The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has issued detailed guidelines for CA Final candidates who wish to convert their exhausted exemptions into permanent exemptions for the November 2026 examination cycle. The facility provides eligible candidates with a one-time opportunity to retain exemptions secured in earlier attempts, subject to prescribed conditions.
According to ICAI, candidates who secured exemptions in the May 2025 CA Final examination and whose exemption validity expires after the May 2026 examination will be eligible to opt for permanent exemption after the declaration of the May 2026 results.
Application Window: July 6 to July 25, 2026
ICAI has specified that exemptions becoming exhausted upon declaration of the result of the immediately succeeding third examination will be displayed to eligible candidates between July 6, 2026 and July 25, 2026. During this period, candidates can submit their requests through the Self Service Portal (SSP) dashboard.
The Institute has also clarified that candidates will receive only one opportunity to make an exhausted exemption permanent. If the option is not exercised within the specified period, the exemption will lapse permanently and cannot be restored later.
Important Conditions for Permanent Exemption
Candidates holding exemptions in multiple papers within the same group must exercise caution. ICAI has clarified that where a candidate has exemptions in two papers of the same group, both exemptions must either be made permanent together or allowed to lapse together. Partial selection is not permitted.
Another significant condition is that once an exemption is made permanent, the candidate must secure at least 50% marks in each of the remaining papers of that group to qualify for passing the group, as prescribed under the applicable regulations.
Also Read: ICAI Releases Guidelines for Permanent Exemptions in CA Intermediate September 2026 Exams
No Correction Window Available
ICAI has specifically stated that there will be no correction window and no late-fee facility after submission of the exemption option. Candidates are therefore advised to carefully review their choices before final submission.
Automatic Permanent Exemptions for Self-Paced Online Modules
The Institute has also provided relief for certain candidates who had secured exemptions in earlier examinations.
Candidates who obtained exemption in Paper 4 of the CA Final examination during May 2022, November 2022, May 2023, or November 2023 will automatically receive permanent exemption from appearing in Self-Paced Online Module Set-A. Similarly, candidates exempted in Paper 5 during these examinations will automatically receive permanent exemption from Self-Paced Online Module Set B. No separate application is required in these cases.
Impact on Future Exemptions
ICAI has further clarified that where a group already contains a permanent exemption (50PE), no fresh exemption can subsequently be granted in that group. Additionally, if a candidate opts for permanent exemption, the exempted paper's marks will be restricted to 50 marks, and any excess marks originally secured cannot be considered for meeting aggregate requirements of the same or another group.
What Candidates Should Do
Eligible CA Final students should review their exemption status immediately after the declaration of the May 2026 results and submit their option through the SSP portal within the prescribed period. Since the opportunity is available only once and no correction facility will be provided, careful evaluation of future examination strategy is essential before opting for permanent exemption.
For clarifications, ICAI has advised candidates to contact the designated support channel for Final examination exemptions.
Click here to view/download the official copy of the notification
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