CA Foundation Pass Percentage and the Marks You Need to Be in It

The latest ICAI result, for May 2026, put the CA Foundation pass percentage at 20.09%: 18,124 of 90,217 candidates passed. January 2026 was 19.23% and September 2025 was 14.78%. Pooled across the three sittings, 53,832 of 298,738 candidates passed, which is 18.02%.

Pass percentage means candidates who passed, divided by candidates who appeared, times 100. A sitting is one January, May or September exam. As of October 2026, May 2026 is the latest result ICAI has declared. The September 2026 sitting was held on 2, 5, 7 and 9 September 2026, per ICAI's examination announcement, and the figures below cover the three sittings from September 2025 to May 2026.

The pooled row is our calculation from the three ICAI releases: 98,827 + 109,694 + 90,217 = 298,738 appeared, 14,609 + 21,099 + 18,124 = 53,832 passed, and 53,832 ÷ 298,738 = 18.02%. That leaves 244,906 candidates who sat and did not pass. The "1 in" column is appeared ÷ passed.

The best of the three sittings sits 5.31 percentage points above the weakest (20.09 − 14.78). The dates for each sitting are in our CA exam dates 2026 guide.

It counts only those who appeared. ICAI divides passes by the candidates who appeared, not by those admitted to the exam. In May 2026 ICAI admitted 106,144 candidates, 90,217 sat, and 18,124 passed, so passes were 20.09% of those who sat but 17.07% of those admitted.

Our working, from the May 2026 ICAI release: 106,144 − 90,217 = 15,927 admitted candidates did not sit, which is 15.0% of those admitted, and 18,124 ÷ 106,144 = 17.07%.

The percentage describes everyone who sat, first-timers and repeaters, prepared and unprepared alike, so it cannot tell you your own chance. Your mock scores measured against the pass rule can.

ICAI fixes marks, not a share of candidates. Under its FAQ on the CA scheme, a student passes by scoring at least 40% in each paper and 50% in aggregate at one sitting. With no quota, the percentage moves: 14.78% in September 2025, 20.09% in May 2026.

A quota would return the same share each time. These ICAI releases differ by 5.31 percentage points, so the share is an outcome of how candidates scored against a fixed line. The line is a marks threshold, and the share who reach it changes from sitting to sitting.

The practical consequence is that the line, not the crowd, is the thing to prepare against.

You need at least 40 marks in each of the four 100-mark papers and at least 200 out of 400 in total, both at one sitting, per ICAI's FAQ. Reaching 200 in total fails if one paper is under 40, and 40 in every paper fails if the total is under 200.

The four papers are Paper 1 Accounting, Paper 2 Business Laws, Paper 3 Quantitative Aptitude (Business Mathematics, Logical Reasoning and Statistics) and Paper 4 Business Economics. Papers 1 and 2 are subjective. Papers 3 and 4 are objective, meaning multiple-choice, with negative marking.

Because the 40-mark floor and the 200 total interact, a weak paper is expensive. Our arithmetic from ICAI's rule:

A flat 50 in every paper gives exactly 200 with nothing under 40. That is the shape of the pass, and it is why we treat 40 as a floor and never as a target.

Negative marking turns a guess into a calculation. ICAI deducts 0.25 mark for every wrong answer in the objective papers, so attempt a question when your chance of being right is above 20%. Below 20%, leaving it blank scores better on average.

Our model: expected marks per question = p × 1 − (1 − p) × 0.25, where p is your chance of being right. It assumes one mark per correct answer, the 0.25 deduction from ICAI's FAQ, and four options per question.

Twenty blind guesses add about 1.25 marks on average (20 × 0.0625), which is almost nothing. Twenty questions where you have struck out one option add about 3.3 marks (20 × 0.1667). Our recommendation: in Papers 3 and 4, attempt every question where you can eliminate at least one option, and spend your spare minutes on questions you can solve rather than on lottery guesses.

Your mock score passes only if it clears two gates: every paper at 40 or more, and a total of 200 or more. Run both on each full-length, timed mock. Our recommended margin is 45 in every paper and 210 in total, because a mock is a rehearsal and not ICAI's marking.

How do you work out your net score in Papers 3 and 4?

Net score is right answers minus 0.25 for each wrong answer, with blanks counting zero. In a 100-question objective paper, a mock with 62 right, 30 wrong and 8 blank scores 62 − 30 × 0.25 = 54.5. Use the net score in every check below, never the raw count of right answers.

Which two gates decide pass or fail?

Gate A, the floor: pass means all four papers score 40 or more; fail means any paper scores under 40. Gate B, the total: pass means the four papers add to 200 or more; fail means the total is below 200. Both gates must pass, at the same sitting.

How much margin should you aim for?

Margin test: pass means your lowest paper is 45 or more and your total is 210 or more, on three full-length mocks in a row; fail means either number slips below that on any of the three. The 5-mark and 10-mark buffers are our recommendation, not an ICAI figure.

If Gate A fails, put your next two weeks into the failing paper first, because one paper under 40 cancels the other three. If only Gate B fails, win the cheapest marks: in Papers 3 and 4 that means cutting wrong answers, since each wrong answer costs 0.25 mark that a blank would have kept. Our 90-day CA Foundation plan splits the preparation by week.

iProledge coaching turns your mock scores into a gate check. Our mock tests give you the four paper scores, and your personal mentor and personalised study planner build a plan around the gate you failed, starting with your weakest paper.

We coach CA Foundation at our Jayanagar and Malleshwaram centres in Bangalore, in two batches: the Golden Batch, 8 AM to 3 PM offline, and the Regular Batch, 4 PM to 7 PM online and offline. Both include study material, mock tests, revision classes, library access and registration assistance. See our page on CA Foundation coaching classes in Bangalore for the details.

Call us now on +91-90198 10080 (Jayanagar) or +91-87925 71811 (Malleshwaram) with your last four mock scores, and we will tell you which gate they miss, which batch fits your timetable and the current fee for it.