CA Final Passing Marks: 40 per Paper, 150 per Group, 300 out of 600 and Exemption

CA Final passing marks are 40 out of 100 in every paper and 150 out of 300 in each group. Write both groups at one sitting and ICAI also passes you with 300 out of 600, provided no paper is below 40. That is Regulation 38D, as printed in ICAI's guidance note for the November 2026 Final exam. I worked the exemption rule through every mark from 60 to 100. An exemption scored at 60 to 69 still needs more than 40 + 40 in the other two papers, and the "next three exams" validity has run from 12 to 16 months so far, and is expected to run 18 months on the new May and November calendar.

Forty is only the floor in each paper. The group still has to reach 150, and an exemption gets you through on 40 + 40 only if you scored 70 or more in it.

TL;DR

• One group: 40 in each of its three papers and 150 of 300 in total.
• Both groups together: 40 in all six papers and 300 of 600, even if one group is under 150.
• Exemption: 60 or more in a paper, when you wrote the whole group and failed in another paper of it, valid for the next three Final exams (12 to 16 months so far, 18 expected from May 2026 on).
• Permanent exemption: the exempt paper counts as 50 at most, and the other papers of that group need 50 each.

What are the passing marks for CA Final?

Each of the six CA Final papers is out of 100: Financial Reporting, Advanced Financial Management (AFM) and Audit in Group I; Direct Tax, Indirect Tax and Integrated Business Solutions in Group II. The pass marks are:

• Each paper: 40 out of 100.
• Each group: 150 out of 300, at one sitting.
• Both groups together: 300 out of 600, with 40 in every paper.
• Exemption in a paper: 60 out of 100.

You may pass the two groups at different sittings. The 300 of 600 option exists only for a candidate who writes both together.

How does the 300 out of 600 route work?

A strong group can carry a weak one. With every paper at 40 or more:

• Group I at 120: Group II needs 180.
• Group I at 145: Group II needs 155.
• Group I at 160: Group II needs only 140, a fail on its own.

Worked case: Group I at 45, 45 and 45 makes 135, short of 150. Group II at 80, 80 and 80 makes 240. The total is 375 with no paper under 40, so both groups pass. Make one Group I paper 38 and Group I fails, because both routes need 40 in every paper. Our CA Final marks calculator runs these checks on your own marks.

The route works only for both groups at one sitting, and never covers a paper below 40.

How does exemption work in CA Final?

ICAI grants an exemption only if you wrote all papers of a group and failed in one or more of them. Each paper of that group with 60 or more is then exempt for the next three Final exams. To pass the group then, you need 40 in each remaining paper and 150 in total, counting the exempt paper's marks. One limit is easy to miss: while an exemption is live, ICAI gives no exemption in another paper of the same group, even at 60 or more.

What do the other two papers need?

ICAI prints no worked table for this, so I worked it from the rule:

• Exempt at 60: the other two need 90 together, for example 40 and 50.
• Exempt at 65: they need 85, so 40 and 45.
• Exempt at 69: they need 81, so 40 and 41.
• Exempt at 70 to 100: 40 in each is enough.

Method: for each exempt mark E, the other two papers need 150 minus E in total and at least 40 each. Source: exemption rule as printed in ICAI's Final guidance note, November 2026 (para 14), and ICAI's Final course FAQ Q 4.11; Gradehunt calculation.

With two exempt papers in the group (each 60 or more, so 120 together at least), the last paper needs only 40. ICAI's documents do not say an exempt paper counts as 60, and the 50-mark cap applies only after an exemption is made permanent.

Seventy is the break-even. Below it, one of the other two papers needs more than 40.

How long is a CA Final exemption valid?

ICAI counts validity in exams, not months: "any one or more of the immediately next three following examinations". Its notice of 6 April 2026 moved Final from January, May and September back to May and November from May 2026. Because the calendar changed twice, the same three exams have spanned:

• Earned May 2024: Nov 2024, May 2025, Sep 2025. 16 months.
• Earned Nov 2024: May 2025, Sep 2025, Jan 2026. 14 months.
• Earned May 2025: Sep 2025, Jan 2026, May 2026. 12 months.
• Earned Sep 2025: Jan 2026, May 2026, Nov 2026. 14 months.
• Earned Jan 2026: May 2026, Nov 2026, May 2027 (expected). 16 months.
• Earned May 2026: Nov 2026, May 2027, Nov 2027 (expected). 18 months.
• Earned Nov 2026: May 2027, Nov 2027, May 2028 (expected). 18 months.

Method: months counted from the exam in which the exemption was earned to the third CA Final exam after it; May 2027 onward per ICAI's current May/November schedule. Source: ICAI Final guidance note November 2026 and ICAI notice of 6 April 2026, Gradehunt calculation.

The May 2025 row matches ICAI's own example of an exemption valid till May 2026. Registration has a separate 10-year validity, covered in our post on CA Final registration validity.

On the May and November calendar, three exams are expected to mean 18 months for exemptions earned from May 2026 on.

What changes when you make an exemption permanent?

If the three exams go by without a pass, ICAI lets you make the exemption permanent. Its guidance on exhausted exemptions for November 2026 sets these rules:

• Each remaining paper of the group needs 50, not 40.
• The exempt paper counts as 50 at most, and marks above 50 cannot help either group.
• You get one window to opt in; for exemptions that ran out with May 2026, it was 6 to 25 July 2026 on ICAI's Self Service Portal (SSP). Miss it and the exemption lapses for good.
• Two exempt papers in one group go together: both permanent or both lapse.

The cost in marks for the other two papers: with an exempt 60 they need 100 instead of 90 (10 more), with 65 they need 100 instead of 85 (15 more), and with 70 or above, 100 instead of 80 (20 more).

Method: live exemption counted at actual marks, permanent exemption capped at 50. Source: ICAI note on making exemptions permanent, Final November 2026; Gradehunt calculation.

ICAI now also lets you surrender an exemption online on the SSP dashboard (Exam Functions); for Final November 2026 the cut-off was 30 September 2026. A surrendered exemption can never be claimed back.

A permanent exemption is worth 50 marks at most and lifts the other papers from 40 to 50 each.

Does the group rule hit Group I or Group II harder?

I pooled ICAI's results for the six new-scheme Final sessions, May 2024 to May 2026:

• Group I: 77,359 passes from 3,69,030 appearances, 20.96%.
• Group II: 64,780 passes from 2,67,538 appearances, 24.21%.
• Both groups: 25,264 passes from 1,58,737 appearances, 15.92%, about 16 in 100.

Method: pooled figure = total passed divided by total appeared across the six new-scheme Final sessions; a candidate who wrote more than one session is counted each time. Source: ICAI result press releases, May 2024 to May 2026; Gradehunt analysis.

Group I had the lower figure in five of the six sessions; in ICAI's May 2026 release it was 12.00%. ICAI does not publish how many passed through the 300 route or an exemption. Our page on CA Final pass percentage for every session has each result.

Group I is the harder group on this record: about one in five Group I appearances ended in a pass, against one in four for Group II, and about 16 in 100 for both groups at one sitting.

What marks get distinction or an all-India rank?

Distinction needs 420 of 600 (70%) with the whole Final passed at one sitting. An all-India rank, up to 50th, needs 330 of 600 (55%) at one sitting, with no exemption used earlier in any paper. A passed group cannot be rewritten for more marks, and there is no revaluation. ICAI allows verification at ₹50 a paper and a certified copy at ₹100 a paper on the SSP within a month of the result.

Writing Final in May 2027? Test yourself against 40 a paper and 150 a group first. In the Gradehunt CA Final test series you write papers and upload your answer sheets; ex-examiners check each within 48 hours of upload.