The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has announced key changes to its examination schedule, rescheduling the CA Intermediate exams for May 2026 while revising the frequency of CA Final exams from next year.

The CA Intermediate examinations, originally scheduled to begin on May 3, will now commence from May 5, 2026, due to “unavoidable reasons”. The exams will continue to be held from 2 pm to 5 pm, with Group I papers scheduled for May 5, 7 and 9, and Group II papers on May 11, 13 and 15.

In a separate move, ICAI has decided to reduce the number of CA Final exam attempts from three to two annually. Beginning with the May 2026 session, the Final exams will be conducted only in May and November, replacing the current cycle of January, May and September.

The January attempt will be discontinued after the January 2026 session, marking a shift back to a biannual system. The decision follows feedback from students and stakeholders, many of whom flagged limited preparation time between closely spaced attempts under the earlier schedule.

ICAI said the revised structure aims to provide candidates with more time to prepare and improve performance, while also streamlining the examination process for one of India’s most demanding professional courses.

The changes will come into effect from May 2026, which will be the first Final examination cycle under the new twice-a-year format.