How to Score Passing Marks in CA Foundation Exam?
ICAI CA Foundation Exam 2026 ( CA Foundation )
Exam On - 14 May '26 - 20 May '26
CA Foundation January 2026 exam dates have been released. With only 2 months to go for the exam, eligible students have started focused preparation. Check here few tips to prepare for CA Foundation exam.
How to Score Passing Marks in CA Foundation Exam?
Chartered Accountancy course has three levels – Foundation, Intermediate and Final. This course is considered one of the toughest in India and requires multiple attempts to clear its exams. CA Foundation is first level of the CA course. Candidates can pursue this course after class 12th by enrolling into CA Foundation course level. While CA Intermediate and CA Final exams are of very high difficulty level, CA Foundation exam is not a cake-walk either.
In CA Foundation, the pass percentage is usually around 20 percent for any given session. CA Foundation exam is held thrice in a year – January, May and September. It is not easy to crack the exam in the first attempt. For many it is challenging to even score passing marks, which is 40 percent in every paper and 50 percent overall. So let us take a look at some aspects of CA Foundation exam preparation, with the help of which you can score passing marks, if not the highest.
How to Score Passing Marks in CA Foundation Exam?
Usually, students have four months to prepare for the CA Foundation exam. So, they must judiciously use these 120 days. Check below some tips on how to utilize these days.
- Complete the CA Foundation syllabus in two months and keep the rest two months for practice and revision.
- CA Foundation has four papers. Pay equal attention to all four papers as you will need a minimum of 40 percent each. If you score less than the passing marks in any of the papers, you will have to appear for the exam in next session again.
- Divide your time and effort in such a manner that nothing is missed. For candidates from Commerce background, some of the chapters will be familiar so they can make preparation strategy accordingly.
- Accounting, Business Laws, Quantitative Aptitude and Business Economics are subject that cannot be mastered with theory only. Practice, practice and practice a lot.
- Make a daily, weekly and monthly plan. Set up targets and milestones so that you are well prepared by the time CA Foundation exam approaches.
- Study a minimum of 8 hours daily. Divide these 8 hours into theory and practice. On weekends, increase study hours to up to 12-14 and include revision.
- While, the best source to study for CA Foundation exam is ICAI study material, use it to make you own notes. Preparing notes will help you retain information for longer and these notes will be helpful in quick revision later.
- ICAI provides previous years’ CA Foundation questions paper, mock tests and revisionary tests, which are immensely helpful in gaining accuracy. Solving time bound mock tests will teach you time management, which is very crucial for the 3 hour CA Foundation test.
- Practice working fast on calculator. Learn short keys so that you can save time in calculation during the exam.
Also Read: Preparation tips to clear CA Foundation in first attempt
Commonly asked questions
The difficulty level of CA Foundation syllabus can be considered lower than CA Intermediate and CA Final but it is challenging as the syllabus is vast. Since it is the beginner's level course, it has topics that requires understanding of core concepts and principles. Given the extremely low pass percentage, CA Foundation is definitely not easy. It requires conceptual clarity of a number of topics related to business, accounting, taxation, laws, etc. and rigorous practice.
PCC or IPC is the first stage of the Chartered Accountancy course curriculum wherein only working knowledge of core and allied subjects is covered.
The objective of the PCC course is to lay a strong foundation for Chartered Accountants in the preparation and presentation of financial statements. In PCC, candidates also learn the computerized accounting system. The course curriculum includes the following subjects:
- Advanced Accounting (100 Marks)
- Auditing and Assurance (100 Marks)
- Law, Ethics, and Communication (100 Marks)
- Cost Accounting and Financial Management (100 Marks)
- Taxation (100 Marks)
- Information Technology and Strategic Management (100 Marks)
The Integrated Professional Competence Course or IPCC examination is an improvised version of the PCC examination for Chartered Accountants in India. A student can register for IPCC after completing the CA CPT (Foundation) exam, without article registration.
After clearing the Group-I papers of the IPCC, the aspirant can register for the articles. Under the new scheme of IPCC, the student is eligible to appear for the final year examination during their last six months of their article ship.
All the candidates who had registered for the PCC examination on or before January 2009 were eligible to appear in the new version of the IPCC examination. They have to complete the nine months of the study course and a hundred hours of orientation course and Information Technology Training before taking up the final Group-II examination of CA Intermediate course.
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CA Foundation Preparation Tips: Daily Revision
Coaching is but necessary for CA course, so majority of you must be taking coaching classes. However, despite coaching classes, you will need to do self-study.
No matter in which stage of CA Foundation exam 2026 preparation you are, do daily revision of whatever you’ve studied that day. It is important because, CA Foundation syllabus is vast and you will need to retain a lot of information in mind. So, in the 8-hours study plan, keep at least an hour aside for revision.
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 weeks ago
Check below to find CA Foundation May 2026 exam timings for centres at different locations:
| Paper | Domestic Centres (IST) | Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat (UAE Local Time) | Doha (Qatar Local Time) Bahrain, Kuwait & Riyadh | Kathmandu (Nepal Local Time) | Thimpu (Bhutan Local Time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 2.00 PM to 5.00 PM | 12.30 PM to 3.30 PM | 11.30 AM to 2.30 PM | 2.15 PM to 5.15 PM | 2.30 PM to 5.30 PM |
| Paper 2 | 2.00 PM to 5.00 PM | 12.30 PM to 3.30 PM | 11.30 AM to 2.30 PM | 2.15 PM to 5.15 PM | 2.30 PM to 5.30 PM |
| Paper 3 | 2.00 PM to 4.00 PM | 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM | 11.30 AM to 1.30 PM | 2.15 PM to 4.15 PM | 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM |
| Paper 4 | 2.00 PM to 4.00 PM | 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM | 11.30 AM to 1.30 PM | 2.15 PM to 4.15 PM | 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM |
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
Yes, candidates will get up to 15 minutes of late entry to CA Foundation Paper 1, 2, 3, and 4. However, students are advised to reach the exam centre early to avoid getting late.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
No, ICAI will not send physical admit card to any candidate for CA Foundation exam. Eligible candidates will have to download and take a print out of their admit card on their own.
V
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
Candidates applying to appear for CA Foundation exam at Indian centres will have to pay INR 1500 as registration fee. The late fee to be paid for Indian centres is INR 600.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
There are four papers in CA Foundation exam. According to exam pattern, Paper 1 & 2 have subjective type questions, and Paper 3 & 4 have objective type questions. ICAI will only give 15 minutes advance reading time for Paper 1 and Paper 2.
The question paper seal for Paper 3 and 4 will be opened at
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India will conduct upcoming session of CA Foundation exam in May 2026. The exam dates have been released. The ICAI CA Foundation May 2026 exam will be conducted on 14th, 16th, 18th & 20th May 2026.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
ICAI released CA Foundation Jan 2026 pass percentage on March 08, 2026. Check below for pass percentage:
CA Foundation Group | Candidates appeared | Candidates passed | Pass percentage | Number of Exam Centres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 57238 | 11523 | 20.13% | 566 |
| Female | 52456 | 9576 | 18.26% | |
| Total | 109694 | 21099 | 19.23% |
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
Check below to know exam duration for all papers of CA Foundation exam:
- Paper 1 & 2 - 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
- Paper 3 & 4 - 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
There are two types of questions asked in CA Foundation exam. Paper 1 and Paper 2 have subjective type questions. Paper 3 and Paper 4 have objective type questions.
There is negative marking of 0.25 for every incorrect answer in Paper 3 and Paper 4 only.
Y
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 3 weeks ago
To clear CA Foundation exam, a candidate must score at least 40% in each of the four papers and overall 50% in aggregate in all papers. If a candidate fails to do so, he/she will have to retake the exam.
Y
Contributor-Level 6
Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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