A practising Chartered Accountant can make professional information visible to the public, but the 2026 ICAI Code does not turn CA practice marketing into ordinary commercial advertising. The practical boundary is this: members and firms can use permitted write-ups, websites and digital channels to present factual information and permitted services, while solicitation, exaggerated promotion and certain forms of outreach remain restricted.
The governing framework sits in two places. Clauses 6 and 7 of Part I of the First Schedule deal with solicitation and advertising, while Chapter 3 of ICAI's current Code of Ethics, Volume I contains the Council Guidelines for Advertisement. ICAI's 13th edition announcement states that the revised Code is generally applicable from 1 April 2026.
The starting point is not a blanket permission to advertise
Clause 6 treats solicitation of clients or professional work, directly or indirectly, by circular, advertisement, personal communication, interview or other means as professional misconduct, subject to stated exceptions such as seeking work from another practising Chartered Accountant and responding to tenders or enquiries within the applicable rules.
Clause 7 separately deals with advertising professional attainments or services. Its proviso allows a member in practice to advertise through a write-up setting out services and particulars of the member or firm, but only within Council guidelines. That distinction matters: the permission is structured, not unlimited.
The revised Advertisement Guidelines define a write-up broadly enough to include print and electronic communication, including websites and social networking websites in push as well as pull mode, subject to the Guidelines. ICAI's December 2025 press release on the revised Code also described the changes as giving members greater creative flexibility while retaining professional safeguards.
What a compliant professional write-up can contain
The Guidelines expressly permit a range of factual particulars. Depending on whether the communication relates to an individual member or a firm, these can include the member or firm name, membership or firm registration details, recognised qualifications, professional address, contact information, website, e-mail, the CA India logo, specified personnel information and the services provided.
The revised Guidelines also permit client information in a controlled way. A member or firm may mention the name of a client and the nature of the assignment handled if the client has given permission. For services exclusively reserved for Chartered Accountants, however, only the client name may be mentioned, again subject to client permission. This means a marketing team should not assume that a client's consent removes every professional restriction on how an assignment can be described.
The content rules are as important as the channel
A post may use a modern format and still breach the Guidelines if its substance is promotional in a prohibited way. The current Code requires a write-up to be honest and truthful and prohibits exaggerated claims about services, qualifications or experience. It also bars disparaging references or unsubstantiated comparisons with others.
The Guidelines further state that a write-up should not contain testimonials or endorsements concerning the member, or the fees charged. Information about achievements or awards is also restricted, except for awards given by the Central or State Governments or regulatory bodies. Monograms and catch words are not permissible under the write-up conditions.
For a practical review, phrases such as best CA firm, number one tax expert or unsupported superiority claims create a different risk from a factual statement describing the firm's location, team, recognised qualifications or permitted services. The issue is not whether the wording sounds polished; it is whether the claim fits the information and presentation allowed by the Code.
Website rules now distinguish between push and pull communication
The 2026 Code allows practising CAs, CA firms and ICAI-registered Network or Alliance firms to create their own websites, without prescribing a standard website format. The important distinction is how information about services reaches the visitor.
The website may operate using both pull and push technology. But services exclusively reserved for Chartered Accountants are permitted only on a pull basis: the person must specifically seek that information. The Code also says information relating to such exclusive services should not be circulated by the member or firm through e-mail or another technique except on a specific pull request.
For services that are not exclusive to the CA profession, the revised framework provides more room for push communication. ICAI highlighted this change using consultancy and accounting as examples of non-exclusive services. The key compliance step is therefore to classify the service before deciding how aggressively it can be distributed or promoted.
A website can educate without becoming a solicitation funnel
The Guidelines permit blogs, articles, professional information, bulletin boards, professional updates and other matters of professional interest on a firm website. Educational videos on professionally relevant topics are also permitted. This allows a CA practice to build a useful knowledge presence rather than treating the website as a static visiting card.
At the same time, the website must be designed so that it does not amount to solicitation of clients or professional work. The Code also says a Chartered Accountant should not issue material that solicits people to visit the website, although the website address may be mentioned on professional stationery and e-mail.
This creates a useful editorial test: an article explaining a GST concept, audit issue or finance topic is different from a communication whose main function is to pressure a reader into awarding professional work. A firm can publish useful professional knowledge, but the surrounding calls to action, targeting and service promotion still need an ethics review.
Social media is permitted, but it does not override the solicitation rule
The Advertisement Guidelines expressly recognise social networking websites. The website guidelines also permit a firm to provide a link to its social networking page. However, they state that members should not solicit people to visit or like their social networking pages.
That means a social account is not a compliance-free zone. A firm should review profile descriptions, service posts, sponsored or pushed communications, client references, testimonials, comparative claims and direct outreach against the same professional framework that applies to other public communications.
ICAI's Code also makes the conduct of partners and employees relevant when professional work is being secured. A firm should therefore not assume that a campaign becomes permissible merely because it is executed by a marketing employee, agency or automated tool rather than by a partner personally.
Client testimonials and fee promotion need particular caution
Two common digital-marketing practices are especially sensitive. First, the write-up conditions prohibit testimonials or endorsements concerning members. A CA firm should therefore not copy ordinary consumer-review marketing practices into its professional write-up without checking the Code.
Second, the website rules state that fees charged cannot generally be displayed. The Code contains a narrow regulatory exception where fee disclosure is required by a regulator and prescribes how that disclosure should be identified. A firm should not convert that exception into a general permission to advertise price lists, discounts or promotional fee claims.
Online platforms and aggregators have a separate boundary
The current Code also addresses application-based service-provider aggregators. It says members and firms cannot list themselves with such aggregators for services exclusively reserved for Chartered Accountants. Listing for non-exclusive services is not subject to that restriction, and government or regulator listing platforms may be used for professional services. The Code specifically encourages use of ICAI's CA Connect listing platform.
This matters for digital acquisition because a marketplace profile is not the same thing as an independent firm website. Before joining a lead-generation or professional-services platform, the firm should identify the service being offered, whether it is exclusive to CAs and how the platform markets or allocates leads.
A practical approval process for a CA firm's public communication
- Identify the service. Decide whether the communication concerns a service exclusively reserved for Chartered Accountants or a non-exclusive service. This affects whether push communication is permitted.
- Classify the communication. Determine whether it is a website page, social post, educational article, e-mail, directory entry, platform listing or direct outreach. The applicable restrictions are not identical in every context.
- Check the factual content. Verify firm registration details, qualifications, service descriptions, employee information and any client references before publication.
- Remove prohibited promotional devices. Review for exaggerated claims, unsubstantiated comparisons, testimonials, endorsements, impermissible awards or achievements, fee promotion and other content restricted by the Guidelines.
- Check client permission. Where a client name or assignment is proposed to be mentioned, confirm the permission and apply the additional limitation for services exclusively reserved for CAs.
- Review distribution. A permissible statement can create a different compliance issue if it is pushed to prospects in a manner amounting to solicitation. Check targeting, bulk e-mail, direct messaging, paid distribution and automated outreach separately from the wording itself.
- Keep an approval record. Retain the final content, intended audience, distribution method and internal approval so that the firm can show what was actually reviewed and released.
What changed in 2026 is flexibility, not the disappearance of professional boundaries
The 13th edition modernised the advertising and website framework and expressly accommodates contemporary digital communication. But the underlying structure still separates factual, guideline-compliant visibility from solicitation and prohibited promotion.
For a practising CA or firm, the safest way to use digital marketing is therefore not to ask whether advertising is simply allowed or banned. The better questions are: what service is being promoted, what information is being stated, is the communication pull or push, how is it distributed, and does the presentation remain within the current ICAI Advertisement and Website Guidelines?
