CS Professional Study Material & Notes for New Syllabus

CS Professional is the last of the three CS exam stages, after CSEET and CS Executive. The old Syllabus 2017, with its Module I, II and III books, is no longer examined: ICSI held the last Professional exam under it in June 2025 and moved every student to Syllabus 2022 from the December 2025 session (ICSI Student Services FAQs, 18 September 2026). Study only from Syllabus 2022 material.

ICSI CS Professional Study Material

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) posts the current edition of each paper's study material on its website. The books follow the exam structure: Group 1 has Papers 1 to 3 and Elective 1 (Paper 4), and Group 2 has Papers 5 and 6 and Elective 2 (Paper 7). You only need the books for the two electives you chose.

How to download the study material

1. Open ICSI's Professional Programme page, headed "Professional Programme Study Materials (Updated Version)". It is also linked from ICSI's New Syllabus 2022 page.
2. Choose Group 1 or Group 2.
3. Click the paper or elective you need. The study material opens as a PDF that you can save or print.

Paper-wise PDF links

These are the files listed on ICSI's Professional Programme page in October 2026. ICSI replaces a file when it issues a new edition, so if a link stops working, go back to the Professional Programme page.

The paper-wise links this article used to list (icsi.edu/media/webmodules) were Syllabus 2017 books, such as Governance, Risk Management, Compliances and Ethics or Multidisciplinary Case Studies. Those papers are no longer examined, so don't study from them.

Which edition applies to the December 2026 exam

ICSI's notice "Study Material applicable for December 2026 Examination" (Directorate of Academics & Research, 28 July 2026) lists how far each Professional book is updated:

For the two tax electives, ICSI's notice of 29 June 2026 says the Finance Act, 2025 (Assessment Year 2026-27) applies to the December 2026 exam and that the Income Tax Act, 2025 will not apply to that session. The second books for 4.5 and 7.2 on ICSI's page are marked "for June 2027 exam onwards", so use them only if you are sitting from June 2027.

The exams test changes in the law up to 31 May of the same year for the December session, and up to 30 November of the previous year for the June session (ICSI Syllabus 2022). Anything newer than your book is covered by the supplements.

Supplements for the December 2026 exam

ICSI's Supplements page has December 2026 supplements (dated 10 September 2026) for Papers 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 and for every elective; Elective 7.2 has two, one for GST and one for corporate tax planning. ICSI's notice asks students to read the applicable supplements in addition to the study material, so download the ones for your papers before you start revising.

Drafting, Pleadings & Appearances study material

The "drafting module" many students look for is now Paper 2 of Group 1, Drafting, Pleadings & Appearances, and it has a single ICSI study material book (linked in the table above), updated till 31 May 2026 for the December 2026 exam, plus a December 2026 supplement. According to ICSI Syllabus 2022, the paper has two parts:

• Part I – Drafting and Conveyancing (70 marks): types of documents, principles of drafting, the laws on drafting and conveyancing, drafting of deeds and agreements, commercial contracts, documents under the Companies Act, 2013, opinion writing and commercial contract management.
• Part II – Pleadings and Appearances (30 marks): the judicial framework, pleadings, advocacy and appearances, and applications, petitions and appeals before the NCLT, SEBI and other regulators.

For Drafting's past papers and the kind of documents asked, see our guide to CS Professional question papers with answers.

ICSI CS Professional – New Syllabus

The "new syllabus" is ICSI Syllabus 2022. Registration under it opened on 1 August 2023 and the first Professional exam under it was held in June 2024 (ICSI Syllabus 2022 and Student Services FAQs). It has seven papers in two groups, each paper carrying 100 marks, and students registered under it must pass an online Pre-Exam Test before they can enrol for the main exams.

CS Professional New Syllabus

Elective papers

You choose one elective from each list when you register for CS Professional, and you can change it later through ICSI's SMASH portal (ICSI notice on registration to the Professional Programme).

• Elective 1 (Paper 4): 4.1 CSR & Social Governance; 4.2 Internal and Forensic Audit; 4.3 Intellectual Property Rights – Law & Practice; 4.4 Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Cyber Security – Laws & Practice; 4.5 Advanced Direct Tax Laws & Practice; 4.6 IFSCA – Regulations, Listing and Compliances.
• Elective 2 (Paper 7): 7.1 Arbitration, Mediation & Conciliation; 7.2 Goods and Services Tax (GST) & Corporate Tax Planning; 7.3 Labour Laws & Practice; 7.4 Banking & Insurance – Laws & Practice; 7.5 Insolvency and Bankruptcy – Law & Practice.

Elective 4.6 is the newest: ICSI announced it on 27 December 2025, applicable from the June 2026 session. Our CS Professional syllabus guide explains what each paper and elective covers.

Old module books and the switchover

Under Syllabus 2017, CS Professional had eight papers in three modules plus one elective paper. Some old papers have a counterpart in Syllabus 2022: for example, Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances carries over as Paper 2, and Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management and Due Diligence maps to Paper 3. Others, such as Advanced Tax Laws, Resolution of Corporate Disputes, Multidisciplinary Case Studies and the Valuations & Business Modelling elective, give no exemption in the new syllabus (ICSI's switchover exemption table).

Even for papers that carry over, the content and the law have changed, so use the Syllabus 2022 book. ICSI does not issue the new books free to students who switched over from Syllabus 2017; they have to buy them through ICSI's online e-cart (ICSI Student Services FAQs, 18 September 2026).

CS Professional Books for your Exam

ICSI's study material is the main book for each paper: it is written to the syllabus ICSI examines, and ICSI states how far each edition is updated. What you get from ICSI depends on how you registered:

• Professional registration: ICSI's notice says students have to buy the study material if they need printed copies; soft copies are on its website.
• Switchover from Syllabus 2017: the new books are not issued free and have to be bought through the e-cart.
• Registration de novo: no study material is issued with a de novo registration; you buy any books you need separately (ICSI Student Services FAQs).

Because the PDFs are the same study material, you can work entirely from the soft copies if you prefer.

CS Professional Books Recommendations

Our recommendation is to start with ICSI's own study material for every paper and add a commercial book only where you need more explanation or practice. Before buying one, check:

• Syllabus 2022, not 2017. The book should use the current paper names, such as ESG – Principles & Practice or Strategic Management & Corporate Finance. Books for "Module I", "Module II" or "Module III", or for papers like Advanced Tax Laws, are for the old syllabus.
• The right edition for your session. For Electives 4.5 and 7.2, check which Finance Act the book follows: the December 2026 exam follows the Finance Act, 2025.
• An update date. A book that says how far it is updated tells you which supplements and amendments you still need to read.
• Your electives only. You sit one elective from each group, so there is no need to buy books for the others.

CS Professional Scanners – Can you pass your exam with them?

Are scanners helpful in passing your CS exam?

A scanner is a collection of questions from previous exams, usually sorted chapter-wise, with solutions and an analysis of which topics come up often. Scanners are sold by private publishers; ICSI does not publish them, and there is no official "drafting scanner".

In our experience, a scanner is a useful extra but not enough on its own. It helps you see how questions are framed once you have read a chapter, but it cannot replace the study material. Check that it covers Syllabus 2022 papers, and check older answers against the current study material and supplements, because the law may have changed since the question was set.

ICSI's own guideline answers, described below, are the official version of the same idea and are free.

CS Professional Notes and Previous Year Papers

CS Professional Notes

Your own notes are the quickest thing to revise from. Make short notes as you read the ICSI study material, add any changes from the supplements, and use them, along with practice papers, in the last week before the exam instead of starting new topics. For the open-book electives, notes that point you to the right chapter of the study material save time in the exam hall.

Previous Year Question papers

Previous year papers show you the exam pattern and the kind of questions ICSI asks. ICSI publishes them free with suggested answers as guideline answers on its Guideline Answers page: one PDF per group for each session, with Syllabus 2022 sets from June 2024 to June 2026. ICSI also publishes 15 model question papers for Syllabus 2022 on its Indicative Model Question Paper page, covering the five compulsory papers and every elective except 4.5. Our CS Professional question papers guide links each session's PDFs.

Other ICSI resources

• Monthly updates: ICSI's Subjectwise Monthly Updates cover January to March 2026. From April 2026, ICSI includes the subject-wise updates in its Student Company Secretary e-Journal.
• Exam dates: CS Professional exams are held in June and December. The December 2026 time table and exam pattern are in our CS Professional exam dates guide.

Study Tips to Ace your Exam

These are suggestions from our experience, not ICSI rules:

• Along with your classes or lectures, set aside a few hours of self-study every day.
• Read the ICSI study material for each paper first, then use other books or video lectures for topics you find difficult.
• As you complete the syllabus of one paper, practise with ICSI's guideline answers and model question papers for it.
• Before the exam, read the supplements for your session so that your answers reflect the current law.
• Both electives are open-book exams in ICSI's December 2026 time table. An open book still needs preparation: know where each topic sits in the study material so you don't lose time searching.
• Rotate between subjects rather than studying one paper for too long, and plan your schedule so you still have time for other things you enjoy.
• Revise, revise and revise. Keep the last weeks before the exam for revising the whole syllabus.