CA Final pass percentage: May 2026 and past ICAI results
The CA Final pass percentage for May 2026 is 12% in Group I, 20.49% in Group II and 14.07% for students who wrote both groups, as per ICAI's result press release of 18 June 2026. Over the last ten CA Final results, the Group I pass rate has ranged from 9.46% to 27.35%, Group II from 9.76% to 36.35% and both groups from 8.33% to 19.88%.
That range matters for your attempt. In most attempts, three out of four students who write a group or more don't clear it, and the reasons are specific and fixable. Below: the full group-wise table from ICAI's own releases, what the numbers do and don't say, and why CA Final is this hard.
CA Final pass percentage May 2026 (group-wise)
Group I: 12%. Group II: 20.49%. Both groups: 14.07%. ICAI declared the May 2026 result on 18 June 2026.
| CA Final May 2026 | Appeared | Passed | Pass % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group I | 54,606 | 6,555 | 12% |
| Group II | 42,573 | 8,725 | 20.49% |
| Both groups | 23,776 | 3,345 | 14.07% |
Source: ICAI press release, 18 June 2026 (opens in a new tab).
May 2026 was also the first CA Final held under ICAI's new twice-a-year calendar: from May 2026, Final is held in May and November (ICAI announcement, 6 April 2026, PDF (opens in a new tab)).
CA Final pass percentage of last 10 attempts
Here is every CA Final result from May 2022 to May 2026, group-wise, with each row linked to the ICAI document it comes from.
| Attempt | Group I | Group II | Both groups | ICAI source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 12% (6,555 of 54,606) | 20.49% (8,725 of 42,573) | 14.07% (3,345 of 23,776) | Press release (opens in a new tab) |
| Jan 2026 | 21.03% (11,282 of 53,652) | 9.76% (3,726 of 38,169) | 10.97% (2,446 of 22,293) | Press release (opens in a new tab) |
| Sep 2025 | 24.66% (12,811 of 51,955) | 25.26% (8,151 of 32,273) | 16.23% (2,727 of 16,800) | Press release (opens in a new tab) |
| May 2025 | 22.38% (14,979 of 66,943) | 26.43% (12,204 of 46,173) | 18.75% (5,490 of 29,286) | Press release, PDF (opens in a new tab) |
| Nov 2024 | 16.8% (11,253 of 66,987) | 21.36% (10,566 of 49,459) | 13.44% (4,134 of 30,763) | Press release, PDF (opens in a new tab) |
| May 2024 | 27.35% (20,479 of 74,887) | 36.35% (21,408 of 58,891) | 19.88% (7,122 of 35,819) | Press release (opens in a new tab) |
| Nov 2023 | 9.46% (6,176 of 65,294) | 21.6% (13,540 of 62,679) | 9.42% (3,099 of 32,907) | Result analysis, PDF (opens in a new tab) |
| May 2023 | 11.91% (6,795 of 57,067) | 31.43% (19,438 of 61,844) | 8.33% (2,152 of 25,841) | Result analysis, PDF (opens in a new tab) |
| Nov 2022 | 21.39% (13,969 of 65,291) | 18.61% (12,053 of 64,775) | 11.09% (3,243 of 29,242) | Result analysis, PDF (opens in a new tab) |
| May 2022 | 21.99% (14,643 of 66,575) | 21.94% (13,877 of 63,253) | 12.59% (3,695 of 29,348) | Result analysis, PDF (opens in a new tab) |
Percentages are exactly as ICAI printed them. The figures are "candidates appeared" and "candidates passed" for each group in that attempt. ICAI's list of all its result press releases is on its Press Releases page (opens in a new tab).
Highest and lowest CA Final pass percentage in these 10 results
| Highest | Lowest | |
|---|---|---|
| Group I | 27.35% (May 2024) | 9.46% (Nov 2023) |
| Group II | 36.35% (May 2024) | 9.76% (Jan 2026) |
| Both groups | 19.88% (May 2024) | 8.33% (May 2023) |
May 2024 was the first CA Final exam under ICAI's new scheme of education and training (ICAI exemption announcement for the new scheme from May 2024, PDF (opens in a new tab)). It was the best result in this table for every column.
What the numbers tell you, and what they don't
- A pass rate in the 10–25% range is normal for CA Final. Most attempts sit there. The outliers in both directions are single attempts, not trends.
- The numbers are per attempt, not per student. They don't show how many attempts a student took. ICAI doesn't publish a "first attempt" pass rate in these releases.
- Thousands pass every time. Even in May 2023, the lowest both-groups result in the table, 2,152 students cleared both groups together, and 19,438 cleared Group II. A low pass rate means the paper punishes weak preparation, not that passing is luck.
CA Final Nov 2026 pass percentage
Not out yet. ICAI declares the pass percentage with the result, in its press release on result day. The Nov 2026 exam runs from 2 to 13 November 2026 (ICAI schedule, PDF (opens in a new tab)), and ICAI hasn't announced a result date. We'll add the figures to the table the day ICAI publishes them.
For context, recent CA Final results came 37 to 50 days after the last paper (May 2026: 37 days; January 2026: 44; September 2025: 50). Result dates for every level are tracked in our CA result date guide.
Which CA Final group has the lower pass rate?
Group I, in 7 of the last 10 results. Group II was lower in May 2022, Nov 2022 and Jan 2026.
| Group I lower | Group II lower |
|---|---|
| May 2023, Nov 2023, May 2024, Nov 2024, May 2025, Sep 2025, May 2026 | May 2022, Nov 2022, Jan 2026 |
Don't read this as "Group II is easy". In January 2026 only 9.76% passed Group II, the second-lowest figure in the whole table. Prepare both groups as if they're the hard one. Our Group I vs Group II comparison goes paper by paper, and you can see the papers in each group on the CA Final Group I and CA Final Group II pages.
Is CA Final the toughest exam? Five reasons it's so hard
No one officially ranks exams, so "the toughest" can't be proved. What the table does prove is that CA Final is very hard. The reasons are concrete.
1. Six long papers, and the group is judged together
There are six papers of 100 marks, in two groups of three (ICAI FAQs on the new scheme, PDF (opens in a new tab)). Papers 1 to 5 are 3 hours each. Paper 6, Integrated Business Solutions, is 4 hours (ICAI schedule, PDF (opens in a new tab)). In November 2026, Group I is on 2, 4 and 6 November and Group II on 9, 11 and 13 November, so you revise for one paper while recovering from the last.
In Papers 1 to 5, 30 marks are case-based MCQs and 70 are descriptive. In Part II you answer Question 1 and any four of the other five, so each descriptive question is worth 14 marks. The full layout is in our CA Final exam pattern guide.
2. The 40/50 rule: one weak paper can sink the group
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 (Regulation 38D, in the Final November 2026 Guidance Notes, PDF (opens in a new tab)).
A worked example. A group is 300 marks, so you need 150 in total.
| Your marks (Paper A, B, C) | Each paper ≥ 40? | Total ≥ 150? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40, 40, 40 | Yes | No (120) | Fail |
| 70, 65, 38 | No | Yes (173) | Fail |
| 45, 52, 55 | Yes | Yes (152) | Pass |
So you can't skip your weakest paper and hope the others carry you. If you fail a group but score 60% or more in a paper, that paper is exempt for the "immediate next three examinations" (same Guidance Notes). How it works is in our CA Final exemption rules guide.
3. Case studies, especially Paper 6
Most MCQs come in sets under a case scenario. Paper 6 is a set of multidisciplinary case studies covering Papers 1 to 5, Self-Paced Online Modules Sets A and B, and Strategic Management (ICAI scheme at a glance, PDF (opens in a new tab)). It is open book (ICAI FAQs, PDF (opens in a new tab)), but open book doesn't make it easy: the marks are for applying ideas to the case.
In May 2026, examiners noted on Paper 6 Question 1.6 that most examinees "preferred to copy the general description of the indicated elements from the study material" instead of applying it to the case (Final Group II suggested answers, May 2026, PDF (opens in a new tab)).
4. Amendments and cut-off dates
Tax and law papers are set on the law as on a cut-off date. For November 2026, ICAI's RTPs set it at 30 April 2026 (RTP Paper 4, PDF (opens in a new tab)). Missing an amendment costs marks even when your method is right. From May 2027, Paper 4 moves to the Income-tax Act 2025 (ICAI announcement, PDF (opens in a new tab)). What applies to your attempt is in CA exam applicability.
5. Answer writing and time
Knowing a topic is not the same as scoring on it. The May 2026 examiners' comments keep returning to how answers were written: formats and notes missing in FR, generic theory in AFM, computations left unfinished in Direct Tax, conclusions without legal reasoning in Indirect Tax (Final Group I, PDF (opens in a new tab); Final Group II, PDF (opens in a new tab)). In Direct Tax Q1, "A large number of examinees attempted the question only partially and could not complete the computation of total income and tax liability."
These are practice problems more than knowledge problems. The comments are grouped into six mistakes in ICAI examiners' comments: 6 mistakes that cost CA marks.
How to be on the right side of the pass percentage
Each habit below answers one of the five reasons.
| What makes it hard | What to practise |
|---|---|
| Six long papers, 3 to 4 hours each | Write full papers by hand, in full time, at 2 PM like the real exam |
| 40% in each paper, 50% aggregate | Find your weakest paper early and lift it to a safe level first |
| Case-based MCQs and Paper 6 | Read cases against the clock; write full 4-hour IBS papers |
| Amendments | Update notes from the RTP for your attempt, then test yourself on the changes |
| Answer writing | Get written answers checked, and fix the same mistake in the next paper |
Write full papers under time. A chapter test tells you whether you know a topic. A full 3-hour paper tells you whether you can finish, pick four of five questions well and still write a full answer at 4:45 PM. See how to attempt a CA Final paper in 3 hours.
Get them checked honestly. Self-checking is kind to a vague sentence. Use ICAI's suggested answers and the method in how to check your CA answers, and learn how marks are given step by step from step marking in CA exams. If you want your copy checked for you, our CA Final mock tests check every line of your answer sheet and give the reason for every mark cut. More on first-attempt preparation is in how to pass CA Final in the first attempt.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CA Final pass percentage for May 2026?
Group I 12% (6,555 of 54,606), Group II 20.49% (8,725 of 42,573), and both groups 14.07% (3,345 of 23,776), per ICAI's press release of 18 June 2026 (opens in a new tab).
What was the CA Final pass percentage in January 2026?
Group I 21.03%, Group II 9.76%, and both groups 10.97%, per ICAI's press release of 1 March 2026 (opens in a new tab).
What was the CA Final pass percentage in September 2025?
Group I 24.66%, Group II 25.26%, and both groups 16.23%, per ICAI's press release of 3 November 2025 (opens in a new tab).
How many students clear CA Final in the first attempt?
ICAI doesn't publish this. Its result releases give pass figures per group per attempt, not by attempt number, so any "first attempt pass rate" you see elsewhere is not from ICAI.
What marks do you need to pass CA Final?
At one sitting, 40% in each paper of a group and 50% in that group's aggregate. If you write both groups together, you can also pass with 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate of both groups combined (Guidance Notes, PDF (opens in a new tab)).
Practise with checked CA Final mock tests
The pass percentage is low for reasons that show up in a written paper long before the exam. Our CA mock tests for Final are full-syllabus papers on the latest ICAI pattern, with every amendment applicable for November 2026. You write by hand, upload one PDF, and within 24 hours get your copy back with ICAI-style step-wise marks, the reason for every mark cut and the correct line to write.
- CA Final test series for Nov 2026: all six papers
- CA Final Group I mock tests: FR, AFM, Audit
- CA Final Group II mock tests: DT, IDT, IBS
See every level on our CA test series home page. For ICAI's own MTPs, RTPs and past papers, see CA Final free resources.