ICAI Self-Paced Online Modules (SPOM): Sets A to D, Test and Deadline

ICAI's Self-Paced Online Modules (SPOM) are four courses, Set A to Set D, that a new-scheme CA Final student must clear on top of the six Final papers. Set A and Set B are compulsory. From Set C and Set D you pick one paper each. You log the hours on lms.icai.org, then write a 100-mark MCQ test at a centre booked on spmt.icai.org, and you need 50 to pass.

The 50% pass mark is rarely the problem. The date is: if a module is still pending on the cut-off day, you cannot sit that Final attempt.

TL;DR

• Set A, Corporate and Economic Laws, and Set B, Strategic Cost and Performance Management: compulsory, 40 hours each.
• Set C: one of 10 electives. Set D: one of 4 multidisciplinary papers. 20 hours each.
• The test (SPMT): 100 marks of MCQs, no negative marking, 50 to pass, Rs 500 per paper in India.
• For the November 2026 Final exam, ICAI's cut-off to clear every module was 10 October 2026.

What are ICAI's Self-Paced Online Modules?

SPOM came with the New Scheme of Education and Training, which started on 1 July 2023. Corporate and Economic Laws (old Final Paper 4) and Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation (old Paper 5) left the written exam and became Set A and Set B. Sets C and D are new. Our post on CA Final groups and subjects lists the six written Final papers.

ICAI's FAQ says you learn and qualify each module at your own pace after registering for the Final course. SPOM marks are not added to your Final marks. They only decide whether you can sit the Final exam.

SPOM is four modules, passed separately, that you need before the Final exam.

What do Set A, B, C and D cover?

Set A and Set B (compulsory)

Set A is Corporate and Economic Laws. Set B is Strategic Cost and Performance Management. Each carries 100 marks and needs 40 hours on the portal. ICAI expects expert knowledge in these two, so I would prepare them as seriously as the old Final papers they replaced.

Set C electives (choose one)

• Risk Management
• Sustainable Development and Sustainability Reporting
• Public Finance and Government Accounting
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016
• International Taxation
• Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996
• Forensic Accounting
• Valuation
• Financial Services and Capital Markets
• Forex and Treasury Management

Set D multidisciplinary papers (choose one)

• Constitution of India and Art of Advocacy
• Psychology and Philosophy
• Entrepreneurship and Start up Ecosystem
• Digital Ecosystem and Controls

ICAI's FAQ puts 20 learning hours against each of these papers (it gives no figure for the Arbitration paper) and asks for working knowledge in Set C and Set D. I would pick a Set C paper that overlaps with a Final paper, such as International Taxation with Paper 4.

Two fixed modules of 40 hours, then one of 10 electives and one of 4 multidisciplinary papers, at 20 hours each.

How do you register for SPOM and study on the LMS?

There is no separate SPOM registration. You pick your Set C and Set D papers in the Final course registration form, and ICAI charges no fee for the modules.

The hours are logged on the ICAI Digital Learning Campus, lms.icai.org, with your Self Service Portal (SSP) login or an OTP to your registered mobile. ICAI's Board of Studies set these conditions when it launched Set A and Set B in May 2024:

• a desktop or laptop with a webcam, and 2 to 5 Mbps internet
• good light, because the portal matches your face with your SSP photo
• staying inside the webcam frame for the whole session

Study material for every module is on the BoS Knowledge Portal, with printed books for Set A and Set B.

Registration comes free with the Final course. Hours count only on lms.icai.org, with the webcam on.

How does the SPOM test (SPMT) work?

Booking and fee

Once a paper's hours are complete, log in to spmt.icai.org with your SSP details and choose the city, centre, date and slot. The fee is Rs 500 per paper in India, Rs 850 in Kathmandu and Bhutan, and USD 150 at Gulf centres. Holders of ICAI's permanent concession card do not pay.

Check every choice before you pay. ICAI's SPMT FAQ says the centre, date, time and paper cannot be changed after booking, and the fee is not refunded. Print the admit card from the portal and carry it to the centre.

Format and passing marks

Each test is 100 marks of MCQs, either standalone or built on a case scenario. There is no negative marking. You need 50 to pass, attempts are unlimited, and a passed module cannot be retaken.

Two rules for Set C and Set D

You may log hours for two papers in a set but book only one at a time. If you fail it, you can book the other. Once you pass a Set C paper, Set C is closed, and the same goes for Set D.

Book on spmt.icai.org, pay Rs 500, write 100 marks of MCQs at a centre, and score 50.

When must you clear SPOM before CA Final?

Before the exam, by a date ICAI fixes for each attempt. ICAI's guidance note for November 2026 required new-scheme students to qualify every applicable module on or before 10 October 2026, the same cut-off it set for Advanced ICITSS. Our post on the Advanced ITT course covers that half.

ICAI also pauses the test for portal upgrades, as it did from 11 to 20 April and 11 to 20 October 2026. A failed test means a fresh booking, so I would finish all four a month early.

Who is exempt?

Students admitted to the Final exam up to November 2023, or to the May 2024 exam, do not need Set C and Set D. They must clear Set A and Set B, or one of them, before applying for membership. An old-scheme exemption in Paper 4 or Paper 5 means a permanent exemption from Set A or Set B. If you are unsure, ICAI's FAQ says to write to [email protected].

Every applicable module must be cleared by your attempt's cut-off, which was 10 October for November 2026.

A SPOM checklist, with timing

1. Pick your Set C and Set D papers in the Final course registration form.
2. Log the Set A and Set B hours first, because they are the longest at 40 hours each.
3. Book each test on spmt.icai.org soon after its hours are done, while the content is fresh.
4. Read the guidance note for your attempt the day ICAI releases it, and note the SPOM cut-off.
5. Have all four modules passed about a month before that date.

In articleship, block a few hours a week instead of leaving all 120 hours to the end. Our articleship guide has the training rules for your first Final attempt.

SPOM is MCQs. The Final papers are not: papers 1 to 5 carry 70 marks of written answers each. Once your modules are done, write full papers by hand in Gradehunt's CA Final test series, and an ex-examiner checks each within 48 hours with step-wise marks and comments. The first paper is checked free.