CA Inter One Group or Both Groups: How to Decide for January 2027

Should you write one group or both groups of CA Inter in January 2027? Write both if all six of your papers can reach 40 marks in timed practice. If one group is far behind, write the other alone and clear it properly. Writing both never takes away your chance to pass a single group, and it adds one more way to pass. The gain is an earlier articleship, which under the new scheme starts only after both groups are cleared.

Writing both groups adds a way to pass and costs you revision time. Decide on your timed paper scores, not on hope.

TL;DR

• One group: 40 in each paper and 150 out of 300. Both groups adds a route: 40 in all six papers and 300 out of 600.
• Miss the combined route and either group can still pass on its own.
• In the last four attempts, between 8.47% and 13.21% of students who wrote both groups cleared both.
• Articleship starts only after you pass both groups and complete ICITSS.
• January 2027: Group I on 2, 4 and 6 January, Group II on 8, 10 and 12 January. The form closes on 16 November 2026.

What are the pass rules when you write one group or both?

ICAI's guidance note for the September 2026 Intermediate exam sets out the rules. Every paper is out of 100. To pass a group, you need 40 in each of its three papers and 150 out of 300, at one sitting.

The extra route when you write both

Write all six papers at one sitting and you pass both groups when every paper is 40 or more and either each group reaches 150, or all six together reach 300 out of 600. A weak group can lean on a strong one.

The single-group route stays open

The group rule does not depend on the other group. If you write both and score 160 in Group I with every paper above 40, Group I is cleared even if Group II goes badly. Our CA Inter passing marks post has more worked examples.

Writing both gives you two ways to pass and removes none. A paper under 40 is the one thing no route forgives.

What do ICAI's pass percentages say?

These are the last four CA Inter attempts, in the order Group I, Group II, both groups. The first three come from ICAI's result press releases, such as the one for May 2026.

• September 2025: 9.43%, 27.14% and 10.06% (3,663 of 36,398 cleared both).
• January 2026: 13.96%, 15.54% and 9.39% (3,924 of 41,798).
• May 2026: 10.25%, 16.11% and 8.47% (2,820 of 33,304).
• September 2026, declared on 22 October 2026: 23.14%, 18.92% and 13.21% (5,066 of 38,339). These are Careers360's result-day figures, as I could not find ICAI's own release for this attempt.

How should you read these numbers?

The both-groups figure counts students who cleared all six papers in one go, so it nearly always sits below the group figures, and that alone does not make both riskier for you. The swings matter more. Group II fell from 27.14% to 15.54% in one attempt, and Group I rose from 10.25% to 23.14% between May and September 2026. Do not pick a group because it looked easier last time.

Roughly 8 to 13 in every 100 both-group candidates cleared all of Intermediate at one sitting.

Can you start articleship after clearing one group?

No, not under the new scheme. ICAI's FAQ on the new scheme says you can start practical training only after passing both groups of Intermediate and completing the four-week ICITSS. Passing Group I and finishing ICITSS is not enough.

What does one group at a time cost you?

In 2026, ICAI declared the January result on 8 March and the May result on 24 June. On that pattern, clearing both groups in January 2027 could put you in articleship about three and a half months ahead of writing Group I in January and Group II next time. Our CA articleship guide covers registration.

Articleship waits for your second group, so each extra attempt moves your start back by one exam cycle.

How does the 60% exemption affect the choice?

If you appear in all papers of a group, fail the group, and score 60 or more in a paper, that paper is exempt for the next three exams. You can only earn this in a group you wrote. A student who writes both and falls short can carry 60-plus papers from both groups. One who writes a single group has nothing to carry in the other.

ICAI gives rank certificates, up to rank 50, only to students who pass the exam in one sitting with no earlier exemption and at least 55% in aggregate. A rank needs both groups at one sitting.

Exemptions and ranks reward writing both groups, but only when you are ready to score well in them.

How should you decide for January 2027?

The form sets your deadline. It is open from 3 to 16 November 2026, with a late fee until 19 November. Here is how I would decide:

1. Write one three-hour paper in each of the six subjects before 14 November, in the 2 pm to 5 pm slot.
2. Mark each strictly against ICAI's suggested answers, or get it checked.
3. Choose both groups if every paper is at 40 or within a few marks of it.
4. Choose the stronger group alone if the other has two papers well under 40 or a subject not yet studied.

A worked example with two students

These scores are illustrations, not real students. Student A scores 48, 44 and 50 in Group I (142) and 52, 46 and 62 in Group II (160). Written alone, Group I fails by 8 marks. Written together, every paper is 40 or more and the total is 302, so both groups pass on the combined route.

Student B scores 56, 49 and 52 in Group I (157) and 34, 30 and 41 in Group II (105). Group I passes with only 7 marks to spare. Group II needs 45 more marks and two papers lifted above 40, and 262 is far from 300. Every week spent rescuing Group II is a week Group I is not revised. For B, Group I alone is the safer plan.

What do both groups look like in January 2027?

ICAI's notice for January 2027 puts Group I on Saturday 2, Monday 4 and Wednesday 6 January, and Group II on Friday 8, Sunday 10 and Tuesday 12 January, all from 2 pm to 5 pm. That is six papers in 11 days, with one clear day before each. The fee in India is ₹1,500 for one group and ₹2,700 for both. Our January 2027 study plan maps out the weeks before the exam.

If all six papers are near 40 by mid-November, write both. If one group is far behind, clear the other first.

To get your November papers marked before the form closes, try Gradehunt's CA Inter test series. You write by hand and upload, and an ex-examiner checks each paper within 48 hours with step-wise marks. The first paper is checked free.