Entrance exam
Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test(CSEET)
About the exam
About CSEET
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) rebuilt the CSEET exam in 2026. Its remote-proctored test ended with the January 2026 sitting, and from the June 2026 session the entrance test for the Company Secretary course is taken at examination centres, with three subjective papers and one OMR paper on four separate days. A pass is what lets you register for the CS Executive Programme, unless your qualifications already exempt you from the test.
CSEET, the Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test, is ICSI's qualifying test for registration to the CS Executive Programme. The Announcement: Restructuring of Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test (CSEET), carried on ICSI's Restructured CSEET page and dated 10 April 2026 at its foot, is headed "Effective from June 2026 Session" and says: "The first session of restructured CSEET will be held in June 2026." It adds that "The last session of existing CSEET in remote proctored mode will be held in January, 2026", and lets candidates who passed that January 2026 session seek Executive Programme registration within one year of their result without paying the exemption fee.
ICSI's FAQs on Restructured CSEET draw the line by registration date: the new structure applies to candidates registering on or after 16 December 2025, and the first attempt under the centre-based format is June 2026.
The June 2026 session did run in that format. ICSI's June 2026 result announcement, listed on ICSI's CSEET examination page, describes the session as "held from 01st June, 2026 to 04th June 2026". The CSEET Guideline Answers for June 2026 print Business Communication, Fundamentals of Accounting and Economic and Business Environment as three-hour subjective papers, and Business Laws and Management as a two-hour paper of 100 questions.
At a glance
CSEET highlights
| Full name | Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test |
| Conducting body | Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) |
| Level | UG |
| Stream | Commerce |
| Mode of exam | Offline at designated exam centres – three subjective papers plus one OMR-based paper (restructured pattern effective June 2026; earlier pattern was a single computer-based remote-proctored test) |
| Frequency | 3 (February, June and October) |
| Scope | National, with an overseas examination centre at Dubai |
| Total marks | 400 |
| Marking scheme | Each of the 4 papers 100 marks (400 aggregate). Subjective papers 3 hours each; OMR-based paper 2 hours. 15 minutes reading time. No negative marking in the OMR paper. Pass requires minimum 40% per paper and 50% aggregate, in one sitting. |
Calendar
Important dates
ICSI sets separate deadlines for registering for CSEET and for enrolling to sit a particular session. Its list of cut-off dates gives both for the October 2026 and February 2027 sessions:
| Deadline | October 2026 session | February 2027 session |
|---|---|---|
| Last date for CSEET registration | 30 June 2026 | 31 October 2026 |
| Exam enrolment without late fee | 16 July to 15 August 2026 | 16 November to 15 December 2026 |
| Exam enrolment with late fee | 16 August to 20 August 2026 | 16 December to 20 December 2026 |
| Change window | 21 August to 1 September 2026 | 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 |
The October 2026 time table puts Business Communication on Thursday, 1 October, Fundamentals of Accounting on Saturday, 3 October, Economic and Business Environment on Monday, 5 October and the OMR paper, Business Laws and Management, on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, with no examination on 2 and 4 October. For the February 2027 session, ICSI's February 2027 registration notice gives the date of exam only as "First Week of February".
For admit cards and results, ICSI's documents give a standing schedule, and they do not agree on the result date. The FAQs name 21 September as the e-admit card date for an October session and put October results in the last week of November. ICSI's CSEET cut-off dates flyer names 15 November as the date of result instead, and the restructuring announcement says only that results will be declared by November.
Read the FAQs' own calendar with care if you are aiming at February 2027. Their cut-off table runs February-session registration from 1 June to 30 September and enrolment from 1 November to 7 December, while the restructuring announcement and the Cut-Off Dates for the year 2026 keep February 2027 registration open to 31 October 2026 and enrolment to 15 December 2026.
Typical cycle
Conducted three times a year, in the first week of February, June and October, with results typically declared the following month.
Who can apply
Eligibility criteria
To register for CSEET, ICSI's restructuring announcement and FAQs set two conditions: you must be an Indian national, and you must have passed, or be appearing in, the Senior Secondary (10+2) examination or its equivalent. The eligibility line on ICSI's February 2027 registration notice also names under-graduate students.
The announcement lists the students who are exempt from CSEET and may register directly for the CS Executive Programme, as published on ICSI's Restructured CSEET page:
- CS Foundation pass students
- graduates and post-graduates
- CA Intermediate pass students
- CMA Final pass students
- students appearing in the final year or final semester of a three-year undergraduate programme, on provisional registration
- students who have passed the 6th semester of a recognised integrated programme of five years' duration
- students appearing in the 6th semester of such an integrated programme, on provisional registration
ICSI's documents disagree on the CA route. The announcement and ICSI's fee schedule effective 15 April 2026 both exempt CA Intermediate passers (the schedule says "ICAI Intermediate Pass"), but question 9 of the FAQs exempts "Candidates who have passed the Final Stage of CA (ICAI)" and omits the integrated-programme routes.
- Only Indian nationals may apply, and a candidate must have passed or be appearing in the Senior Secondary (10+2) examination or its equivalent. ICSI's restructuring announcement exempts seven categories, who may register directly for the CS Executive Programme: CS Foundation pass students; graduates and post-graduates; CA Intermediate pass students; CMA Final pass students; students appearing in the final year or final semester of a three-year undergraduate programme (provisional registration); students who have passed the 6th semester of a recognised five-year integrated programme; and students appearing in that 6th semester (provisional registration). ICSI's CSEET FAQs word the CA route differently, as candidates who have passed the Final Stage of CA (ICAI).
Step by step
Application process and fee
CSEET is paid for in two stages: a one-time registration, then an enrolment for each session you sit. Registration is on the CSEET Registration page of ICSI's SMASH portal, which asks for your photograph, signature, date-of-birth proof (the 10th pass certificate), qualification proof (the 12th marksheet, or the admit card or hall ticket for the 10+2 examination if you are still appearing), a category certificate if you are not in the general category, and an identity proof such as Aadhaar, passport, voter ID, PAN card, driving licence or ration card. Files may be up to 2 MB, with the photograph between 20kb and 50kb and the signature between 10kb and 20kb.
Registration alone does not let you enrol. ICSI's Student Induction Programme announcement requires students registered in the restructured CSEET to attend a one-day Student Induction Programme (SIP) within one month of registration, and calls its completion "a pre-requisite for enrolling in the CSEET Examination". Your nearest ICSI regional or chapter office has the SIP schedule.
Enrolment for a session is online only, through your SMASH login. ICSI's examination enrolment procedure, linked from ICSI's CSEET Restructured page, runs through Module, Enrollment and Enrollment Request, where you choose country, state, centre and medium, confirm the form and pay through a payment gateway. The CSEET October 2026 enrolment announcement, dated 16 July 2026, also accepted payment by Canara Bank challan, treating the date the cash was deposited as the eligibility date.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| CSEET registration, including SIP and online classes | Rs 7,500 |
| Examination fee, each session | Rs 1,500 |
| Late fee on enrolment | Rs 250 |
| Change of examination centre | Rs 250 per change |
| Dubai overseas centre surcharge | US$ 100 or its rupee equivalent, over the examination fee |
Concessions differ between the two fees:
| Category | Concession on registration fee | Concession on examination fee |
|---|---|---|
| SC/ST | 50% | 50% |
| Physically handicapped | 50% | 50% |
| ICSI staff, and wards or spouse of ICSI staff | 75% | 75% |
| Students from the North Eastern states, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Himachal Pradesh | 50% | Not listed |
| Students from the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh | 100% | Not listed |
Registration stays valid for three years from the month you register, and the FAQs let you sit any session in that period without registering again. The same FAQs rule out refunds in any circumstance, including ineligibility, except a double payment.
Before the exam
Admit card and exam day
ICSI's FAQs say the e-admit card can be generated from icsi.edu 10 days before the exam, in the third week of the month before each session: 22 May for June, 21 September for October and 22 January for February.
Every paper starts at 2:30 PM. The October 2026 time table runs the three subjective papers to 5:45 PM and the OMR paper to 4:45 PM, and grants 15 minutes to read the question paper from 2:30 PM to 2:45 PM. ICSI's October 2026 examination flyer names English as the medium and lists completion of the SIP as a mandatory requirement.
At the centres, ICSI's General Observers announcement for October 2026 says local members of the institute are deputed as General Observers to oversee the conduct of CSEET. None of the CSEET notices on ICSI's CSEET and Restructured CSEET pages lists what a candidate may carry into the hall.
Candidates with a disability can ask for a scribe or extra time. ICSI's scribe and extra-time guidelines, on its Divyangjan (PwD) guidelines page, allow 20 minutes of extra time for every hour of examination, want the application at least 45 days before the examination begins, and for CSEET set the scribe's qualification at 10th class or matriculation, or pursuing 11th class.
Structure
Exam pattern
The four papers are answered in different ways. The June 2026 Guideline Answers and ICSI's sample question papers for the restructured test show how:
| Paper | How it is answered |
|---|---|
| Paper 1, Business Communication (3 hours) | Question 1 is compulsory, then any five of Questions 2 to 8 |
| Paper 2, Fundamentals of Accounting (3 hours) | Question 1 is compulsory, then any five of Questions 2 to 8 |
| Paper 3, Economic and Business Environment (3 hours) | Two parts: Question 1 plus any two of Questions 2 to 4, then Question 5 plus any two of Questions 6 to 8 |
| Paper 4, Business Laws and Management (2 hours, OMR) | 100 compulsory multiple-choice questions of one mark each, with Business Laws for 60 marks and Business Management for 40 |
There is no negative marking in the OMR paper, and the FAQs state that "There is no provision for exemption or carry forward of marks in CSEET", so a paper cleared in one attempt does not count towards the next.
| Sections | 4 papers (restructured) – Business Communication; Fundamentals of Accounting; Economic and Business Environment; Business Laws and Management (Business Laws 60 + Business Management 40). First three subjective; the fourth OMR-based. |
| Total marks | 400 |
| Marking scheme | Each of the 4 papers 100 marks (400 aggregate). Subjective papers 3 hours each; OMR-based paper 2 hours. 15 minutes reading time. No negative marking in the OMR paper. Pass requires minimum 40% per paper and 50% aggregate, in one sitting. |
What to study
Syllabus
ICSI's Syllabus for Restructured CSEET, posted on its CSEET Academics page, sets every paper at "Basic Knowledge" level. Business Communication covers English grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and summarising; the principles, networks and barriers of communication, including listening skills, etiquette, social media and the use of artificial intelligence and chatbots; business letters, office orders, circulars, memoranda, email and the drafting of notices, agendas and minutes; and common business terminology defined under laws and regulations.
Fundamentals of Accounting runs from accounting concepts and double entry through subsidiary books, ledgers, the trial balance and rectification of errors, to bank reconciliation statements, depreciation by the straight-line and diminishing-balance methods, final accounts of a sole proprietor, partnership and LLP accounts (goodwill, admission, retirement, death and dissolution), the issue of shares and debentures, forfeiture and reissue of shares, redemption of preference shares and debentures, and the accounts of non-profit organisations.
Economic and Business Environment gives 50 marks each to Economics and to Business Environment in the syllabus. The Economics part takes demand and supply, forms of market competition, national income, the Indian Union Budget and fiscal deficit, Indian financial markets, the sectors of the Indian economy, the balance of payments and foreign investment. The Business Environment part covers entrepreneurship, the factors shaping business environment, bodies such as NITI Aayog, MCA, SEBI, RBI, IBBI, CCI, NCLT and NCLAT, international organisations such as the WTO and the World Bank, environmental governance, artificial intelligence in business and elements of corporate governance.
Business Laws and Management gives 60 marks to law and 40 to management in the same syllabus. The law part runs from sources of law and legal maxims through the basics of company law, contracts (including indemnity, guarantee, bailment, pledge and agency), partnership and LLP, sale of goods and negotiable instruments. The management part covers its genesis from the Vedic to the industrial era, management styles, the functions from planning to budgeting, the principles of Fayol and Taylor, and management knowledge for company secretaries.
- Business Communication; Fundamentals of Accounting; Economic and Business Environment; Business Laws and Management.
How to prepare
Preparation and books
ICSI's own material for the restructured test hangs off a single page. The CSEET Academics page carries the syllabus itself, and a corrigendum and supplement to the printed Fundamentals of Accounting study material dated 9 September 2026, and it opens onto three more: study material for each of the four papers, sample question papers in Set 1 and Set 2 for every paper, and the Guideline Answers from the June 2026 session.
Under the FAQs, study material reaches registered students at registration, and ICSI conducts free online classes for each session. For the October 2026 examination, ICSI's cut-off dates list gives 16 July 2026 as the start of those online centralised classes.
ICSI's Directorate of Academics and Research also issues a CSEET e-bulletin, the CSEET Communique, archived on ICSI's e-Journal page; its April 2026 edition, Issue 72, carries one article for each paper.
Where it is held
Exam centres
The restructured CSEET is conducted "in Examination Centre Based Mode at designated examination centres across different cities in India", in the words of ICSI's FAQs. You pick the centre when you enrol, under ICSI's examination enrolment procedure, and the FAQs add one centre abroad, Dubai, for a surcharge of US$ 100 or its rupee equivalent on top of the examination fee.
Changing centre is restricted. The CSEET October 2026 enrolment announcement allowed changes only in its change window, at Rs 250 for each change, and did not allow a move between centres within the same city or zone.
ICSI's Examination Centres page carries a region-wise list of examination cities whose heading names CS Examinations rather than CSEET, grouped into East, North, South and West with Dubai as the overseas centre. The CSEET FAQs and enrolment notices do not print a city list of their own.
After the exam
Answer key
None of ICSI's June 2026 CSEET notices sets up a provisional answer key or a window to challenge one. ICSI publishes Guideline Answers after the session instead: the CSEET Guideline Answers for June 2026, dated 9 September 2026 on ICSI's Guideline Answers CSEET page, cover all four papers and say they should be "treated as indicative rather than exhaustive". For the OMR paper they include an answer key for Set A, which accepts more than one option for Questions 57, 65 and 96.
You can also see how your own paper was marked. For June 2026, ICSI's notice on supplying copies of answer books, listed on ICSI's Results page, made evaluated answer books available free on the ICSI Examination Answer Book Portal from 16 July 2026, retained for 45 days from the result, until 29 August 2026. The copy is for your own reference and may not be shared. If it shows an error in valuation, the notice sends you to verification of marks within 60 days of the result or 15 days of accessing the answer book, whichever is earlier.
Scores
Result and scorecard
ICSI's result announcement scheduled the June 2026 result for Wednesday, 15 July 2026 at 2:00 PM, with each candidate's subject-wise marks on icsi.edu and a formal e-Result-cum-Marks Statement to download; no physical copy is issued. ICSI's press release on the June 2026 result, filed under Press Releases on ICSI's Latest @ ICSI page, confirms it was declared that day and reports the share of candidates who passed. Under the restructuring announcement, marksheets for the restructured test are electronic only, and a result is valid for one year from its declaration.
Two paid routes let you question a mark, both through your SMASH login. For June 2026, verification of marks under Regulation 42(2) of the Company Secretaries Regulations, 1982 cost Rs 250 per subject and had to be sought within 21 days of the result. Inspection or certified copies of answer books could be sought within 30 days, by 14 August 2026, at Rs 450 per subject to inspect in person at ICSI's Noida office and Rs 500 per subject for a certified copy.
Scores you need
Cutoff
CSEET is decided by a fixed pass rule, not a rank. ICSI's FAQs say a candidate "shall be declared pass in CSEET" on securing, in one sitting, "a minimum of forty percent marks in each paper and fifty percent marks in the aggregate of all papers of CSEET". When ICSI speaks of CSEET cut-off dates, as in its Cut-Off Dates for the year 2026, it means registration and enrolment deadlines, not marks.
Getting a seat
Counselling and seat allotment
A CSEET pass allots no seat. What it opens is a registration you make yourself, to the CS Executive Programme, on the SMASH registration for CSEET-passed students; that form asks for the 12th marksheet or certificate or the CSEET pass certificate, and under the FAQs it has to be completed while the result is still valid, within one year of its declaration. None of ICSI's notices for the restructured test sets out a counselling round or a seat-allotment stage.
A CSEET pass also changes what the Executive Programme costs, because exempt students pay an extra fee to skip the test:
| Executive Programme fee | After passing CSEET or CS Foundation | Direct admission, exempt from CSEET |
|---|---|---|
| Registration fee | Rs 2,000 | Rs 2,000 |
| Education fee | Rs 12,900 | Rs 12,900 |
| CSEET exemption fee | Nil | Rs 5,000 |
| Pre-examination test fee | Rs 1,000 | Rs 1,000 |
| Three-day orientation programme | Rs 2,500 | Rs 2,500 |
| Chartered Secretary journal for one year (optional) | Rs 500 | Rs 500 |
| Total | Rs 18,900 | Rs 23,900 |
Where it is accepted
Participating institutes
ICSI conducts CSEET for its own Company Secretary course, and a pass counts towards the CS Executive Programme. The institute describes itself on its February 2027 registration notice as a "Statutory body under an Act of Parliament" under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Its regional and chapter offices are where the Student Induction Programme announcement sends students for the SIP schedule.
- Qualifying entrance test for the ICSI Company Secretary (CS) course – clearing CSEET enables registration to the CS Executive Programme.
Get help
Contact
ICSI's CSEET notices give these channels:
- ICSI helpdesk: 0120-4522000, in the Student Induction Programme announcement
- Online helpdesk: support.icsi.edu, printed on ICSI's February 2027 registration notice
- Examination enrolment: cseetenroll@icsi.edu, in the CSEET October 2026 enrolment announcement
- Student Induction Programme: training@icsi.edu in the SIP announcement, and sip@icsi.edu in the October 2026 enrolment announcement
- Copies of answer books: cpioexam@icsi.edu, in the June 2026 notice on supplying answer books
- Scribe and extra-time applications, by post: The Director, Directorate of Examination, ICSI House, C-37, Sector-62, Institutional Area, Noida, in the scribe and extra-time guidelines; the June 2026 answer book inspection notice prints the same Noida office with the PIN code 201309
Source
Official links
Questions
CSEET - FAQ
Read this
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
Exact exam dates, enrolment windows, fees, answer keys, results and pass percentages are per-cycle; the restructured pattern took effect from the June 2026 session, so verify the current structure. Anything per-cycle here is stated for the cycle it names and is taken from the conducting body's own notification; confirm it on the official website before acting on it. Expertie does not conduct any exam, process applications or charge fees.
References
Sources
- Announcement: Restructuring of Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test (CSEET) - icsis3-console.kreate-cloud.com:9002
- ICSI's Restructured CSEET page - icsi.edu
- CSEET Registration page of ICSI's SMASH portal - smash.icsi.edu