ICSI Opens December 2026 CS Exam Enrolment From August 26: Fees, Deadlines and Eligibility Rules

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India has issued its examination-enrolment instructions for the December 2026 CS Executive and Professional examinations. The online enrolment window opens on 26 August 2026, with separate cut-offs for applications without late fee, applications with late fee, exemption requests and later enrolment-service changes.

Key December 2026 enrolment dates

According to ICSI's August 25 announcement, the last date to submit examination enrolment or add a group without late fee is 25 September 2026. Students who miss that date can still enrol or add a group with late fee up to 10 October 2026.

The same October 10 date is also the last date to apply for paper-wise exemption on the basis of higher qualification. The final date for enrolment services such as change of centre, group, medium or optional subject, cancellation of an exemption request and re-submission of documents for higher-qualification exemption is 21 November 2026 up to 4:00 PM.

Examination fee and late fee

ICSI has prescribed an examination fee of ₹1,500 per group for the Executive Programme and ₹1,800 per group for the Professional Programme. A ₹250 late fee applies to late examination enrolment. ICSI has also listed a ₹250 charge for each permitted change in examination centre, group, medium or optional subject.

For students choosing the Dubai overseas examination centre, ICSI states that a surcharge of US$100 or ₹9,568 is payable in addition to the applicable examination fee. A move from an Indian examination centre to Dubai also attracts the overseas-centre surcharge in addition to the prescribed ₹250 change fee.

Online mode is mandatory

ICSI has made clear that examination enrolment is online only and offline applications will not be accepted. Requests received after the specified last dates are liable to be rejected.

The Institute also advises students to retain the automatically generated examination-fee receipt and to verify the payment status. A request ID or transaction ID by itself does not prove that the payment was successful. Applications without a valid fee receipt may be rejected.

Canara Bank challan users need to watch deposit dates

Students using the Canara Bank challan route should pay close attention to the cash-deposit dates. A challan generated up to September 25 must be deposited on or before September 25 to avoid late fee. For the late-fee window, cash must be deposited on or before October 10. ICSI notes that reconciliation can take three to four days.

Pre-examination and orientation requirements

For Executive and Professional students, completion of the online pre-examination test is an eligibility requirement. Executive students registered from 1 February 2025 onward must also complete the applicable Three Day Orientation Programme, while the announcement separately refers to the orientation requirement for older registrations.

ICSI says the pre-examination test must be completed one working day before the relevant exam-enrolment cut-off, by 5:30 PM. Students whose five-year registration validity has expired should complete registration de novo sufficiently in advance so they can enrol by the October 10 cut-off.

Exemption applications

Students seeking paper-wise exemption on the basis of higher qualification must apply by 10 October 2026 for the exemption to be considered for the December 2026 session. The announcement specifically refers to eligible higher qualifications such as ICAI-Cost Final pass and LL.B. with the prescribed marks criteria. Performance-based exemptions arising from the June 2026 examinations will be granted automatically by ICSI, subject to the Institute's rules.

What students should do now

Eligible Executive and Professional students should verify their enrolment details, complete the pre-exam and orientation conditions applicable to them, confirm that their payment is successful and submit the examination form well before the cut-off. ICSI has cautioned students against waiting until the final days because heavy portal traffic or payment issues may affect timely submission.

Practical takeaway: the cleanest route is to enrol between August 26 and September 25, 2026, after checking eligibility and payment status. Students who need late enrolment, higher-qualification exemption or other permitted changes should separately track the October 10 and November 21 deadlines.

Useful official links

ICSI Important Announcement for December 2026 Examination

Key takeaway

ICSI issued the announcement on August 25, 2026, and enrolment starts the next day, creating immediate search and action intent among CS students.