Chat on WhatsAppACCA exams are computer-based exams (CBEs), but in India you sit every one at an exam centre. BT, MA, FA and LW (GLO or ENG) are on-demand: you book any date with a CBE centre and see the result on screen, then on myACCA within 72 hours. PM, TX-UK, FR, AA, FM and Strategic Professional are session CBEs in March, June, September and December, entered through Exam Planner, with results about six weeks later.
Computer-based does not mean from home. ACCA says its exams are held in centres from March 2026, except in countries with no centre provision, and India has centres.
TL;DR
- Every ACCA exam in India is sat at a centre.
- On-demand (BT, MA, FA, LW GLO/ENG): book and pay the centre; result within 72 hours.
- Session (PM, TX-UK, FR, AA, FM, Strategic Professional): enter in Exam Planner, pay ACCA, result in about six weeks.
- Applied Skills answers (other than LW) go into a spreadsheet and word processor; practise both on ACCA's Practice Platform.
Is the ACCA exam online or offline in India?
You answer on a computer, at an exam centre. ACCA stopped selling remote on-demand tokens from 4 November 2025, except in countries with no exam centre provision; tokens already bought work until they expire. Its FAQs on the limited availability of remote exams say all exams are held in centres from March 2026, with the same exception.
ACCA's exam availability page for India reads "Exams are taken in centres" under both exam types.
So the ACCA exam in India is a computer exam at a centre, with no home option.
Which ACCA exams are on-demand and which are session CBEs?
ACCA's rules for each group, as on 13 November 2026 (India fees, March 2027 session):
- BT, MA, FA: on-demand, 2 hours, objective and multi-task questions. Book and pay a CBE centre, which sets the fee.
- LW (GLO, ENG): on-demand, 2 hours, objective questions only, booked the same way.
- PM, TX-UK, FR, AA, FM: session, 3 hours plus instruction time, £151 standard or £387 late to ACCA. Answers typed in a spreadsheet and word processor.
- SBR, SBL, AFM, AAA, APM, ATX: session, 3 hours 15 minutes; £191 / £430 for SBR and each option, £268 / £430 for SBL.
Source: ACCA's about our exams page, India fee page and S26-J27 study guides.
March and September carry Applied Skills and Strategic Professional only, in limited variants; check yours in Exam Planner.
A CA may never meet an on-demand exam: ACCA's exemptions calculator lists up to 9 exemptions for ICAI's CA course (as on 12 November 2026), all below Strategic Professional. Check yours on the calculator, or see our CA to ACCA page.
Four papers (BT, MA, FA, LW GLO/ENG) are on-demand; every other ACCA exam is a session exam.
How do you book an ACCA CBE in India?
ACCA's about our exams page sets out both routes.
On-demand exams (BT, MA, FA, LW)
- Register with ACCA and clear any fees you owe.
- Find a centre in ACCA's on-demand CBE centre list.
- Contact the centre and agree a date.
- Pay the centre directly.
- Sit the exam and read your result on screen.
Session exams (PM, TX-UK, FR, AA, FM, Strategic Professional)
- Log in to myACCA and open Exam Planner.
- Enter by 1 February 2027 for March, or by 8 February with the late fee (23:59 UK time).
- Pay ACCA in pounds.
- Download your docket, with timetable and centre address, about three weeks after standard entry closes.
- Sit the exam at that centre.
As on 13 November 2026, ACCA's notice said some services were unavailable until 18 November 2026, and on-demand centre details would not be updated before then, though the centre search still worked.
You can sit at most four exams in one exam cycle and eight distinct exams a calendar year.
On-demand papers: book and pay the centre. Session papers: Exam Planner, paid to ACCA.
When do you get ACCA CBE results?
An on-demand result appears on screen when you finish and reaches myACCA within 72 hours. A session result takes about six weeks. Published dates, as on 13 November 2026:
- December 2026: exams 7 to 11 December 2026, results 18 January 2027.
- March 2027: exams 1 to 5 March 2027, results 12 April 2027.
ACCA had not published June 2027 dates as on 13 November 2026. For results by SMS, opt in on myACCA at least seven days before release.
BT, MA and FA have no session dates; our ACCA Applied Knowledge test series covers those papers.
On-demand results come the same day; March 2027 session results on 12 April 2027.
What do you see on screen in an Applied Skills CBE?
ACCA's guide to session CBEs has three question types. An objective test (OT) question is worth 2 marks, auto-marked, with no part marks. An OT case is five 2-mark OTs on one scenario. A constructed response is typed into a blank page, a blank spreadsheet or a template, and an expert marker sees your formulae as well as the answer.
- Marked: the spreadsheet and the word processor.
- Not marked: the scratch pad, scrap paper and the on-screen standard or scientific calculator. Your own calculator is allowed if it cannot store or display text.
- Also there: highlighter and strikethrough, flag for review, and a message at 15 minutes left.
Source: ACCA guide to session CBEs (dated January 2020, still linked by ACCA).
Instruction time by paper
- PM, AA and FM: the S26-J27 study guides give an extra 10 minutes to read the exam instructions.
- FR: the guide allocates time but gives no figure.
- LW: a 2-hour objective test with no typed answers.
ACCA's March/June 2026 FR examiner's report says many candidates used the calculator instead of the spreadsheet and showed no workings. A wrong answer with no working scores nothing.
I see the same in CA answer sheets: a wrong figure with no working leaves nothing for step marks. Keep each working in its own cell.
On written questions, marks come from what you type in the spreadsheet and word processor; the scratch pad is never marked.
How should you split time in a 3-hour Applied Skills CBE?
My arithmetic: 180 minutes over 100 marks is 1.8 minutes a mark, before instruction time.
- FR, PM, FM: Section A (30 marks) 54 minutes, Section B (three OT cases) 54, each 20-mark Section C question 36.
- AA: Section A (three OT cases) 54 minutes; in Section B, the 30-marker 54 and each 20-marker 36.
- TX-UK: Sections A and B 54 minutes each; in Section C, the 10-marker 18 and each 15-marker 27.
Source: Gradehunt arithmetic on ACCA's S26-J27 formats; an estimate, not an ACCA rule.
ACCA's CBE tips for 2-hour on-demand exams use 1.2 minutes a mark, so a 10-mark MA Section B question gets about 12 minutes. I would guard the OT sections: each question looks small, and every minute over comes out of your typed answers.
At 1.8 minutes a mark, a 20-mark question gets 36 minutes and a 30-mark section 54.
How can you practise the CBE before exam day?
Start with ACCA's Practice Platform: log in with myACCA, open the Catalogue and pick the blank workspace under your exam. ACCA's further learning support page links it, with spreadsheet and word processing exercises.
Gradehunt's ACCA mocks do a different job. You type answers in Word or Excel and upload one PDF, and our faculty give marks and comments within 48 hours of upload. There is no on-screen test or instant score. Plans include the Part-wise Test Series (5 part-wise tests and 2 full mocks) and the Full Syllabus Mock Tests (2 full mocks per paper). Try one paper first with our free ACCA mock exam.
Learn the screen on ACCA's platform and the marking on checked mocks.
Gradehunt's ACCA Applied Skills mock exams cover LW, PM, TX-UK, FR, AA and FM, each checked by our faculty within 48 hours of upload.
Want a better score next time? Practise where marks are lost.
Our checkers mark your ACCA Applied Skills answers the way the exam does and show what cost you marks.
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Updates to this page
- 13 November 2026: first published.
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Gradehunt is an independent provider and is not associated with, approved or endorsed by ACCA. ACCA is a registered trademark of ACCA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1.Is the ACCA exam online or offline in India?
You answer on a computer, but at an exam centre. Every ACCA exam is a CBE, and ACCA's India availability page says exams are taken in centres for both on-demand and session papers. A student sitting MA books a CBE centre directly; the same student sitting FR in March finds the centre address on the exam docket.
Q2.Can I take ACCA exams from home in India?
No. ACCA stopped selling remote on-demand tokens from 4 November 2025 except where there is no exam centre, and it says its exams are held in centres from March 2026. ACCA's India availability page lists centres for both on-demand and session exams.
Q3.How much does an ACCA on-demand exam cost in India?
The centre sets the fee. ACCA's India fee page gives no figure for BT, MA, FA or on-demand LW, so ask a few centres before you book. For comparison, a session Applied Skills exam in March 2027 costs £151 at the standard fee, paid to ACCA.
Q4.How soon do I get my ACCA on-demand result?
At the end of the exam, on screen. ACCA then uploads it to myACCA within 72 hours. Session exams take about six weeks, so March 2027 results come on 12 April 2027.
Q5.Can I take my own calculator into an ACCA CBE?
Yes, if it cannot store or display text. The session CBE also has a standard or scientific calculator on screen. Neither is marked, so any figure you want marks for belongs in the spreadsheet with its formula.
Q6.Who marks the written answers in an ACCA CBE?
An expert marker. OT questions are marked automatically, but answers typed in the spreadsheet and word processor go to a marker, who sees your formulae as well as your final figures. The scratch pad and scrap paper are not marked.
Q7.Where can I practise the ACCA CBE software?
On ACCA's Practice Platform, with your myACCA login. Open the Catalogue for blank workspaces under each exam, and work through ACCA's spreadsheet and word processing exercises on it. For marks and comments on full answers, add a checked mock; your first Gradehunt ACCA paper is free.
