ICAI CA Exemption Rules for Inter and Final Exams

ICAI CA Exemption Rules for Inter and Final Exams

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Nupur Jain
Senior Executive - Editorial
Updated on Feb 20, 2026 15:37 IST
ICAI offers exemptions to students in CA Intermediate and CA Final exam. Under this provision, candidates who have scored 60% or more in one subject can avail exemption in another subject with low score. To get exemption from ICAI, candidates must meet certain eligibility requirements.

ICAI offers exemptions to students in CA Intermediate and CA Final exam. Under this provision, candidates who have scored 60% or more in one subject can avail exemption in another subject with a low score. To get exemption from ICAI, candidates must meet certain eligibility requirements. Check this page to know ICAI exemption rules and more.

ICAI CA Exemption Rules

ICAI CA Exemption Rules

ICAI Exemption Rules: Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) conducts CA exam at three different levels - Foundation, Intermediate and Final. Keeping the difficulty level of these exams and the fact that students usually take 2-3 attempts to clear this exam, ICAI offers some exemptions to students. Students must note that ICAI exemptions are given for CA Inter and CA Final exam only. No exemption is given for CA Foundation exams.

There are 2 groups in both CA Inter and CA Final exam. If a candidate has secured 60% or more marks in one subject and fails in another, he/she will be granted exemption. This means that the candidate does not have to re-appear for that paper in next attempts.

Check this page to know more about CA exemption rules for CA Inter and CA Final, how it works, what is the eligibility criteria to avail exemption, how many exemptions are offered, how to get exemption, and more.

Table of contents
  • ICAI Exemption Rules for Inter and Final Exam
  • Important Points Related to CA Exemption
  • Common Mistakes Students Make While Availing ICAI Exemptions
  • How Many Exemptions Can I Avail?
  • For How Long is CA Exemption Valid?

ICAI Exemption Rules for Inter and Final Exam

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has laid down the same CA exemption criteria for both CA Intermediate and CA Final course. Only those candidates who will meet these requirements will be given exemption.

  • A student must have scored 60% or more in any paper(s) of same group to get exemption
  • Exemption is only valid for next three attempts.
  • The student must have appeared for all papers in that group.
  • After availing exemption, a candidate can appear for those subjects in next attempt in which they have score less than 60%.
  • ICAI offers exemption subject-wise and not for complete group.

Note - A candidate will be declared PASS in a group only if he/she has scores a minimum of 40% in each subject and an aggregate of 50% in all subjects, with 60 marks in their previous exam.

Check Out:

CA Intermediate Exam Dates 2026

CA Final Exam Dates 2026

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   How many attempts are required to crack CA Intermediate?
A: 

There is no limit on the number of attempts and it is totally upto the individual as to how many attempts they will require. The CA Intermediate exam is tough and requires about 2-3 attempts on an average. The overall pass percentage of CA exam is usually low at 20-25%.

Q:   What is the eligibility criteria for pursuing CA course?
A: 

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
Q:   What the main units in chapter Presentation & Disclosures Based Accounting Standards of CA Intermediate?
A: 

The main units in chapter Presentation & Disclosures Based Accounting Standards of CA Intermediate are:

·       Unit 1: Accounting Standard 1 Disclosure of Accounting Policies

·       Unit 2: Accounting Standard 3 Cash Flow Statement

·       Unit 3: Accounting Standard 17 Segment Reporting

·       Unit 4: Accounting Standard 18 Related Party Disclosures

·       Unit 5: Accounting Standard 20 Earnings Per Share

·       Unit 6: Accounting Standard 24 Discontinuing Operations

·       Unit 7: Accounting Standard 25 Interim Financial Reporting

Important Points Related to CA Exemption

Check out some important things to know regarding ICAI CA Exemption for Inter and Final exam:

  • ICAI will automatically grant exemptions to a CA Final or CA Inter student, if eligible.
  • The status of exemption will be mentioned on the candidate’s marksheet.
  • A student cannot take new exemption until previous exemption has been used.
  • The exempted students can find # sign against the subject in which they have scored less than 60%.
  • If the exemption for a certain subject is still valid and not used by the candidate, it will be carried forward to next attempt. Such subjects will be marked as
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Common Mistakes Students Make While Availing ICAI Exemptions

There are some confusions among students regarding CA Exemption rules which results in mistakes and lost opportunity. Check out below points to know what to avoid:

  • Most students believe exemption is valid forever.
  • Students do not appear for all papers of a group and try to seek exemption.
  • Most students are confused about passing marks and exemption marks.
  • Many students miss the three consecutive attempt period validity.

Note - ICAI also offers Permanent Exemption to students whose 3 attempt exemption criteria have lapsed.

Check Out: Guidelines for CA Final May 2026 Permanent Exemptions

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   How many attempts are allowed in CA course?
A: 

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!!!

Q:   What the main units in chapter Assets Based Accounting Standards of CA Intermediate?
A: 

Following chapters are included in Assets Based Accounting Standards chapter of CA Intermediate course:

·       Unit 1: Accounting Standard 2 Valuation of Inventory

·       Unit 2: Accounting Standard 10 Property, Plant and Equipment

·       Unit 3: Accounting Standard 13 Accounting for Investments

·       Unit 4: Accounting Standard 16 Borrowing Cost

·       Unit 5: Accounting Standard 19 Leases

·       Unit 6: Accounting Standard 26 Intangible Assets

·       Unit 7: Accounting Standard 28 Impairment of Assets

Q:   How many attempts are required to qualify CA Final?
A: 

Usually, an individual takes about 3 to 5 attempts to clear the CA Final exam. The course level is too difficult to crack in the first attempt. The overall CA Final pass percentage of any session is usually between 20-25 percent only. It is mainly due to the fact that one needs to clear both groups of the CA Final course. The vastness of CA Final syllabus makes it difficult to crack it in the first attempt.

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How Many Exemptions Can I Avail?

As there are two groups in CA Intermediate and CA Final each and 3 subjects per group, a candidate can only avail for 2 exemptions in one group. It is because if a candidate is given exemption in all three subjects of a group, it would mean that the candidate has cleared the group, which is not possible.

Note - If a candidate does not uses his/her exemption within given period, their exemption will lapse. Also, a candidate is not eligible for an exemption until he/she has completely exhausted previously availed exemptions.

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For How Long is CA Exemption Valid?

As per ICAI exemption rules, a candidate can use one exemption for the next 3 attempts of that exam. For example, if a candidate availed for exemption in CA Final May 2025 exam, that exemption is valid for September 2025, January 2026 and May 2026.

Read More:

CA Intermediate Syllabus

CA Intermediate Question Papers

CA Intermediate Exam Pattern

CA Final Syllabus

CA Final Exam Pattern

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About the Author
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Nupur Jain
Senior Executive - Editorial

Nupur Jain started with a passion for educational content writing, which soon grew into a meaningful journey of helping students through reliable guidance. A commerce graduate from Delhi University, she has spent ov

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