ICAI CA Foundation Course: Dates, Application Form, Eligibility, Syllabus, Admit Card, Result

CA Foundation Eligibility Criteria

The CA Foundation course eligibility criteria are as follows:

• Students may join in the CA Foundation course if they have completed the class 10th exams offered by a recognised school board or if they have taken an exam recognised as being comparable by the Central Government.
• After clearing the 10+2 examinations from a recognised school board or an exam that the Central Government has recognised as comparable, students are qualified to take the Chartered Accountancy Foundation test.
• A candidate must have finished the four months of mandatory study time after enrolling in the CA Foundation course and have passed class 12 to be qualified to take the Foundation exam.
• The candidate needs to sign up with the Board of Studies and complete the four months of compulsory study.
• The ICAI does not impose an upper age limit on candidates seeking admission to the CA Foundation programme.

There are a few exemptions in CA Foundation eligibility criteria for certain category of candidates and those are as follows:

• Graduates/ Postgraduates from commerce and non-commerce backgrounds with an aggregate score of 55% and 60% or above, respectively, are eligible to skip the CA Foundation exam and directly apply for CA Intermediate level.
• Those who have successfully completed the Executive or Intermediate levels of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) or the Institute of Cost and Work Accountants of India (ICWAI) are also eligible for direct admission. Such candidates do not need to finish the Foundation course in order to enrol immediately in the CA Intermediate level.
• The CA Intermediate course is also open to applicants who are in their final year of graduation. After submitting their final year graduation report or passing certificate within six months of the date they took the final year graduation test, along with proof that they successfully completed the ICITSS (Orientation Course and Information Technology), such applicants' registration would then become official.

CA Foundation Registration Process 2026

Online registration is required, and a single, successful registration has validity for three years. A candidate may apply and show up for a total of six attempts.

The CA Foundation registration steps are as follows:

• Visit eservices.icai.org and select the self-service portal to access the form. It requires the password and login information to be entered.
• The “Register for exam” tab will appear on the dashboard after selecting the SSP portal login.
• After clicking on the foundation exam form, a pop-up with the foundation rules will appear, which you must then accept.
• Additionally, you can look up student information and pictures or signatures. Only one person can fill out the exam form after updating the photo and signature. Select next.
• Click the “I agree” box on the declaration form that appears after that.
• Then, after clicking next, a payment gateway window will appear, requiring INR 1500 (CA Foundation application fee) to be paid.
• By clicking on the side button after paying the exam fees, one can also download the exam receipt for future reference.

CA Foundation Course Registration Fee

The online registration fees for CA Foundation are as follows:

Details of Fees	Fees for Indian Student (in INR ₹)	Fees for Foreigner (in US $)
Cost of CA Foundation Prospectus	INR 200	20$
CA Foundation Registration Fee	INR 9,000	700$
Subscription for Student’s Journal for one year (optional)	INR 200	20$
Subscription for Member’s Journal for one year (optional)	INR 400	40$
Total	INR 9,800	780$

Documents Required for the CA Foundation Course Registration

Before completing the CA Foundation application form, candidates must have scanned copies of the following documents:

• Photocopy of Aadhar Card
• Recent coloured photo of the candidate
• For candidates who are SC, ST, or OBC, certified proof of their special category is required
• Verified evidence of nationality (for foreigners)
• Authenticated copy of the class 12th exam mark sheet or admit card
• Class 10th admit card or certificate that has been attested and includes the candidate's name and birthdate

CA Foundation Exam Pattern

The CA Foundation Course is a combination of 4 Papers, two of which are subjective and two objective. There is negative marking for selecting incorrect options in the objective papers (Paper 3 and Paper 4).

Event	Details
CA Foundation 2026 Exam Pattern Issued by	Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
Exam Mode	Pen and Paper Mode
Exam Duration	Paper 1 and Paper 2 (Subjective Papers) - 3 hours Paper 3 and Paper 4 (Objective Papers) - 2 hours
Total Number of Papers	4 Papers
Question Style	Papers 1 and 2 - Subjective Papers Papers 3 and 4 - Objective Papers (MCQ)
Level of Difficulty	Moderate to tough
Marks per Paper of CA Foundation 2026	100 marks per paper
Marking Scheme	Paper 3 and Paper 4 have Negative Marking (0.25 per wrong answer)
Total Marks	400
Passing Criteria	40% in all subjects minimum 50% in aggregate. Additionally, out of 400 total, 200 minimum

CA Foundation Syllabus

There are four subjects covered in the CA Foundation course. Accounting, business law, mathematics, and economics are all covered in the curriculum. Every year, ICAI makes the CA Foundation Syllabus available to students. You have a four-month study period to finish the syllabus. Review the comprehensive syllabus below:

CA Foundation Admit Card

To enter the exam room, you need to have an admit card. The organisation that conducts the exam usually releases the admit cards 14 days before the exams. They no longer send the admit cards by mail or in person. Instead, you can only download the admit card for the CA Foundation exam from the ICAI website.

To be prepared, make sure to print out your admit card at least 10 days before the exam so you don't have to rush at the last minute. You are allowed to download the admit card a maximum of three times, so it's a good idea to make 3-4 photocopies of it. If you notice any mistakes in the exam centre or medium (due to incorrect information provided during the application process), you will have the opportunity to correct those errors after downloading the admit card.

Also Read: How to Become a Chartered Accountant?

CA Foundation 2026 Result

Students need to refer to the ICAI official website for checking the CA Foundation results. They can follow to the below steps to check the CA Foundation results -

• Navigate to the ICAI's official website and click on "Foundation Results".
• Enter the credentials, including the six-digit roll number and pin/registration number, followed by the captcha code.
• Tap the Submit button and find the result.

Note : Aspirants who pass CA Foundation with 70% or higher will earn a "Pass with distinction" certification from the ICAI.