ICSI December 2026 CS Exam Enrollment Open: September 25 Deadline Without Late Fee

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India has opened examination enrollment for the December 2026 session and published a detailed schedule of fees, late-fee cut-offs, change requests and eligibility conditions. The official announcement is dated August 25, 2026, with enrollment starting on August 26.

For CS Executive and Professional students, the key immediate date is September 25, 2026: this is the last date to submit examination enrollment without late fee. Students who miss that window can still enroll with a late fee until October 10, 2026.

December 2026 enrollment deadlines

- Enrollment opens: August 26, 2026.

- Last date without late fee: September 25, 2026.

- Last date with late fee: October 10, 2026.

- Higher-qualification exemption request: October 10, 2026.

- Change requests: up to November 21, 2026 at 4:00 PM for eligible changes such as centre, group, medium, optional subject, exemption cancellation and document resubmission.

The full schedule and conditions are contained in ICSI’s official December 2026 examination enrollment instructions.

Exam fee and late fee

ICSI has specified an examination fee of ₹1,500 per group for Executive and ₹1,800 per group for Professional. The late fee is ₹250. A service charge of ₹250 applies where a student uses the addition-of-group facility, over and above the applicable examination fee.

Students appearing at Dubai are required to pay an overseas examination surcharge of US$100 or ₹9,568 in addition to the normal examination fee. The Institute has asked students to use online mode for the enrollment process; offline applications are not accepted.

Payment acknowledgement is critical

The instructions specifically caution students not to treat generation of an identification number as proof that payment has succeeded. The payment receipt should be retained, and an unacknowledged transaction should be checked before the student assumes that examination enrollment is complete.

For students using the Canara Bank challan route, ICSI says the date of cash deposit is relevant for eligibility. Reconciliation can take three to four days. A challan generated for the normal-fee window must therefore be deposited by September 25 to avoid the late fee, while challans falling in the September 26 to October 10 window must be deposited by October 10. Deposits after the final cut-off are liable to rejection.

Registration and eligibility checks

Students whose five-year registration has expired may need to complete Registration De-novo sufficiently early so that they can still meet the October 10 enrollment deadline. Waiting until the final days could create a practical problem if the registration status is not updated in time.

ICSI also reiterates that the Pre-Examination Test is mandatory for Executive and Professional students covered by the applicable requirements. For Executive students registered on or after February 1, 2025, the Three Day Orientation Programme requirement is also relevant. Earlier registration cohorts may be governed by the applicable ODOP/TDOP transition conditions described by the Institute.

The instructions require the relevant Pre-Examination Test and orientation-programme compliance to be completed sufficiently before the cut-off; ICSI states that required completion should be in place one working day before the relevant deadline by 5:30 PM.

Higher-qualification and paper-wise exemptions

The December 2026 instructions also address exemption requests. The higher-qualification exemption window closes on October 10. The announcement refers to eligible categories including ICAI-Cost Final pass candidates and LL.B. pass candidates with the prescribed 50% marks condition.

Separately, paper-wise exemptions earned on the basis of 60% marks in the June 2026 examinations are granted automatically under the Institute’s rules. Students who do not want to carry an available exemption can use the prescribed cancellation facility within the relevant change-services timeline.

What students should do now

- Complete enrollment well before September 25 rather than waiting for the payment cut-off.

- Download and retain the successful payment receipt.

- Check registration validity, group eligibility and exemption status before paying.

- Complete the Pre-Examination Test and applicable orientation requirement in time.

- If a centre, medium, group or optional-subject change is needed, note the November 21, 4:00 PM deadline.

Students with enrollment issues can use the contact channel specified by ICSI in the instructions, including enroll@icsi.edu. The key compliance point is that exam enrollment is not only a fee-payment exercise: registration validity, training or orientation requirements, exemptions and acknowledged payment all need to line up before the cut-off.

Key takeaway

High-intent student deadline query with an official date sheet, fees and eligibility rules that can prevent missed enrollment.