CMA Eligibility After 12th and Direct Entry to CMA Intermediate

The two ways into the CMA course

The Final level has 8 papers in two groups, and both routes need practical training before you qualify. For the full paper list and passing marks, see how many papers the CMA exams have.

CMA eligibility after 12th

ICMAI's eligibility criteria for the Foundation course (CMA Prospectus 2025) are:

• passed Class 10 or equivalent from a recognised board or institution; or
• passed Class 12 (the Senior Secondary School Examination under the 10+2 scheme) from a recognised board, or an examination the Central Government recognises as equivalent; or
• passed the National Diploma in Commerce of the All India Council for Technical Education or a State Board of Technical Education, or the Diploma in Rural Service of the National Council of Rural Higher Education.

If you take admission before passing Class 12, your admission is provisional. ICMAI gives provisional students 36 months to convert to regular status, and you must submit your Class 12 pass mark sheet before you apply for the Foundation exam.

No minimum marks, stream or maths requirement

The criteria ask only that you have passed Class 12. They do not set a minimum percentage, and they do not require commerce, science or any particular subject, so students from any stream can join.

You do not need maths in Class 12, but you will study it during the course: Foundation Paper 3, Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics, is weighted 40% business mathematics and 60% statistics in ICMAI's Syllabus 2022.

How to start CMA after 12th

1. Take admission to the Foundation course online on ICMAI's student portal (eicmai.in), or through a Regional Council, Chapter or accredited institution.
2. Complete admission by 31 January for the June exam or 31 July for the December exam. ICMAI requires admission at least four months before the exam.
3. Complete ICMAI's coaching for the course, either postal (e-learning) or oral; every student admitted to Foundation has to undergo it.
4. Fill in the Foundation exam form within the deadline. To pass, you need at least 40% in each of the four papers and 50% in aggregate at one sitting (Regulation 20C).
5. After passing, register for Intermediate.

Your Foundation identification number is valid for three years. For the forms and documents, see CMA registration.

CMA Inter eligibility after Foundation

Once you have passed Class 12 and the CMA Foundation exam, you can register for the Intermediate course. ICMAI also accepts the Foundation (Entry Level) Part I exam of its Certificate in Accounting Technicians (CAT) course in place of CMA Foundation.

Registration for Intermediate closes on the same dates as Foundation admission: 31 January for the June exam and 31 July for the December exam. Your registration is valid for seven years; if you have not completed Intermediate and Final by then, it is cancelled and you have to apply for de novo registration.

Before each Intermediate exam you must also have completed the training ICMAI prescribes for the Intermediate course, along with the coaching.

CMA direct entry eligibility

You can register directly for CMA Intermediate, without taking Foundation, if you have passed any of these (Annexure VIII of the CMA Prospectus 2025):

• a degree of any recognised university, or equivalent, in any subject other than music, dancing, photography, painting, sculpture and the like;
• a master's degree of any recognised university or of an Indian Institute of Management;
• an engineering degree (qualified engineers), or part of an engineering course (see the note on engineering students below);
• CA Intermediate (by whatever name it was called) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India;
• the Final exam of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, of the chartered accountants' institutes of England and Wales, Scotland or Ireland, of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (London), of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, or of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK);
• the Entry Level Part I exam of ICMAI's CAT course;
• Sections A and B of the Institution of Engineers (India) exams, for those enrolled up to 31 May 2013;
• the Subordinate Accounts Service Examination of a Central or State Government organisation;
• Parts I and II of the CAIIB banking exams;
• any other exam ICMAI's Council recognises for registration.

ICMAI's Course Eligibility page also exempts candidates who passed the ICSI Foundation exam from CMA Foundation. New CS students no longer take that exam; ICSI's entry test is now the CSEET.

No minimum percentage for direct entry

ICMAI asks only that you have passed the qualifying degree or exam; it does not set a minimum percentage. This is different from the CA course: for direct entry to its Intermediate, ICAI requires graduates and post-graduates to have at least 55% (commerce) or 60% (other subjects). ICSI and ICMAI Intermediate-passed candidates can also enter directly.

Final-year students: provisional registration

If you have appeared in your final degree exams and are waiting for the result, you can register provisionally. You then have 18 months to submit your pass result, and you must submit your graduation mark sheet before you apply for the Intermediate exam. If you miss the 18-month limit, the provisional registration is cancelled and the fees you paid are forfeited.

Engineering students: check the year with ICMAI

ICMAI's documents differ on how far into an engineering course you must be. The CMA Prospectus 2025 (September 2025) says you must have completed the 3rd year or Semester VI; ICMAI's Course Eligibility page and its older Annexure VI say the 2nd year or Semester IV. If you are still studying engineering, confirm with ICMAI's Directorate of Studies (studies@icmai.in) before you apply.

Paper exemptions for some direct-entry students

Some qualifications also exempt you from Intermediate papers under Syllabus 2022, if you apply for the exemption online at least 60 days before the exam (CMA Prospectus 2025):

For all other CMA fees, see CMA course fees.

CMA Final eligibility

The rules for Final are the same whichever route you took into Intermediate:

• Pass both Intermediate groups, then enrol for the Final course by 31 January (June exam) or 31 July (December exam).
• Not in the very next term. ICMAI's exam rules say a student who passes Intermediate in December cannot sit Final in the following June.
• Practical training. Under ICMAI's Practical Training Scheme 2020, students who registered for Intermediate on or after 11 February 2020 must complete 15 months of practical training before the result of their Final exam is declared. To sit the Final exam, you need at least 10 months of training certified by 28/29 February (June exam) or 31 August (December exam); since the December 2024 term ICMAI uses Form T5A for this, and Form T5 only once you have completed 15 months (ICMAI circular dated 12 September 2024).

For where you can train and how the forms work, see CMA practical training.