Checked 30 September 2026. Durations are set by Regulation 46BB and change only by amendment. Fees, venues and delivery rules are set by circulars and guidelines and change more often; ICSI's training pages were last updated on 29 September 2026.
Passing the Professional examination does not make you a Company Secretary. Under Regulation 46BB of the Company Secretaries Regulations, a student must complete a one-month Executive Development Programme (EDP) after passing the Executive Programme, then 21 months of practical training, and, after passing Professional, a Corporate Leadership Development Programme (CLDP). ICSI calls this the New Training Structure; switching to it has been compulsory since 1 April 2024. This guide covers the first two steps: the EDP and the 21 months. The CLDP, the Training Clearance Certificate and the membership application are in our CLDP and ACS membership guide. ProSyllabus is an independent study site. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI); every rule below is quoted or summarised from ICSI's published documents, and ICSI decides every individual case.
CS Regulations (Reg 46BB); EDP and long-term training guidelines; leave circular (12.04.2022).
The sequence, start to finish
| Stage | When | Duration and mode | Fee | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDP, online | After passing the Executive Programme | 15 days on ICSI's LMS; must be finished first | Rs 2,000 | EDP guidelines 4.1 |
| EDP, classroom | After the online EDP | 15 days at a Regional Office or an eligible chapter | Rs 8,000 | EDP guidelines 4.2 |
| Practical training | After all 30 days of EDP | 21 months, whole-time, with an eligible trainer | None to ICSI; the trainer pays you a stipend | Reg 46BB(1)(b); long-term training guidelines |
| CLDP | After passing Professional and finishing training | By Regulation 30 to 60 days; delivered as 15 + 15 days | Rs 10,000 + Rs 20,000 | Reg 46BB(1)(c); CLDP circulars |
| Training Clearance Certificate | After every training requirement | Generated online once approved | – | TCC announcement (31.10.2020) |
Sources: Company Secretaries Regulations 1982 as amended to 3 April 2023; EDP guidelines; long-term training guidelines; CLDP circulars of 27.09.2025 and 14.11.2025; TCC announcement.
One month or 30 days? Regulation 46BB says the EDP is "one month". ICSI's guidelines deliver it as 15 days online plus 15 days in a classroom and call it the 30-day EDP. The two describe the same programme. The Regulations book we used is amended only to April 2023, so the current delivery rules come from the guidelines and circulars, not from the Regulation text.
The EDP: online first, then classroom
Online EDP (15 days, on the LMS)
- Who: any student who has passed the Executive Programme.
- Fee: Rs 2,000, paid on the Stimulate portal.
- Time limit: the LMS login is valid for 90 days. One extension of a further 90 days is allowed on payment of 50% of the fee. A student who has not finished within 180 days may lose access and must re-register at the full fee and start again.
- It comes first. ICSI says completing the online EDP is a prerequisite for the classroom EDP; a student who has not finished all 15 days online is not allowed into a classroom batch.
EDP guidelines, section 4.1 and the LMS section.
Classroom EDP (15 days)
- Fee: Rs 8,000, including refreshments, a working lunch and study material. The fee was raised from Rs 5,000 by the 311th Council meeting on 29 August 2024.
- Where: ICSI Regional Offices and Diamond, Platinum and Gold chapters; Silver chapters case by case.
- Hours: sessions between 9 AM and 6 PM, and at least 6 hours a day.
- Batch size: ideally 20 to 50 students.
- Cancelling: your fee can be carried forward to the next batch, or refunded with a 10% deduction.
- Abroad: students living in foreign countries may be allowed the classroom EDP in relay mode, case by case, with the approval of ICSI's Secretary.
- Hardship: students who have lost both parents, or are differently-abled, and face financial constraints can request a 100% fee concession.
EDP guidelines, section 4.2 and 2.1.6.
The guidelines are explicit on order: all 30 days of EDP must be completed before the 21-month training starts, and the certificate of both halves is one of the documents attached when you register your training.
Who can train you
| Trainer | Eligibility in ICSI's guidelines |
|---|---|
| Company Secretary in practice | Holds a Certificate of Practice and has at least one year of experience as a CS, in employment or practice |
| Company (corporate trainer) | NIFTY 50 companies, top 500 listed companies, other listed companies, and unlisted or SME-listed companies with a whole-time company secretary and paid-up capital of Rs 50 lakh or more, or net worth of Rs 5 crore |
| Company outside India | A body corporate with an established place of business abroad, paid-up capital of Rs 50 lakh or net worth of Rs 5 crore, employing a Company Secretary or equivalent; for students living in that country |
| LLP registered with ICSI as a PCS firm | All partners are ICSI members |
| Other LLP | At least half of its partners ICSI members; net worth, capital contribution or turnover of Rs 5 crore or more; not registered with ICAI, ICMAI or a Bar Council |
| GIFT City LLP | Office in GIFT City (or another notified centre); at least one partner an ICSI member; net worth, capital contribution or turnover of at least Rs 50 lakh |
| Other entities | The Ministry of Corporate Affairs and its offices (ROC, RD, Official Liquidator), SEBI, NSE, BSE, IRDA, RBI, and ICSI and its offices |
Source: long-term practical training guidelines, section 5.7. The Council can add other bodies meeting criteria it sets. The guidelines also cap the number of trainees each kind of trainer may take.
The rules during the 21 months
| Rule | What the guidelines say |
|---|---|
| Registering the training | Register with ICSI, preferably before you start and at the latest within 30 days of starting. ICSI's guidelines say training registered more than 30 days late is not treated as valid training. |
| Probation | The first two months. You may transfer during probation on 14 days' notice, with a no-objection certificate from the previous trainer. |
| Transfers after probation | Not allowed except in the exceptional cases the guidelines list; such a transfer needs 60 days' notice, during which only casual leave is allowed. |
| Stipend | At least Rs 5,000 a month, or as the Council decides, paid through banking channels; payable during probation too. |
| Working hours | At least 8 hours a day, between 8 AM and 8 PM, fixed by mutual consent. |
| Leave if you start after passing Executive | 52 days in all, including 31 days of examination leave, for the Professional examination only. |
| Leave if you start after passing Professional | 21 days of casual leave only (for training started from 1 June 2022). |
| Excess leave | Training is extended by the excess days. |
| Quarterly report | Filed online by the trainer within 30 days of the end of each quarter. |
Sources: long-term practical training guidelines, sections 5.4 to 5.12; leave circular of 12 April 2022.
Our reading on timing. The leave rule is the one practical reason to think about when you start. A student who begins the 21 months while still preparing for the Professional examination gets 52 days of leave, 31 of them for exams; one who starts only after passing gets 21 casual days. Nothing in the rules requires either order, provided the full EDP comes first.
Training-path planner
Enter when you start the online EDP and how long each step takes you. The planner lays the official durations end to end: 15 days online EDP, 15 days classroom EDP, then 21 months of practical training. The dates are our arithmetic, not ICSI's. They assume the classroom batch runs on 15 consecutive days and that you take no leave beyond your entitlement; real batch calendars, and any excess leave, move them.
If you started under the old training structure
ICSI's circular of 15 December 2025 lists what a part-trained student still has to do after the compulsory switchover. The 15-day webinar CLDP ended on 15 December 2025; the other old programmes (8-day EDP, 15-day MSOP, 24-hour PDP, 15-day online CLDP, the 15-day academic and specialised programmes, and 15, 12, 24 or 36-month training) ended on 1 April 2024. A selection of the Earlier Training Structure cases:
| Case | Where you stand | What you still do |
|---|---|---|
| 1(a) | 15 months done; 8-day EDP and 24-hour PDP not done or part done; MSOP not done | 15 days online EDP, then CLDP Phase II (15 days residential) |
| 1(b) | As 1(a), and passed Professional at least two years before applying | 15 days online EDP, then CLDP Phase I (15 days non-residential) |
| 2(a) | 15 months, 8-day EDP and PDP done; MSOP not done | CLDP Phase II |
| 2(b) | As 2(a), and passed Professional at least two years before applying | CLDP Phase I |
| 3 | 15 months not done or part done; EDP and PDP done; MSOP not done | 15 days online EDP, the balance of the 21 months, and the 30-day CLDP (Phase I and Phase II) |
| 4 | Full exemption from the 15 months, the EDP and the PDP; MSOP not done | CLDP Phase I |
| 5 | 15 months not done or part done; EDP and PDP not done; MSOP completed | 30 days EDP, then the balance of the 21 months |
| 6 | 15 months not done or part done; EDP and PDP done; MSOP completed | 15 days online EDP, then the balance of the 21 months |
Source: ICSI circular on compulsory switchover to the New Training Structure (15.12.2025), Earlier Training Structure table. The circular has a separate table for the Modified Training Structure. "Two years" is counted from the declaration of the Professional result to the date of application. ICSI decides each case.
Exemption from training
Regulation 46BC lets a student with enough relevant experience apply for exemption from practical training, including the EDP. ICSI's guidelines of 4 June 2025 say the application can be made only after passing the Professional Programme (or the old Final examination). It does not cover the CLDP, which has its own routes for exempted students; see our CLDP guide. The processing fee is Rs 20,000; if you are found ineligible, 80% is refunded and 20% kept for administration.
| Clause | Experience that can qualify |
|---|---|
| (a) | 3 years as an executive or officer, or 4 years as an assistant, in the secretarial department of a company with paid-up capital of Rs 50 lakh, gross fixed assets of Rs 2 crore or turnover of Rs 10 crore (government, PSU, bank and similar bodies included) |
| (b) | 3 years as a secretarial officer or executive, or 4 years as an assistant, under a whole-time practising CS with at least 5 years in practice |
| (c) | 5 years of continuous whole-time practice as a Chartered or Cost Accountant, with audit or consultancy for at least 2 client companies of the size in (a) |
| (d) | 5 years of practice as an advocate in a High Court, with one High Court case or five NCLT cases, and counsel to at least 2 client companies of that size |
| (e) | 4 years after a management qualification as an executive, or 5 years after qualifying as an executive, or 6 years as an assistant, in administration, accounts, finance, personnel, legal or another area of an organisation of that size |
| (f) | 5 years as an executive or 6 years as an assistant in the secretarial department of an LLP with capital contribution of Rs 50 lakh or annual turnover of Rs 25 crore |
| (g) | 5 years as regular faculty (postgraduate minimum) at a recognised university or affiliated college, having taught law, management, finance and accountancy, corporate governance or another subject the Council recommends |
| (h) | Equivalent experience with a professional institution or abroad recognised by ICSI on a reciprocal basis |
| (i) | Anyone else claiming equivalent experience: the Council decides case by case, for partial or total exemption, on evidence or after an interview |
| (j) | Two or more of clauses (a) to (h) together, with at least 6 years of experience in total |
Source: ICSI exemption from training guidelines (04.06.2025), section 7.3, summarised clause by clause; the full text sets out the documents each clause needs (Annexure 7.1). Apply on the Stimulate portal.
What is the EDP in the CS course?
The Executive Development Programme: a 30-day programme after passing the CS Executive Programme, delivered as 15 days online on ICSI's LMS and then 15 days in a classroom. It must be finished before the 21-month practical training starts.
What is the fee for the CS EDP?
Rs 2,000 for the 15-day online EDP and Rs 8,000 for the 15-day classroom EDP. The classroom fee was Rs 5,000 until the Council raised it on 29 August 2024.
How long is CS practical training?
21 months under the New Training Structure, after the full 30-day EDP. The 15, 12, 24 and 36-month options of the old structures ended on 1 April 2024.
What is the minimum stipend for CS trainees?
Rs 5,000 a month, or as the Council decides, paid through banking channels and payable during the two-month probation as well.
How much leave does a CS trainee get?
52 days in 21 months, including 31 days of examination leave, for a student who starts training after passing Executive. A student who starts after passing Professional gets 21 days of casual leave only.
Can I change my CS training organisation?
During the two-month probation, on 14 days' notice with a no-objection certificate. After probation, only in exceptional cases and on 60 days' notice.
When must I register my CS training?
Preferably before you start, and at the latest within 30 days of starting. ICSI's guidelines say training registered more than 30 days late is not treated as valid training.
Can I get exemption from CS practical training?
Yes, after passing Professional, if your experience meets one of the clauses in ICSI's exemption guidelines. The fee is Rs 20,000, with 80% refunded if you are found ineligible. The exemption covers practical training and the EDP, not the CLDP.
More in this series
- CS Professional papers and the 11 open-book electives
- Passing CS Professional: group rules, exemptions and fees
- From CS Professional pass to ACS: CLDP, TCC and membership
- CS Professional pass percentage, group by group, since 2022
- ICSI CS Professional notice board — official updates
- CS Executive papers and groups
- CS Executive passing marks and the 60% paper exemption
- CS Executive exemptions for LLB and CMA graduates
- CS Executive registration fee and eligibility
- CS Executive pass percentage history
- CSEET exam pattern: papers and marks
- Who is exempt from CSEET
- CSEET registration fee and last dates
- CSEET passing marks and pass percentage
- CSEET as a centre-based exam: what changed
Sources
- official — Company Secretaries Regulations, 1982, as amended up to 3 April 2023 (Regulations 21 to 23, 42, 46BB to 46BD)
- official — ICSI — Executive Development Programme guidelines and annexures (15 days online + 15 days classroom)
- official — ICSI — Long-term (21 months) practical training guidelines
- official — ICSI Directorate of Training — Entitlement of leaves during 21 months practical training (12.04.2022)
- official — ICSI — Compulsory switchover to the New Training Structure (15.12.2025)
- official — ICSI — Exemption from training: guidelines and annexures (04.06.2025)
- official — ICSI — Revision in the mode of the 30-day CLDP: Phase I and Phase II (27.09.2025)
- official — ICSI — Extension of the date of implementation of the revised CLDP to 15 December 2025, with fees (14.11.2025)
- official — ICSI — Training Clearance Certificate for applying to associate membership, w.e.f. 1 November 2020 (31.10.2020)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
