ICMAI Practical Training: Rules, Duration and How to Register

ICMAI practical training lasts 15 months for every student who registered for CMA Intermediate on or after 11 February 2020, and it can start as soon as that registration goes through. You need at least 10 months done to sit both groups (or the remaining group) of CMA Final, and the full 15 months before ICMAI declares your Final result.

Ten months by the cut-off date gets you into the Final exam hall. Fifteen months by the T5B date gets your result released.

TL;DR

• 15 months, full time, starting any time after Intermediate registration.
• To appear in Final: 10 months certified by 31 August (December exam) or 28/29 February (June exam).
• To get the result: 15 months certified on Form T5B by 10 February (December exam) or 10 August (June exam).
• CA or CS articleship does not count. Work experience can, through Form T-3.

How long is ICMAI practical training?

The CMA New Practical Training Scheme 2020 sets 15 months for anyone who registered for Intermediate on or after 11 February 2020. Those who registered between 1 January 2008 and 10 February 2020 follow the old 6-month scheme. Registrations before 2008 need no training at all.

The scheme is full time, and the prospectus fixes working hours at 35 a week.

For anyone registering now, the figure is 15 months of full-time work. Our CMA course details post covers the exam levels around it.

When can you start CMA practical training?

Immediately after registering for the Intermediate course. You do not have to pass Intermediate, or even one group of it, first. Skills Training and the 10-day Industry Oriented Training Programme (IOTP) at Final are separate requirements.

Work backwards from your Final date: 10 months by 31 August 2026 for the December 2026 Final meant starting by 1 November 2025. I would start early in Intermediate for that reason alone.

The clock can run from Intermediate registration, and an early start keeps your first Final attempt open.

Where can you do your CMA practical training?

ICMAI's Appendix A lists who can train you:

• A practising cost accountant (PCMA) or a firm of cost accountants.
• Government and semi-government bodies, public utilities and PSUs.
• Banks, insurers, financial institutions, universities, management institutes, co-operative societies and NGOs.
• Any other organisation with a turnover of ₹25 lakh in the service sector, or ₹50 lakh outside it.

The work must fall in an Appendix B area, such as costing, accounts, audit, tax, compliance, banking or valuation.

Can you train in a CA or CS firm?

Yes, if the firm's turnover is above ₹25 lakh and you either work only in its separate management consultancy division or are its employee. CA or CS articleship itself is not set off against CMA practical training.

Any listed employer works, as long as the job is in a listed area.

How do you register for ICMAI practical training?

Every form goes through ICMAI's online training portal at eicmai.in, where you log in with your registration number and date of birth.

1. Join a PCMA, a firm of cost accountants or a recognised organisation.
2. Within 30 days, file Form T-1 (with UDIN) for a PCMA or firm, or Form T-4 for an organisation. The prospectus lists a ₹2,500 registration fee here.
3. If you change employer, file a fresh T-1 or T-4 within 30 days with a fee of ₹1,000. Three changes at most are allowed in the 15 months.
4. Before applying for Final, upload Form T5A (10 to 15 months done) or Form T-5 (all 15 done).
5. After T5A, upload Form T5B once you reach 15 months.

ICMAI now makes UDIN mandatory on both T-1 and T-5, and its Training Directorate cross-checks employers at random.

File within 30 days of joining, then watch the T5A and T5B dates.

Can you write CMA Final before finishing 15 months?

Yes, with at least 10 months done. ICMAI's circular of 12 September 2024 split the completion form in three:

• Form T-5: all 15 months finished before the cut-off date.
• Form T5A: at least 10 months by 31 August (December exam) or 28/29 February (June exam), submitted by 5 October or 5 April.
• Form T5B: the full 15 months, due by 10 February for a December exam or 10 August for a June exam. ICMAI releases the Final result only after it.

Worked timeline for the December 2026 Final

Training from 1 November 2025 reaches 10 months on 31 August 2026, so T5A lets you appear in December 2026. The 15 months end on 31 January 2027, and T5B goes in by 10 February 2027. Start on 1 December 2025 and you are a month short for December 2026.

How leave affects the dates

You get one paid day of leave a month, plus 60 unpaid days in total for ICMAI exams. Extra leave extends your training day for day.

Ten months by the cut-off lets you sit Final, and the result waits until T5B shows 15.

Can work experience exempt you from practical training?

Yes. If you work, or have worked, in an Appendix A organisation in an Appendix B area, apply on Form T-3 with an experience certificate and an attested salary slip. Applications found eligible by 31 May count for June, and by 30 November for December. Practising CAs and CSs are exempt too, but they still have to apply.

The fee differs between two ICMAI sources, ₹4,500 in the 2025 prospectus and ₹2,000 on the scheme page, so check the portal before paying. This is separate from paper exemptions, which we cover in how to claim exemption in CMA Final.

Relevant work experience replaces the 15 months only once ICMAI approves your T-3.

Is there a stipend, and how is it different from CA articleship?

ICMAI recommends a minimum monthly stipend for trainees in companies and organisations, in force from 1 August 2024. In the first year it is ₹20,000, ₹18,000 or ₹15,000 for Intermediate students and ₹25,000, ₹22,000 or ₹20,000 for Final students, in Category X, Y and Z cities. It rises in years two and three, and the PCMA scale in the prospectus is much lower.

CMA training is not tied to a practitioner's office: a bank, a PSU or a company of the right size counts too.

Company trainees have a recommended minimum stipend, and articleship from ICAI or ICSI is not credited.

What do you need for ICMAI membership after Final?

Associate membership needs a Final pass plus at least three years of practical experience in costing or related work, before or after Final. Your 15 months of training count towards the three years, and you apply on Form M-2. CA or CS articleship is not recognised, but experience in CA or CS firms has been accepted since 1 April 2024.

The 15 months plus later work must reach three years before you can use the letters ACMA.

With 35 hours a week going to training, every full paper you practise for Final needs to count. Gradehunt's CMA Final test series follows the CMA exam pattern: you write full papers by hand, upload them, and an ex-examiner checks them within 48 hours with step-wise marks. Your first paper is checked free.