Checked 30 September 2026. From ICSI's qualifying-marks document, the Company Secretaries Regulations (as amended to April 2023) and the ICSI student services FAQ. The rules have not changed with Syllabus 2022, but exemption deadlines are set per session.
The CS Executive pass rule is short: 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate, at one sitting, group by group. What makes it worth a full guide are the two provisos that follow it in ICSI's qualifying-marks document. One lets you keep a paper in which you scored 60% even though you failed the group. The other lets you pass a group by re-sitting a single paper and scoring just 50% in it. Both have conditions that decide whether they apply, and both change how the next attempt is marked. This guide quotes the rules, works through the cases, and ends with a checker for your own marks. 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.
ICSI, Qualifying marks (passing criteria) for CS examinations, Part II.
The three rules, as ICSI writes them
ICSI's qualifying-marks document still uses the word "Module", the Syllabus 2017 term. The Syllabus 2022 documents, the time table and the result releases say "Group". They mean the same unit, and this guide says group.
| Rule | Condition (ICSI) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Both groups together | At one sitting, at least 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate of all the papers | Executive stage passed |
| One group | At one sitting, at least 40% in each paper of the group and 50% in the aggregate of that group | That group passed; the stage completes when both groups are passed |
| 60% paper exemption (first proviso) | You appeared in all the papers of the group, scored 60% or more in a paper and at least 25% in each of the others, and failed the group | You are exempt from that paper in later examinations; the exemption can be cancelled on application |
| One-paper rule (second proviso) | You appeared in all the papers of the group without any exemption, failed in one paper, and scored at least 60% of the total marks of the remaining papers | You pass the group by re-sitting only the failed paper and scoring 50% in it in any later examination |
Source: ICSI, Qualifying marks (passing criteria) for CS examinations, Part II Executive Programme; the same rules are in the Company Secretaries Regulations. An explanation attached to the provisos says that marks in a paper exempted under the 60% rule are not counted when your result in the remaining papers is computed.
What the explanation changes
The explanation matters more than it looks. Once a paper is exempted, the remaining papers must clear 40% each and 50% on their own aggregate. Your 60-plus score does not lift the average of the papers you still have to sit. Our reading: a student who kept a 72 in one paper and re-sits the other three needs those three to average 50 without help, which is harder than passing with the 72 in the pot. That is exactly why ICSI lets you cancel the exemption.
Worked cases
These are our worked examples, applying the ICSI rules to invented marks for one Group 1 sitting. The percentages are per paper; the averages are our arithmetic.
| Case | Marks in 521 / 522 / 523 / 524 | What the rules give (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| A | 55 / 48 / 44 / 53 | Pass. Every paper is at 40 or more and the average is 50. |
| B | 62 / 38 / 55 / 48 | Fail (522 is under 40). 521 is at 60 or more and every other paper is at 25 or more, so 521 is exempted. Next time you sit 522, 523 and 524 and need 40 in each and 50 on their own average. |
| C | 35 / 70 / 68 / 66 | Fail (521 is under 40). The other three total 204 of 300, which is 68%, at least 60%. One-paper rule: re-sit 521 alone and score 50 to pass the group. The 60% rule would also exempt 522, 523 and 524, since 35 is at least 25. |
| D | 42 / 45 / 48 / 52 | Fail. Every paper is at 40 or more but the average is 46.75, under 50. No paper reached 60, so there is no exemption and the one-paper rule does not apply (no paper was failed below 40). |
| E | 64 / 22 / 58 / 50 | Fail. 64 does not earn an exemption, because 522 is under 25. The other three papers (521, 523 and 524) total 172 of 300 (57.3%), under 60, so the one-paper rule does not apply either. |
| F | 61 / absent / 55 / 58 | Fail. ICSI's FAQ says the 60% exemption needs you to have appeared in every paper of the group, so the absence rules it out. |
Invented marks; the rules are ICSI's, the application is ours. Case C shows both provisos being met at once; the one-paper rule is the cheaper route back, because it asks only for 50 in one paper.
Pass, fail or exemption: check one group
Enter each paper as a percentage of that paper's maximum. The checker applies the three rules in ICSI's qualifying-marks document to one group at one sitting. It averages the percentages, which assumes every paper in the group carries the same maximum; ICSI's Syllabus 2022 documents do not print the maximum, so this is our assumption.
The 60% exemption in detail
What ICSI says about the 60% exemption
- No fee. "No exemption fee is required for claiming exemption on the basis of 60% marks" (ICSI student services FAQ).
- Absent means no exemption. The FAQ's example: a student who scored above 60% in one paper but was absent in another does not qualify.
- How long it lasts. An exemption, once granted, holds "during the validity of registration period or passing/completing the examination, whichever is earlier" (FAQ). Renewing your registration does not cancel an exemption already granted.
- You can cancel it. The qualifying-marks document says cancellation must be applied for "on or before the last date of enrolment". The FAQ and the 2026 cut-off calendar give a later date, 30 days before the examination (see the conflict below).
Sources: ICSI student services FAQ; ICSI qualifying-marks document; ICSI cut-off dates 2026.
Two dates for cancelling an exemption, and they disagree
- Qualifying-marks document: cancel "on or before the last date of enrolment for the examination", which for December 2026 was 25 September (10 October with late fee).
- ICSI FAQ: "student can cancel the Exemption 30 days before commencement of Examination": 1 May for June and 20 November for December. The 2026 cut-off calendar also says 20.11.2026.
- December 2026 announcement (25.08.2026): lists "Cancellation of Exemption Request" among the enrolment services open until 21 November 2026, 16:00.
Our reading: the session-specific announcement of 25.08.2026 is the latest document and the one ICSI's portal is likely to follow for December 2026, but do not leave it to the last day. If you are unsure, raise it on the ICSI support portal before the earlier date.
Why it can make sense to cancel an exemption
Our reading, not ICSI advice. Suppose you kept Paper 4 at 65% and failed the group with 45, 38 and 52 in the others. With the exemption, you must now take three papers to 40 each and 50 on average. Without it, you re-sit all four, and the aggregate spreads over four papers, so a strong Paper 4 can carry a weaker one. Which is better depends on how confident you are of repeating the 65. The one-paper rule is different: it is not an exemption to cancel, it is a pass route, and it applies only when you sat every paper without any exemption.
After the result: verification of marks
ICSI allows verification of marks (a re-check of totalling and of whether every answer was marked) under Regulation 42 of the Company Secretaries Regulations, applied for within 21 days of the result. For the June 2026 session the window ran from 26 August to 15 September 2026, at Rs 250 per subject (ICSI verification-of-marks announcement). The Regulations do not provide for re-evaluation of answers. ICSI also offers inspection and certified copies of answer books through separate announcements.
What are the passing marks for CS Executive?
At least 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate of the group at one sitting, or of all papers if you sit both groups together.
What is the 60% exemption in CS Executive?
If you appeared in every paper of a group, failed the group, but scored 60% or more in a paper and at least 25% in each of the others, you are exempted from that paper in later sessions. It costs nothing and can be cancelled.
Do exempted marks count in my aggregate?
No. ICSI's rules say marks in a paper exempted under the 60% rule are not counted when the result of the remaining papers is computed, so those papers must reach 50% on their own.
I failed one paper but did well in the rest. Do I have to re-sit the group?
Not if you sat every paper without any exemption and your other papers total at least 60% of their marks. Then you re-sit only the failed paper and need 50% in it.
Does being absent in a paper affect the exemption?
Yes. ICSI's FAQ says you must have appeared in all papers of the group to get the 60% exemption, so an absence rules it out.
How long does a 60% exemption last?
Until your registration expires or you complete the stage, whichever comes first, according to ICSI's FAQ.
What is the last date to cancel an exemption for December 2026?
ICSI documents disagree: the qualifying-marks document says by the last date of enrolment, the FAQ and 2026 calendar say 20 November, and the December 2026 announcement lists it among services open until 21 November 2026 at 16:00.
Is there re-evaluation in CS Executive?
No. ICSI offers verification of marks within 21 days of the result (Rs 250 per subject for June 2026), plus inspection and certified copies of answer books, but not re-evaluation.
Is the pass mark the same for Group 1 and Group 2?
Yes. The same 40, 50, 60 and 25 thresholds apply to each group.
More in this series
- CS Executive syllabus: the seven papers and the two groups
- CS Executive exemptions: what LLB, CMA, CA and graduates get
- CS Executive registration: eligibility, fee and cut-off dates
- CS Executive pass percentage, group by group, since 2022
- ICSI CS Executive notice board — official updates
- 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 — ICSI — Qualifying marks (passing criteria) for CS examinations
- official — Company Secretaries Regulations, 1982, as amended up to 3 April 2023 (Regulations 20, 21, 22, 23, 42)
- official — ICSI — Student services FAQ (updated 17.09): switchover, exemptions, registration, renewal
- official — ICSI — Cut-off dates for the year 2026 (registration, enrolment, exemption, results)
- official — ICSI — Important announcement for December 2026 examination: enrolment, fees, ODOP/TDOP, pre-exam test (25.08.2026)
- official — ICSI — Verification of marks, CS examination June 2026
- official — ICSI — Declaration of result, Professional and Executive (Syllabus 2022), June 2026 session
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.
