CS Professional Registration: How to Apply, Fees and Last Dates

Who can register

ICSI's Student Services FAQs set one condition: you must have passed both groups of the Executive Programme under the same syllabus. ICSI's own example is a student who passed Group 1 under the 2017 syllabus and Group 2 under the 2022 syllabus. That student is not eligible.

The last Professional exam under the 2017 syllabus was held in June 2025. From the December 2025 session, all Professional students are on Syllabus 2022.

If you have not started the CS course yet, you first register for CSEET or take direct admission to CS Executive. Our CS Executive registration guide covers that step.

Registration cut-off dates

CS Professional exams are held in June and December. Which session you can sit depends on the date you registered:

Source: ICSI's notice "Registration to Professional Programme" and its Student Services FAQs (18 September 2026).

There is no late-fee extension. Asked whether a student who registers after a cut-off can still sit that session by paying a penalty or late fee, ICSI's FAQs answer no. You sit the next session you are eligible for.

Applied to the next sessions, the dates are:

The December 2026 exams (21 to 28 December 2026) are open only to students who registered by 31 May 2026 for both groups or 31 July 2026 for one group.

Time gap between CS Executive and CS Professional

ICSI's registration notice and FAQs set no minimum gap between the two stages. The gap comes from the cut-off dates, because Executive results are declared after the cut-offs for the next session:

• You pass Executive in June: the June 2026 results were declared on 25 August 2026, after the December cut-offs of 31 May and 31 July. Your first Professional session is the following June. Register by 30 November to sit both groups.
• You pass Executive in December: ICSI's press release on the December 2025 results is dated 25 February 2026, after the 31 January cut-off for June. Your first Professional session is the following December. Register by 31 May to sit both groups.

Either way, there is about a year between the Executive exam you pass and your first Professional exam. This is our reading of ICSI's cut-off and result dates, not a rule ICSI states.

How to register online

ICSI accepts Professional registration only through the SMASH portal. Physical or downloaded application forms are not accepted. The steps below follow ICSI's FAQs and its user manual for Professional registration:

1. Log in at smash.icsi.edu with the user ID (your registration number) and password you used for the Executive Programme.
2. Go to Module → Student Services → Professional Registration Request.
3. Select your elective subjects for both groups. This is mandatory.
4. If you want ICSI's Chartered Secretary journal, tick the box next to "CSJ".
5. Click Proceed to payment and pay the fee online.
6. Check that a receipt is generated. Without a receipt, the payment has not gone through. With it, you are admitted to the Professional Programme.
7. Download your Professional Registration Letter and Student Identity Card from your SMASH account.

The user manual has no document-upload step: you log in with your Executive account and pay. If you have forgotten your password, reset it on SMASH with your registration number, date of birth, country, registered mobile number and registered e-mail ID.

Choosing your electives

You pick one elective in each group when you register. You can change it later on SMASH under Module → Student Services → Change Optional Subject. ICSI's fee schedule lists a ₹250 fee for each change of exam centre, module, medium or optional subject.

Source: ICSI's Professional Programme page. Both elective papers are open-book exams, according to ICSI's December 2026 time table.

Study material

Professional registration does not include printed books. ICSI's registration notice says printed study material has to be bought separately if you want it. Soft copies are available on ICSI's Professional Programme page.

CS Professional registration fee

Source: ICSI's Schedule of Fee applicable to the students of CS Course (29 September 2026). The exam fees apply from the December 2024 session onwards.

You pay the registration fee once. It is the same whether you plan to sit one group or both. The difference is in the exam fee, which you pay with each exam form: ₹1,800 for one group or ₹3,600 for both. For CSEET and Executive fees and a total for the whole course, see our CS course fees guide.

Fee concessions

These concessions apply at the Professional stage under ICSI's fee schedule (29 September 2026):

A dash means the schedule lists no exam-fee concession for that category. Wards of a deceased member who was a CSBF life member get 100% off at Executive registration and 75% off at Professional registration.

Several concessions apply at Executive registration only and not at the Professional stage: those for serving or retired armed and paramilitary personnel and their wards, for students from Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, the North Eastern states, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Himachal Pradesh, for the economically weaker section, and for students from the 38 districts declared Naxal-free. Check the schedule before you pay.

Registration validity and renewal (de novo)

Professional registration is valid for five years from the month of registration. Your registration must be valid when you fill in an exam form. ICSI's Student Services FAQs set out how to renew it:

• Registration de novo renews an expired registration for another five years. You can apply from three months before expiry up to five years after it, online on SMASH (Module → Student Services → Apply For Denovo).
• De novo fee: ₹2,000 if you apply within two years of expiry, or ₹3,000 after that. SC/ST students pay 50% and students with disabilities 25% of these amounts.
• De novo cut-offs: apply by 9 April to sit the June exams, or by 10 October for December.
• What stays the same: your syllabus, group passes and exemptions remain valid. Study material is not included.
• Re-registration: if the five-year de novo window has also passed, Executive-pass students can register again for the Professional Programme for ₹20,000, under the syllabus in force at that time.
• After passing Professional: if your registration expires before you finish your training, you keep it valid through continuation of registration at ₹1,000 a year.

After you register

Pre-exam test

Students under Syllabus 2022 must pass ICSI's online Pre-Exam Test before they can enrol for the main exams. The ₹1,000 test fee is part of your registration fee.

Exam form

Registration does not enrol you for an exam. For each session, you submit an exam form on SMASH (Module → Enrolment → Examination Enrolment Request) and pay the exam fee:

Source: ICSI Student Services FAQs (18 September 2026). You can add a group after submitting the form until 9 April (June) or 10 October (December), for a ₹250 service charge.

Admit card

ICSI makes the admit card available for download on its website 10 days before the exams begin.

Training

Passing CS Executive also makes you eligible for ICSI's 30-day Executive Development Programme (15 days online, then 15 days in the classroom). You must complete it before starting the 21 months of long-term practical training (ICSI Student Training Guidelines 2024). Our CS course guide explains the full training structure and the Professional papers.