How many times is CA Final held in a year? May and November
CA Final is now held twice a year, in May and November, from the May 2026 exam onwards. CA Foundation and CA Intermediate are held three times a year, in January, May and September. The next CA Final attempt is November 2026 (2 to 13 November), and the one after that is May 2027.
This guide sets out how many attempts each level gets, the next dates ICAI has announced, and what two Final attempts a year mean for your exemptions, your articleship and your choice of attempt. Every ICAI fact is linked to its source.
CA attempts in a year: Foundation, Intermediate and Final
| Level | Attempts in a year | Months |
|---|---|---|
| CA Foundation | 3 | January, May, September |
| CA Intermediate | 3 | January, May, September |
| CA Final | 2 | May, November |
Sources: for Final, the ICAI announcement of 6 April 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab). For Foundation and Intermediate, ICAI's FAQs on the New Scheme of Education and Training (PDF) (opens in a new tab), which say both exams "are held thrice a year in the months of January, May and September". ICAI's latest schedules match this: Foundation and Intermediate in September 2026 and January 2027, and Final in November 2026 (September and November 2026 schedule, PDF (opens in a new tab); January 2027 schedule, PDF (opens in a new tab)).
How the number of CA Final attempts has changed
If you have heard "three attempts a year" for CA Final, you heard right. It was true until recently. Here is the history in ICAI's own words.
- April 2024. ICAI's Board of Studies announced that Foundation and Intermediate exams would be held three times a year, in May/June, September and January, and that "CA Final course examination will continue to be held twice a year in the month of May and November" (BoS announcement, 24 April 2024 (opens in a new tab)).
- March 2025. ICAI's Council decided to hold CA Final three times a year as well, in January, May and September, so that "all three levels ... will have an equal number of attempts each year" (ICAI press release, 27 March 2025 (opens in a new tab)).
- April 2026. ICAI noted that Final exams were "presently" being held in January, May and September. Then, "in view of the feedback from the stakeholders", the Council decided that "CA Final Examinations shall be conducted twice a year in the months of May and November with effect from May 2026" (ICAI announcement, 6 April 2026, PDF (opens in a new tab)).
So January 2026 was the last January attempt of CA Final, and there was no September 2026 Final. After May 2026, the next attempt is November 2026. Foundation and Intermediate did not change, and still run in January, May and September. We covered the April 2026 change when it happened in CA Final now twice a year, May and November.
Next CA exam dates: November 2026, January 2027 and May 2027
| Exam | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| CA Final, November 2026 | Group I: 2, 4 and 6 November. Group II: 9, 11 and 13 November | Announced |
| CA Intermediate, January 2027 | Group I: 2, 4 and 6 January. Group II: 8, 10 and 12 January | Announced |
| CA Foundation, January 2027 | 3, 5, 7 and 9 January | Announced |
| CA Final, May 2027 | Not announced | Next Final attempt after November 2026 |
| CA Foundation and Intermediate, May 2027 | Not announced | Next attempt after January 2027, going by the January, May and September pattern |
Sources: September and November 2026 schedule (PDF) (opens in a new tab), January 2027 schedule (PDF) (opens in a new tab). The latest exam schedule on ICAI's Examination – Students page (opens in a new tab) is the January 2027 one, from 23 September 2026. Nothing has been published for May 2027 yet, so any May 2027 date you see elsewhere is a guess.
Paper-wise dates, timings, reading time and exam form deadlines are in CA exam dates 2026–27.
What two CA Final attempts a year mean for you
The gap between Final attempts is now about six months
With three attempts a year, a missed attempt cost you about four months. Now it costs about six. If you are not ready for November 2026, the next chance is May 2027. That makes it worth deciding early, and honestly, which groups you will write in November. If May 2027 is your attempt, a week-by-week CA Final 3 months study plan for May 2027 sets out the phases and hours.
You can still write one group at a time
The passing rules have not changed. ICAI's Regulation 38D, printed in the Guidance Notes for Final November 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab), says you may write Group I and Group II together, or "one Group or Unit in one examination and the remaining Group or Unit at any subsequent examination". To pass a group, you need at one sitting at least 40% in each paper and at least 50% in the aggregate of that group's papers.
Writing both groups together gives you an extra way to pass: 40% in each of the six papers and 50% in the aggregate of both groups taken together.
Paper exemptions now last about a year and a half
If you write all the papers of a group, fail the group, but score 60% or more in a paper, you get an exemption in that paper. The Guidance Notes say: "Exemption granted is valid for immediate next three examinations only." While it lasts, you get no exemption in another paper of the same group, even if you score 60 or more.
The rule counts examinations, not months. With Final held in May and November, three examinations now cover about a year and a half. For example, if the May and November pattern continues, an exemption earned in November 2026 would cover May 2027, November 2027 and May 2028.
If you use up the three examinations without passing the group, ICAI lets you make the exemption permanent. You then need at least 50% in each remaining paper of that group (Guidance Notes, Final November 2026, PDF (opens in a new tab); ICAI FAQs, PDF (opens in a new tab)).
Your articleship decides your first eligible attempt
To write Final under the new scheme, you must finish your practical training six months before the first day of the exam month (ICAI FAQs, PDF (opens in a new tab)). For November 2026, the Guidance Notes put it as "completed prescribed period of 2 years of articleship training (including excess leaves) on or before 30th April, 2026". By the same rule, May 2027 would need your training finished by 31 October 2026. ICAI confirms the exact date in each attempt's Guidance Notes, so check them when they come out.
You must also finish Advanced ICITSS and qualify the Self-Paced Online Modules before the exam. For November 2026, the deadline for both was 10 October 2026 (Guidance Notes, PDF (opens in a new tab)). The full order of these steps is in the CA exam sequence, Foundation to Final.
Writing Group II in May 2027 means studying a new tax law
ICAI has announced that the Income-tax Act 2025 applies "From May 2027 CA Examination Onwards" for Final Paper 4, Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation (ICAI announcement, 5 December 2025, PDF (opens in a new tab)). November 2026 is still on the Income-tax Act 1961. So pushing Group II from November 2026 to May 2027 is not only six more months. You would be preparing Paper 4 under a different Act. Details are in Income-tax Act 2025 in CA exams from May 2027.
November 2026 or May 2027: how to decide
There is no ICAI rule on this. It is your call. These questions help.
- Are you eligible for November 2026? Your articleship, Advanced ICITSS and Self-Paced Online Modules all had to be done by ICAI's deadlines. The exam form window has also closed. If you did not apply, your next Final attempt is May 2027.
- Can you write full papers in time? Write one full paper per subject under exam conditions: 3 hours for Papers 1 to 5, and 4 hours for Paper 6. The time you take, and the marks you get, tell you more than how many chapters you have finished. Our CA Final Group I mock tests and Group II mock tests are full-syllabus papers for every subject, each checked line by line.
- Is one group much stronger? If yes, writing only that group in November and the other in May 2027 is allowed. Remember the tax point above if the weaker group is Group II.
- Are you close on both groups? Writing both together gives you the extra way to pass on the combined aggregate.
For the weeks left before November, see the CA Final last 30 days mock test plan.
Frequently asked questions
How many times is CA Final held in a year?
Twice, in May and November, from the May 2026 exam onwards. Before that, it was being held three times a year, in January, May and September (ICAI announcement, 6 April 2026, PDF (opens in a new tab)).
Is there a CA Final exam in January or September now?
No. From May 2026, CA Final is held only in May and November. January and September attempts are now only for Foundation and Intermediate.
How many attempts a year do CA Foundation and CA Inter get?
Three each, in January, May and September (ICAI FAQs, PDF (opens in a new tab)). The next ones are in January 2027: Intermediate from 2 to 12 January and Foundation on 3, 5, 7 and 9 January. Our CA Intermediate mock tests for January 2027 and CA Foundation test series for January 2027 are live.
When is the CA Final May 2027 exam?
ICAI has not announced the May 2027 dates yet. Check ICAI's Examination – Students page (opens in a new tab), where every schedule is published first.
How long is a CA Final paper exemption valid now?
For the "immediate next three examinations" (Guidance Notes, Final November 2026, PDF (opens in a new tab)). With two Final exams a year, that is about a year and a half.
Practise with checked CA Final mock tests
With six months between Final attempts, it pays to find out early, from real papers, where your marks are going. Our CA mock tests are full-syllabus papers on the latest ICAI pattern. You write by hand and upload one PDF, and within 24 hours you get your checked copy: step-wise marks, and for every mark cut, the reason and the correct line to write.
- CA Final Group I mock tests (FR, AFM, Audit)
- CA Final Group II mock tests (DT, IDT, IBS)
- CA Final both groups mock tests (all six papers)
To compare the options, see the CA Final test series page. For ICAI's own MTPs, RTPs and past papers with direct links, see CA Final free resources.