Company Secretary (CS) Syllabus and Exam Pattern: Papers, Marks and Passing Rules

The three exam stages at a glance

Graduates and post-graduates are exempt from CSEET and can register directly for Executive. Alongside the exams, ICSI requires compulsory training, including 21 months of long-term practical training after you pass Executive (ICSI Student Training Guidelines 2024). Our guide to the CS course explains who else can skip CSEET and when each part of the training happens.

CSEET syllabus and exam pattern

ICSI restructured CSEET for students who register on or after 16 December 2025, and the first exam under the new structure was held in June 2026 (ICSI's CSEET FAQs, September 2026). It is held at exam centres in cities across India.

• Timing: the subjective papers run from 2:30 PM to 5:45 PM and the OMR paper from 2:30 PM to 4:45 PM. Both include 15 minutes of reading time.
• Marking: there is no negative marking in the OMR paper.
• Passing: you need 40% in each paper and 50% in aggregate (at least 200 of 400 marks) in one sitting. CSEET has no paper exemptions and no carry-forward of marks.
• Attempts: you can sit any session while your registration is valid, which is 3 years from the month you register.

ICSI publishes the detailed syllabus and study material on its CSEET Academics page. Fees and registration dates are in our CSEET registration guide.

CS Executive syllabus (Syllabus 2022)

CS Executive has 7 papers of 100 marks each, in two groups:

ICSI's study material for each paper, which sets out the detailed syllabus, is on its Executive Programme page. For Tax Laws & Practice, ICSI has published a separate edition for exams from June 2027 onwards.

CS Professional syllabus (Syllabus 2022)

CS Professional also has 7 papers of 100 marks each in two groups. Papers 4 and 7 are electives: you choose one paper from each list.

Elective papers

Both electives are open-book exams, according to ICSI's time table for the December 2026 session. Study material for every paper is on ICSI's Professional Programme page. Papers 4.5 and 7.2 have new editions for exams from June 2027 onwards.

Exam pattern for CS Executive and Professional

• Sessions: exams are held twice a year, in June and December. The December 2026 session runs from 21 to 28 December 2026.
• Marks and time: each paper is out of 100 marks and lasts 3 hours, plus 15 minutes of reading time. In the December 2026 time table, papers run from 2:00 PM to 5:15 PM, with 2:00 to 2:15 PM for reading the question paper.
• Question format: you write your answers. In the June 2026 session each paper had 4 or 6 questions, all compulsory, with a choice between two questions in some places (ICSI's guideline answers, June 2026).
• One group or both: you can sit one group or both groups in a session. Registration cut-offs decide whether you are eligible for both; see our CS course fees and cut-off dates.
• Pre-Exam Test: under Syllabus 2022, you must pay the pre-test fee and pass ICSI's online Pre-Exam Test before you can enrol for the main exams, at both Executive and Professional (ICSI's Student Services FAQs).
• Which law is examined: amendments up to 31 May apply to the December session, and amendments up to 30 November of the previous year apply to the June session, as stated in ICSI's guideline answers.

Passing marks and exemptions

These figures apply ICSI's 40% and 50% rules to papers of 100 marks each:

At Executive and Professional, Regulations 36 and 40 also provide:

• Paper exemption: if you fail a group but score 60% or more in a paper, with at least 25% in each of the group's other papers, you are exempted from that paper in later exams. Its marks then do not count towards the aggregate of the papers you still have to pass.
• Failing one paper: if you sat the whole group without exemptions, failed one paper and scored at least 60% of the total marks of the other papers, you only need to rewrite the failed paper and score at least 50% in it.
• Distinction: at least 60% in every paper and 70% in aggregate across all groups, in one sitting and without any exemption.

If you have seen an older syllabus

Many websites still describe structures that no longer apply:

• Executive in two modules of four papers each was Syllabus 2017 (ICSI's switchover FAQs). The last Executive exam under it was held in December 2024, and since June 2025 Executive exams have been held only under Syllabus 2022 (ICSI's Student Services FAQs, updated 10 April 2026).
• Professional in three modules with nine papers was also Syllabus 2017. ICSI's Student Services FAQs say no student could continue under the old syllabus beyond June 2025, and all Professional students were moved to Syllabus 2022 from the December 2025 session.
• The online, remote-proctored CSEET ended with the January 2026 session. Students registering from 16 December 2025 take the restructured, centre-based test described above.