ICAI CA Foundation Result Sep 2026: Check Scorecard Link & Merit List

If we compare CA Foundation with the other two levels of CA course, the difficulty level of CA Foundation papers is easy to moderate. But, as this is the first level of CA course, students might find the paper tough to crack.

The total pass percentage of CA Foundation exam conducted in January 2026 was only 19.23%. This means that candidates usually take more than one attempt to clear the exam.

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.

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.

Candidates can check their results of CA Foundation, CA Intermediate and CA Final exams on the official websites of ICAI - icai.nic.in.

To check the result cum scorecard, candidates have to log in to their ICAI account. They can do so by using the login ID and password created at the time of exam form filling. Candidates can also check the merit list of any course through the same process.

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

Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) and Deloitte are the top private companies that hire CAs. They are known as The Big Four. CA professionals can seek employment in these companies as well as other enterprises if they don't want to practice independently.

The ICAI has its own placement cell to, through which it provides placements to candidates who complete the Chartered Accountancy course. Some of the top companies that participate in the campus placements are Infosys, Pankaj Somaiya Associates LLP, Prism Johnson Limited, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Bandhan AMC Ltd, Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited, Hindalco Industries, Ford Motor Private Limited, LIC Housing Finance Ltd, Axis Bank among others.

The CA Intermediate and Final exam results are announced on the same day and CA Foundation result is announced on a separate date. The CA Foundation exam results are announced a few days after the announcement of CA Intermediate and CA Final results for a particular session. For example, the CA Inter and CA Final results of May 2023 were released in July and CA Foundation result of the same session was announced in August 2023. The CA result announcement date for each course is announced by the ICAI beforehand. The announcement is made on the website and social media platforms so that students know the when to download their scorecards.

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.

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.

CA candidates need to carry two copies of CA admit card (A4 size paper/colour printout), one photo ID (original), blue or black ballpoint pen and calculator to the examination centre. Candidates can carry Aadhaar card, PAN card, Voter ID card, passport or driving license as the mandatory document for identification. They are also required to carry passport size photos to affix on the CA admit card. Entry without these documents will not be allowed.

Digital copy of the admit card or photo ID will not be accepted as valid at the examination centres, thus candidates must take print outs of their admit card as soon as they download it.

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!!!