ICAI Issues September and November 2026 CA Exam Guidance

ICAI brings 2026 exam resources together

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has published a consolidated examination resource for candidates appearing in the CA Foundation and Intermediate examinations in September 2026 and the CA Final examinations in November 2026. The Examination Department’s official page brings together course-specific guidance, application requirements, important-date and fee resources, and facilities dealing with exemptions.

For students, the principal development is the availability of a central official reference point rather than a single new rule or examination notification. The ICAI September and November 2026 examinations page lists separate materials for Foundation, Intermediate and Final candidates, along with common administrative resources.

The page includes important dates for the September and November 2026 examination cycles, a fee chart, details of the permanent-exemption window, specimen copies of answer books and an attendance register. It also identifies a reopened online examination-form facility for the November 2026 Final examination.

Candidates should use the resource according to their course and examination cycle. The materials for September 2026 concern Foundation and Intermediate, while the Final guidance and application requirements relate to November 2026. Treating all listed documents as applying uniformly across the three levels could lead to avoidable errors.

Application requirements separated by course

ICAI has listed one requirements resource for candidates applying for the Foundation and Intermediate examinations in September 2026 and another for those applying for the Final examination in November 2026. This separation is important because a candidate must consult the document matching both the course and the relevant examination cycle.

The official page also provides distinct guidance notes for the Foundation examination in September 2026, the Intermediate examination in September 2026 and the Final examination in November 2026. Candidates should therefore read the applicable guidance notes together with the relevant application requirements, rather than relying only on the common important-dates or fee resources.

ICAI’s examination page lists separate documents and facilities for the relevant examination cycles. Candidates should follow the applicable ICAI material before completing an application or taking an exemption-related step.

Important dates and fee chart require close attention

The consolidated page contains an “Important Dates - September & November 2026” resource and a fee chart for the two examination cycles. It separately identifies “Important Dates - Final November 2026 Online Exam Forms Re-Open”. The presence of a separate reopening item indicates that Final candidates should check the specific reopened-form schedule rather than assume that the general timeline alone covers the facility.

Candidates and advisers should use the currently displayed ICAI materials for the operative schedule and charges rather than relying on dates from an earlier attempt.

A practical approach is to identify the candidate’s course and attempt first, then review the corresponding requirements and guidance notes, followed by the important-date and fee materials. This helps distinguish a common administrative resource from a course-specific direction. It is particularly relevant where a candidate is dealing with both an examination application and an exemption option, because the two processes are listed separately.

Exemption facilities form a substantial part of the guidance

ICAI’s resource includes an online facility for surrendering an exemption for the Intermediate September 2026 and Final November 2026 examinations. It also lists guidance notes for continuing exhausted exemptions by making exemptions permanent—separately for Intermediate September 2026 and Final November 2026.

These are different procedural choices. Surrendering an exemption should not be treated as equivalent to continuing an exhausted exemption or making an exemption permanent. A candidate considering any of these options should use the facility or guidance note bearing the exact description relevant to the intended action.

The page further lists a “Permanent Exemption Window (Intermediate & Final) - September & November 2026 Important Dates” resource. Foundation is not named in that heading. The permanent-exemption window is presented for Intermediate and Final candidates, corresponding to the September and November 2026 cycles respectively.

The supplied material does not state the conditions for surrender, the consequences of exercising the option, the duration or effect of a permanent exemption, or the dates during which the window will operate. It would therefore be unsafe to generalise those matters. Candidates should read the applicable ICAI guidance before submitting an online choice, especially where the choice may affect the papers to be taken in the relevant examination.

Separate notes for exhausted exemptions

The inclusion of dedicated guidance for continuing exhausted exemptions deserves particular attention from affected Intermediate and Final candidates. ICAI has not presented this merely as part of the ordinary examination-form guidance; it appears as a distinct set of course-specific notes concerning the making of exemptions permanent.

Accordingly, a candidate with an exemption history should not assume that submitting the examination form will, by itself, address the exemption position. The applicable exemption note and the important dates for the permanent-exemption window should be reviewed as separate parts of the process.

Similarly, a candidate wishing to surrender an exemption should use the specifically identified online facility. The official page’s structure shows that exemption surrender, continuation of exhausted exemptions and the ordinary examination application are administered through separately described resources. Candidates should retain confirmation or records generated by the relevant online process, where available, and verify their examination application against the option actually selected.

Operational material for examination centres

ICAI has also placed specimen copies of answer books and an attendance register for the September and November 2026 examinations on the page. These materials sit alongside candidate-facing guidance but are operational in character. Their inclusion makes the page useful not only as an application guide but also as a central repository for materials connected with examination administration.

Candidates should not confuse the presence of specimen answer-book material with the course guidance notes or application requirements. Each item serves a different purpose: the requirements resources concern applying for the examination; the guidance notes address the relevant course and attempt; exemption materials deal with specific exemption choices; and specimen documents relate to examination administration.

What candidates should verify

Before taking action, candidates should confirm that they have selected the correct level and cycle: Foundation September 2026, Intermediate September 2026 or Final November 2026. They should then review the corresponding guidance notes and application requirements, followed by the official important-date and fee resources.

Intermediate and Final candidates with exemptions should additionally determine which of the separately listed routes applies to them: surrender of an exemption, continuation of an exhausted exemption by making it permanent, or no exemption-related action. Final candidates using the reopened online examination-form facility should rely on its separately published important dates.

As ICAI’s page functions as a collection of links and facilities, candidates should also recheck it before the relevant filing or exemption deadline. The operative detail lies in the course-specific document or online window, not merely in the title of the consolidated page.

Key takeaway

ICAI’s September and November 2026 examination page is the central official resource for Foundation and Intermediate candidates appearing in September and Final candidates appearing in November; applicants should use the course-specific guidance, requirements, fee and date materials, while affected Intermediate and Final students must separately review the applicable exemption facility and window.