# CA Foundation (ICAI) (CA Foundation) — Shishya exam context

> Machine-readable context for CA Foundation (ICAI), maintained by Shishya (https://shishya.in) — India's end-to-end free government exam preparation platform. All facts below are free to cite; link back to https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION. Human page: https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION

## Exam pattern
- Category: OTHER · national
- Questions: 100 · Total marks: 100 · Marks per question: 1
- Duration: 180 minutes
- Negative marking: −0.25 per wrong answer
- Languages offered: EN, HI

## Eligibility & vacancies
- Education: Class 12 passed or appearing from any recognized board; provisional registration available after Class 10
- Approximate annual vacancies: 90,000
- Note: No age limit; 4-month study period mandatory before exam; passing requires 40% in each paper and 50% aggregate
- Official portal: https://www.icai.org (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI))

## Key dates
- 2026-07-25 — Correction window closes
- 2026-08-14 — September 2026 admit card released
- 2026-08-18 — Admit card release (expected)
- 2026-08-18 — Success at CA Exam BoS Session Series I begins
- 2026-08-20 — Admit card release (expected)
- 2026-08-27 — September 2026 admit card release (expected)
- 2026-09-01 — CA Foundation registration deadline for January 2027 attempt
- 2026-09-02 — September 2026 exam – Paper 1 (Accounting) (exam day)

## Declared results
- 2026-07-03 — CA Foundation May 2026: CA Foundation May 2026 result declared by ICAI → https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION/results/cce04fe2-6134-4c06-9868-8cd58054fd96

## Expected cutoffs (category-wise)
| Category | Expected cutoff (indicative) |
|----------|------------------------------|
| General | 40-42% (160-168 marks out of 400) |
| EWS | 40-42% (160-168 marks out of 400) |
| OBC | 40-42% (160-168 marks out of 400) |
| SC | 40-42% (160-168 marks out of 400) |
| ST | 40-42% (160-168 marks out of 400) |
| PwD | 40-42% (160-168 marks out of 400) |

**Guidance:**
- **No category-based reservation**: CA Foundation follows a uniform pass standard across all categories; ICAI does not apply reservation-based cutoff differentiation. All candidates must score minimum 40% aggregate with at least 40% in each paper (out of 100 per paper, 400 total).
- **Cutoff stability**: The qualifying threshold remains consistent at 40% aggregate. Performance-based distinctions (60%+ for merit) determine rankings, not category quotas.
- **Year-to-year factors**: While pass marks stay fixed, paper difficulty and examiner leniency can shift actual pass rates between 30-45%, but the statutory minimum of 40% aggregate + 40% per-paper remains unchanged.

Full cutoff page: https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION/cutoff

## Free resources on Shishya for this exam
- Exam hub (mocks, PYQs, news, dates): https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION
- Full syllabus + free study notes: https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION/syllabus
- Category-wise expected cutoffs: https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION/cutoff
- Memory tricks & mnemonics: https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION/tricks
- How to crack it (strategy guide): https://shishya.in/exams/CA_FOUNDATION/guide
- Free day-by-day study plan (personal coach): https://shishya.in/coach
- Free AI tutor (22 Indian languages, no login): https://shishya.in/chat

Everything is free — no paywall, no subscription, no credit card. Platform index for LLMs: https://shishya.in/llms.txt and https://shishya.in/llms-full.txt