CS Executive Pass Percentage 2026 and How to Check Your Marks

ICSI announced on 25 August 2026 that 17.41% of candidates passed CS Executive Group 1 and 22.19% passed Group 2 under Syllabus 2022, the syllabus that applies to the current Executive Programme, the middle stage of the CS course (ICSI results; press release reported by Taxguru). A pass percentage is the share of candidates who appeared in a group and passed it.

Here are the last four sessions, each tied to ICSI's own announcement:

Careers360 lists the same figures in one table.

Our averages across these four sessions: Group 1 is (17.41 + 18.03 + 14.57 + 15.91) ÷ 4 = 16.5%, and Group 2 is (22.19 + 22.26 + 24.82 + 19.74) ÷ 4 = 22.3%. Both are simple averages of the session rates, not weighted by the number of candidates.

Group 1 has stayed between 14.57% and 18.03% and Group 2 between 19.74% and 24.82%. Across these four sessions, roughly four in every five candidates in a group did not clear it.

No. The pass percentage is the share of everyone who appeared in that group, however much they prepared, so it describes the whole crowd and not you. A candidate who has finished the syllabus and tested under exam conditions is not an average candidate.

The published rates are also group by group. Multiplying them (0.1741 × 0.2219) gives 3.9%, which is not the chance of clearing both groups. The product has no meaning because the two groups share many of the same candidates, so the outcomes are not independent, and because each rate describes the whole crowd, not you. Treat each group as its own exam.

The number that matters is how far your marks sit above the pass line in every paper of the group. That is where candidates lose groups.

Because ICSI applies two tests together, and failing either one fails the group. As of October 2026, you need 40% in each paper you write and 50% in the aggregate (ICSI paper-wise exemption FAQ). Each paper is marked out of 100. Under Syllabus 2022, Group 1 has four papers and Group 2 has three (ICSI Syllabus 2022).

That produces two ways to fail, shown here for Group 1:

• A weak paper: 64, 58, 38 and 71 average 57.75%, but 38 is below 40, so the group is failed.
• A thin spread: 52, 47, 45 and 41 clear 40% in every paper, but the average is 46.25%, below 50, so the group is failed.

There is also a safety net. If you appear in every paper of the group and score at least 25% in each, you get exemption in each paper where you score 60% or more. If you fail only one paper and the average of your remaining papers is at least 60%, those papers are exempted too. When you re-sit, you need 40% in each paper you write and 50% in the aggregate of those papers only (ICSI paper-wise exemption FAQ, as of October 2026).

The 25% floor matters. A paper below 25% takes away exemption for every paper in that group, so one very weak paper costs you the protection on your strong ones.

Run four tests on your last full-length, timed mock in each paper of one group, with every score written as a percentage. Mark yourself strictly: give marks only for points a paper-checker could tick, with the section or provision named.

We set the margin higher than the pass line because mocks are usually calmer than the real paper. One bad hour in the exam then costs you less. This is our recommendation, not an ICSI rule.

Here is how five hypothetical score sets read (illustrative scores, not real candidates):

One group or both? Run the check for each group separately. If both groups pass the margin test, sit both. If only one does, sit that one and give the other its own preparation window. The group-level pass rates should not decide this for you. Group 2's higher rate in the table above does not make it easier for you.

Spend your next revision block on the paper with your lowest score, not your favourite one, because the floor test makes that paper the one that decides the group. Rewrite its answers against the ICSI study material, then time yourself on a fresh paper a week later and score it again.

Our weekly paper-by-paper CS Executive study plan shows the sequence to follow. If you have not yet enrolled, CS Executive registration: route, cost and deadlines covers the way into the Executive Programme.

Our CS Executive classes run live and online with recordings, for about four to five months, in batches of 30 students, with a question bank of 2000+ questions and doubt-solving sessions. Our CS Executive coaching in Bangalore page lists the papers covered.

To talk through your mock scores and the batch that fits, call us on 7899084146 or 8073702708, or use our contact page. We share fees on request.