for all the three levels are being held thrice in a year from 2025. The first phase exams are held in May and June and the second phase exams are held in September. The third phase exam is held in January. Registrations for the May-June exams is held in February-March and registrations for September exam is done in July and registration for January exam is done in October-November. Candidates can register and appear for the exam as per their preparation and articleship completion. For any phase of exam, they need to fill the form and pay exam fee through registered login ID.

How many attempts are allowed in CA course?

In the CA course, candidates can make any number of attempts until they clear a particular level. They will be eligible to register for the next level only after clearing the previous level. For example, a candidate needs to clear the CA Foundation level to be able to register for CA Intermediate. For appearing in CA Final exams, a candidate needs to clear both Foundation and Intermediate levels. Since, the level of difficulty of this course is very high, a maximum percentage of students make multiple attempts. Candidates who decide to pursue CA course, need to make sure that they are well prepared to a marathon of studies, preparation and exams. Hope this helps!!!

What is the syllabus of ICAI CA Foundation course?

ICAI CA Foundation is the first level of the course. This level may be considered the easiest of all the courses. The syllabus of ICAI CA Foundation includes the following topics: Principles and Practice of Accounting Business Laws and Business Correspondence and Reporting Business Mathematics Logical Reasoning and Statistics Business Economics Business and Commercial Knowledge Candidates need to clear all the papers relate to these subjects in order to move to Intermediate level. The minimum score requirement id 40 per cent in every paper.

What is the difficulty level of ICAI CA Intermediate exams?

The difficulty level of CA Intermediate exams is high. It is considered to be one of the toughest exams to crack due to the vast syllabus and multiple subjects. The pass percentage of CA Intermediate exam is low and candidates have to make multiple attempts to clear it. CA is a course, one can complete without coaching and guidance. Even though study material, test practices and other support is provided by the ICAI, it is not really possible to study by self. The topics and chapters are vast. They require guidance and practice as well as discipline and productive study hours.

How many papers are there in CA Foundation course?

There are four papers in CA Foundation exam. Check below marks and timings of CA Foundation papers: CA Foundation Paper Marks Time Paper 1: Principles and Practice of Accounting 100 marks 3 hours Paper 2: Business Laws and Business Correspondence Reporting Section A: Business Laws – 60 marks Section B: Business Correspondence and Reporting – 40 marks 3 hours Paper 3: Quantitative Aptitude (+ Logical Reasoning and Statistics) Part A: Business Mathematics- 40 marks Part B: Logical Reasoning – 20 marks Part C: Statistics – 40 marks 2 hours Paper 4: Business Economics Part I: Business Economics – 60 marks Part II: Business and Commercial Knowledge – 40 marks 2 hours

Is there negative marking in CA Foundation exam?

There is no negative marking in Paper 1 and Paper 2 of the CA Foundation course as they are subjective papers. In Paper3 and Paper 4, which have objective type questions, there is negative marking of 1/4th mark for incorrect attempt. Total marks per paper is 100. Every question carries 1 mark. Thus, students must mark answers carefully in Paper 3 and 4, to avoid negative marking. They must not do guess work.

How much marks is needed to clear CA Foundation course level?

A candidate needs to score at least 40% in each paper and 55% overall to pass in CA Foundation course exam. Those who do not score as per minimum score or more, have reappear in CA Foundation exam.

What is the difficulty level of ICAI CA Final exams?

The difficulty level of CA Final exams is the highest among all the as the course is vast and extensive. The CA Final exam includes papers such as Corporate & Economic Laws Part I: Corporate Law, Economic Laws, Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation, Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation, Goods and Services Tax, Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation, etc. which are tough to crack. The pass percentage of CA Final exams is low as low as 25 per cent in a particular session and students need multiple attempts to clear this level. Even after completing the CA Foundation and CA Intermediate levels, candidates find it tough to clear the CA Final level.

What is the eligibility criteria for pursuing CA course?

The minimum eligibility criteria for pursuing CA course is class 12 pass or equivalent from a recognised institute or university. Candidates who have completed graduation can directly take admission at CA Intermediate level. Check below: CA Foundation Eligibility Criteria Candidates who have passed Class 12 or equivalent examination from a recognised board are eligible. Candidates who have: Registered with Board of Studies on or before 30 June of the examination year Changed to CA Foundation Course with Board of Studies of ICAI on or before September 7 of the examination year. CA Intermediate Eligibility Criteria Candidates who have passed CA Foundation examination or equivalent examination are eligible Candidates who have registered for previous CA Intermediate exam as per syllabus under paragraph 2 or 2A of Schedule B or Professional Education (Course-II), Professional Competence Course and converted into Intermediate (IPC) Course/ Accounting Technician Course (ATC) are eligible Candidates who have completed graduation or post-graduation in any stream from a recognised institute of India are also eligible CA Final Eligibility Criteria Candidates who have passed the CA Intermediate examination or Professional Education Examination – II/PCC/IPCC, are eligible to apply for the CA Final exam They must also have completed 3 years or 3½ years or must be due to complete, as the case may be, of article training as on the date of filling the form For PE-II stream student and PE-II stream students converted to IPCC – Also, they must be serving the last twelve months of articled training including excess leave, if any, and due to complete 3 years on or before October 31 of the examination year. For PCC stream students - The candidate must be serving the last six months of articled training including excess leave if any, and due to complete 3½ years on or before 30th April of the examination year For Intermediate IPCC students – The candidate must be serving the last six months of training including excess leave if any, and due to complete 3 years on or before April 30 of the examination year. For students converted from PE-II to PCC as well as for students converted from PE-II to PCC and then to IPCC - The candidate must be serving the last twelve months of training including excess leave if any, and due to complete 3½ years articles on or before October 31 of the examination year. Candidates who have taken termination are advised to re-register for the balance period of training

What is the time duration of ICAI CA exams?

The time duration of ICAI CA exams varies for each paper. For some papers, the duration is three hours whereas for some papers it is two hours. The time limit of CA Foundation paper 3 and 4 is two hours and for rest of the papers across levels is three hours. There is no sectional time limit in CA exams.

ICAI CA Exam Pattern 2026: Get Latest Exam Pattern & Marking Scheme of CA Foundation

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Exam On - 18 Jan '26

Updated on Dec 10, 2025 16:48 IST

By Vipra Shrivastava, Senior Manager - Content

ICAI CA Foundation exam pattern and course structure are designed for training students in performing accounting and taxation calculations as well as legal paperwork. CA Foundation is the first level of Chartered Accountancy course by ICAI. It requires about 4-6 months to prepare CA Foundation.

All the three levels of the ICAI CA course have different exam patterns and difficulty levels. CA Foundation is considered to be the easiest level. However, it is not that easy to crack. A very few percentage of candidates crack it in the first attempt. In this article, you will read all about ICAI CA Foundation exam pattern 2026.

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