CA Inter Registration After CA Foundation: Last Dates for May and September 2027

Passed CA Foundation in September 2026? Register for CA Intermediate on or before 1 January 2027 and your first Inter exam is September 2027. ICAI wants eight months of registration before the first day of the exam month, and the May 2027 cut-off was 1 September 2026, so that attempt is already closed to you.

ICAI declared the September 2026 Foundation result on 6 November 2026. That leaves 56 days to enrol. If you are still checking marks, our September 2026 Foundation result post has the steps.

Register by 1 January 2027 and you sit Inter in September 2027. Register on 2 January and the first attempt moves to January 2028.

TL;DR

• ICAI's cut-offs: 1 September for the next May exam, 1 January for September, 1 May for the next January.
• September 2026 Foundation pass: register by 1 January 2027, earliest Inter attempt September 2027.
• Fee: Rs 18,000 for both groups. Registration lasts five years and can be renewed once for Rs 400.
• Registration is a one-time enrolment on eservices.icai.org. You still fill a separate exam form for every attempt.

What is the last date for CA Inter registration after Foundation?

ICAI holds Intermediate exams three times a year, in January, May and September. Its Board of Studies announcement of 24 April 2024 and its FAQs on the new scheme (last updated 27 September 2024) set one test: you must have been registered for at least eight months on the first day of the exam month.

• May exam: registered on or before 1 September of the previous year.
• September exam: on or before 1 January of the same year.
• January exam: on or before 1 May of the previous year.

The clock starts on the day you register, not the day your result comes out. A Foundation pass sitting unused on your scorecard counts for nothing until you enrol.

Which Inter attempt can you write after each Foundation result?

Each line takes a Foundation sitting, the day its result came out, the next Inter cut-off after that day, and the first Inter exam it opens.

• January 2026 Foundation: result 8 March 2026. Register by 1 May 2026 (54 days). First Inter attempt: January 2027, held 2 to 12 January.
• May 2026 Foundation: result 3 July 2026. Register by 1 September 2026 (60 days). First Inter attempt: May 2027.
• September 2026 Foundation: result declared 6 November 2026. Register by 1 January 2027 (56 days). First Inter attempt: September 2027.
• January 2027 Foundation, written 3 to 9 January: result date not yet announced. Register by 1 May 2027. First Inter attempt: January 2028.

Source: ICAI BoS announcement (24 April 2024), ICAI FAQs on the New Scheme (27 September 2024), ICAI exam notice of 23 September 2026 and Foundation result dates as reported from ICAI notices, Gradehunt analysis.

Two things stand out. Every recent result has left 54 to 60 days to register, roughly eight weeks. And the first Inter attempt lands exactly twelve months after the Foundation exam month, as long as you register inside that window.

Miss a cut-off by one day and the next one is four months later, so your first Inter attempt slips by a full sitting. ICAI has not yet announced dates for the May 2027, September 2027 or January 2028 Inter exams. Those months are expected from its three-sittings rule.

Can you write CA Inter in May 2027 after passing Foundation in September 2026?

No. The May 2027 Inter exam needs registration on or before 1 September 2026, and the September 2026 Foundation papers had not even started by then. A pass declared in November cannot be backdated.

May 2027 is open to students who passed Foundation in May 2026 or earlier and enrolled by 1 September 2026, and to direct-entry students registered by that date. Our CA after graduation post covers the direct-entry rules.

For a September 2026 pass, then, the realistic plan is September 2027. Register in November or December rather than leaving it to the last day. ICAI sends the login for ordering Intermediate study material by email only after registration, so enrolling early also gets the books to you sooner.

Who is eligible for CA Intermediate registration through the Foundation route?

ICAI's FAQ lists two conditions: a pass in the Foundation exam and a pass in Class 12 from a recognised board. Commerce graduates with 55%, other graduates with 60%, and students who have cleared CS or CMA Intermediate can skip Foundation through the direct entry route.

You must register for both groups together, even if you plan to write one group at a time. Our post on writing one group or both groups helps with that choice.

How do you register for CA Inter on the ICAI portal?

1. Log in to the Self Service Portal at eservices.icai.org. ICAI's exam notices give the username as your student registration number followed by @icai.org. Use the forgot-password option if you have lost the password.
2. Use the portal's Register Course option and pick the Intermediate course on the Foundation route.
3. Check the details carried over from Foundation, and update your photo and signature on the portal if they are missing or unclear. ICAI prints them on mark sheets.
4. Pay the fee online and keep the confirmation.
5. Look out for the email with your login for ICAI's study material portal, then order the Intermediate books.

What is the CA Inter registration fee, and how long is it valid?

ICAI's FAQ puts the Intermediate registration fee at Rs 18,000 for both groups. That FAQ dates from September 2024, so check the amount on the portal before you pay. Our CA exam fees guide sets this against the Foundation and Final fees.

Registration is valid for five years from the date you register. You can revalidate it once, for five more years, for Rs 400. Five years from a December 2026 registration runs to December 2031. If ICAI keeps three sittings a year, that covers 13 Inter exams, from September 2027 to September 2031. Our CA attempt limit post explains what happens after that.

Is CA Inter registration the same as the exam form?

No. Registration enrols you in the course once. The exam form is filed for each attempt, on the same portal, with its own fee and dates. The January 2027 exam form is for students registered by 1 May 2026. A September 2026 Foundation pass files a first exam form for September 2027.

Our January 2027 exam form post lists the per-attempt fees and late-fee dates.

Once you are enrolled and studying, Gradehunt's CA Inter test series lets you write full papers by hand and have them checked by ex-examiners within 48 hours of upload. You can buy a single subject on its own.