CS Articleship Stipend Formulas: 21-Month Total, Finish Date

• A CS articleship pays at least ₹5,000 a month under ICSI's Student Training Guidelines 2024. An offer below ₹5,000 is below the rule.
• In 11 Internshala adverts counted in October 2026, the median advertised range was ₹8,000 to ₹12,000 a month, and 4 of the 11 started at the ₹5,000 minimum.
• As of October 2026, the ₹5,000 minimum applies to students who registered for practical training on or after 1 August 2023. Earlier registrants may be on the older terms.
• Before you accept, check six things: a written stipend of at least ₹5,000, bank-transfer payment, paid probation, written hours, an eligible trainer, and a training contract filed on time.

Over 21 months, a CS articleship pays at least ₹1,05,000, because ICSI sets a minimum of ₹5,000 a month (ICSI Student Training Guidelines 2024, section 5.10). Anything above the floor is a matter of negotiation. The table multiplies four monthly stipends by 21.

The totals are our arithmetic: stipend × 21. The advert medians are our count of one portal, explained further down.

You need two numbers and a start month, and the page gives you four results.

Worked example. You are offered ₹10,000 a month. Getting to the office costs you ₹2,500 a month, and you start on 1 January 2027.

• Total stipend: 10,000 × 21 = ₹2,10,000.
• Take-home after costs: (10,000 − 2,500) × 21 = 7,500 × 21 = ₹1,57,500.
• Gap to the floor: 10,000 − 5,000 = ₹5,000 a month, or ₹1,05,000 over 21 months. Check: ₹2,10,000 − ₹1,05,000 = ₹1,05,000.
• Finish date: January to December 2027 is 12 months and January to September 2028 is 9 more, so training ends on 30 September 2028.

How to read it. The take-home figure is the one that decides whether an offer is workable. A ₹10,000 stipend with ₹2,500 of monthly costs leaves ₹7,500. A ₹5,000 stipend with the same costs leaves ₹2,500. If the take-home is near zero, you are paying to train, and a nearer firm at a lower stipend may beat a better-known one far away. The finish date is a floor, not a promise. The 30-day EDP comes before it, and the Corporate Leadership Development Programme (CLDP) comes after your Professional exams (Taxmann, updated May 2024).

The minimum is ₹5,000 a month under ICSI's 2024 guidelines, for a practising company secretary or a company alike. Section 5.10 says every practising company secretary or company engaging a trainee must pay at least ₹5,000 a month. The ₹3,000 (practising company secretary) and ₹4,000 (company) figures belong to the earlier structure.

As of October 2026, the ₹5,000 minimum applies to students who registered for practical training on or after 1 August 2023 (ICSI notice of 20 July 2023, repeated in the 2024 guidelines).

The same 2024 guidelines set the rest of the working terms:

• The first two months are probation. The stipend is payable during probation, and you can transfer on 14 days' notice (section 5.5).
• Hours are fixed by agreement, generally between 8 am and 8 pm, with a minimum of 8 hours a day (section 5.9).
• The stipend must be paid through banking channels, and ICSI can ask either side for proof.

Check these rules against ICSI's current training guidelines before you sign, because the training structure has been revised more than once.

In 11 Internshala adverts counted in October 2026, the median advertised range was ₹8,000 to ₹12,000 a month, and 4 of the 11 started at the ₹5,000 minimum. We counted the listings on Internshala's company secretary internships page. It showed 18 results. Five were Indian Oil trade-apprentice roles with no stipend shown, and two were not articleship roles (a tax and compliance executive and a startup advisory intern). That left 11 listings titled "Company Secretary (CS)" or "CS Articleship", each with a stipend range. The live page changes, so the table below is the record of what we counted.

We took the lower end, upper end and midpoint of each range.

The caveats matter. This is one portal on one occasion, and an advertised range is not what a trainee is paid. Most of the 11 firms were in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon and Hyderabad. All 11 lower ends were at or above the ICSI floor.

Our recommendation follows from the count. An offer of exactly ₹5,000 is at the bottom of what these 11 adverts show. If your offer is at the floor and you have strong Executive marks, ask for the middle of the range. For pay after you qualify, see company secretary salary evidence for 2026.

Check six things, each of which passes or fails. The first four come from ICSI's 2024 guidelines. The last two come from Taxmann's CS Articleship and CS training FAQ pages, are Taxmann's reading, and should be confirmed with ICSI.

1. Stipend in writing. Pass: ₹5,000 or more a month, stated in the offer. Fail: below ₹5,000.
2. Payment route. Pass: bank or online transfer. Fail: cash.
3. Paid probation. Pass: the stipend applies from day one. Fail: unpaid or reduced probation months.
4. Hours. Pass: daily hours written down, within 8 am to 8 pm and at least 8 hours. Fail: "as required".
5. Eligible trainer. Pass: the trainer gives you an ICSI registration or certificate of practice number, and is a practising company secretary with at least one year's experience, or a company with a whole-time company secretary and at least ₹50 lakh of paid-up capital. Fail: the trainer cannot show either.
6. Contract filed in time. Pass: the training contract or appointment letter is submitted within 100 days of joining. Fail: later than that, when Taxmann's reading is that ICSI treats the training as "dummy training" and does not recognise it.

You fit it in by planning your leave and papers around work. ICSI's guidelines give Executive-pass trainees 52 days of leave in total for Professional exam preparation, 31 of them examination days. Confirm the dates with your trainer in writing.

1. Agree your leave dates in writing with your trainer early in the training.
2. Group the 31 examination days with study days, so that your leave sits in one block around each sitting.
3. Sequence your papers across the 21 months, rather than leaving them all for the end.

We coach CS Professional in blended, live online and onsite formats. Our resources include recordings, study materials, practice questions and mock tests, and we support students with doubt clearing, study planning and mentoring. You can attend a free demo class and talk to a career advisor first. Fees once paid are not refunded. See our courses list, and for the exam side, the CS Executive exam timetable. To book a free demo class and ask for the current CS Professional fee, contact us on +91 90198 10080.