Alerts and Updates for ICSI CS Executive Programme

Executive Programme structure under Syllabus 2022

The two groups alternate day by day across the same week, so a candidate attempting both groups sits seven papers in eight days with a single free day on 25 December. That compression, rather than the syllabus volume, is what usually decides whether attempting both groups together is realistic.

Dates and windows

The examination dates and timings are taken from ICSI's own published time table for the December 2026 session. The enrolment, pre-examination test and registration cut-off dates are reported by ArivuPro and should be verified on the ICSI student portal before you rely on them, particularly the 25 September deadline, which falls three days after this page's as-of date.

What this means for your preparation

CS Executive is not a recruitment examination and it does not work on notifications. It runs on a fixed twice-yearly session calendar, June and December, and two separate deadlines govern access to any given session: a registration cut-off roughly seven months before, and an enrolment window about four months before. Candidates repeatedly conflate the two, register late, and then discover they cannot enrol for the session they were aiming at.

Two deadlines, seven months apart

Registration is admission to the Executive Programme. Enrolment is signing up for a specific examination. For December 2026 the registration cut-off was 31.05.2026 for both groups and 31.07.2026 for any one group, and enrolment then opened on 26 August 2026 and closes on 25 September 2026 without a late fee. A candidate who registered in August 2026 is not eligible for December 2026 at all, however well prepared, because the registration gate closed before they walked through it. The live decision now is 30.11.2026, the cut-off for registering in time to sit both groups in June 2027; miss it and the single-group route reportedly runs to 31.01.2027, and the full both-group attempt slides to December 2027.

The pre-examination test is a gate, not a formality

ICSI has introduced a mandatory pre-examination test as a prerequisite for seeking enrolment in CS examinations, carried in the registration fee at Rs 1,000. For the December 2026 session ArivuPro places its deadline at 24 September 2026, one day before enrolment closes. That ordering matters: the test has to be cleared before the enrolment form can be completed, so leaving both to the final day leaves no room if the test is not passed at the first attempt. Candidates who treat it as an administrative tick and schedule it for the closing week are the ones who lose a whole session to a process step rather than to the syllabus.

Attempting both groups means seven papers in eight days

The December 2026 time table alternates the groups: Group 1 on 21, 23, 26 and 28 December, Group 2 on 22, 24 and 27 December, with only 25 December free. There is no consolidation gap between papers, so a both-group candidate cannot plan on revising a paper the night before it is sat. This argues for a preparation sequence in which Group 2's three papers, Capital Market and Securities Laws, Economic Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws, and Tax Laws and Practice, are consolidated to near-final state before the session begins, since they fall on the interleaved days. Single-group candidates get a far kinder spread and should weigh that against the extra session a split attempt costs.

Descriptive weighting decides how you practise

Under Syllabus 2022 the seven papers carry 100 marks each. Papers 1, 5 and 6, that is Jurisprudence Interpretation and General Laws, Capital Market and Securities Laws, and Economic Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws, are 20 per cent objective and 80 per cent descriptive, while Paper 4, Corporate Accounting and Financial Management, is fully descriptive. With a passing standard of 40 per cent in each paper and 50 per cent in the aggregate, the descriptive weighting means presentation and structure carry real marks and cannot be trained by MCQ drilling. Three hours per paper with 15 minutes of reading time built in rewards candidates who spend that reading window planning answer allocation rather than starting to write early.

Syllabus 2022 material only

The 2022 scheme is current and ICSI's own December 2026 time table labels the Executive Programme block Syllabus 2022. The 2017 syllabus was last examined in the June 2024 session. Anything older than that cycle, including past papers, suggested answers and secondhand study material, is written against a different paper structure and a different mapping of subjects. Students who switched across from 2017 receive paper-wise exemptions matching old subjects to new papers, for instance the old Tax Laws paper mapping to Paper 7, Tax Laws and Practice. Verify any claimed exemption on the student portal rather than from a coaching table, since the mapping governs whether a paper must be sat at all.

Common questions

When is the CS Executive December 2026 exam?

ICSI's published time table sets the Executive Programme papers for 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27 and 28 December 2026, with no examination on 25 December. Group 1 papers fall on 21, 23, 26 and 28 December and Group 2 papers on 22, 24 and 27 December. Every paper runs from 02:00 PM to 05:15 PM, which includes 15 minutes of extra time from 2:00 to 2:15 PM for reading the question paper before writing begins.

What is the last date to apply for the CS Executive December 2026 exam?

ArivuPro reports the examination enrolment window as 26 August 2026 to 25 September 2026 without a late fee, with late enrolment allowed until 10 October 2026 on payment of Rs 250 per group. The mandatory pre-examination test must be completed by 24 September 2026, a day before the main deadline. Changes of centre, medium or group are permitted until 20 November 2026. Verify these dates on the ICSI student portal, as they are reported by a coaching site rather than read from an ICSI notice.

I want to register for CS Executive now. Which session can I sit?

June 2027, if you register by 30.11.2026 for both groups. That cut-off is currently open. The single-group deadline for June 2027 is reported as 31.01.2027. The December 2026 session is no longer reachable: its registration cut-offs were 31.05.2026 for both groups and 31.07.2026 for any one group, both long expired. Registration and enrolment are separate steps, so registering by the cut-off only makes you eligible to enrol for that session's examination when the enrolment window opens.

How many papers and modules does CS Executive have under the new syllabus?

Seven papers of 100 marks each, 700 marks in total, split across two groups under Syllabus 2022. Group 1 has four papers: Jurisprudence Interpretation and General Laws, Company Law and Practice, Setting Up of Business Industrial and Labour Laws, and Corporate Accounting and Financial Management. Group 2 has three: Capital Market and Securities Laws, Economic Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws, and Tax Laws and Practice. Each paper is three hours. Papers 1, 5 and 6 are 20 per cent objective and 80 per cent descriptive; Paper 4 is fully descriptive.

What are the CS Executive registration fees in 2026?

With effect from 15.04.2026 the total is Rs 18,900 for CSEET pass, Foundation pass and graduate direct-admission candidates, and Rs 23,900 for ICMAI Final pass holders. ArivuPro breaks the total down as registration Rs 2,000, education Rs 12,900, pre-examination test Rs 1,000 and orientation programme Rs 2,500, with an optional journal component. The ICMAI Final route attracts additional exemption fees, which accounts for the higher figure. Registration is done through the Student Portal under Online Services on the ICSI website.

Is the CS Executive 2017 syllabus still valid?

No. The 2022 scheme is the operative syllabus, and ICSI's own December 2026 time table heads the Executive Programme section Syllabus 2022. The 2017 syllabus was last examined in the June 2024 session. Students who moved across from the 2017 scheme receive paper-wise exemptions mapping old subjects onto new papers, for example the old Tax Laws subject mapping to Paper 7, Tax Laws and Practice. Confirm any exemption you believe you hold through the student portal, since it determines which papers you are required to sit.