CA exam-day checklist

Ticks are saved on this phone only, nothing is sent anywhere. Clear all ticks

The week before

• Download the admit card from eservices.icai.org and print it.
• Check your name, photo, signature, papers and centre on the admit card. Write to ICAI at once if anything is wrong.
• Find the exam centre on a map, and how long the trip takes at 1 PM on a weekday.
• Sit one full paper at 2 PM, timed, so your body knows the slot. (CA Inter: the MTPs on the ICAI schedule.)
• Read the list of chapters with the most marks one last time: CA Final · CA Inter.

The night before

• Admit card (printed) and a photo ID in the bag.
• Two or three pens that write smoothly, a pencil, an eraser and a scale.
• A calculator of the kind ICAI permits (check the admit card), with a fresh battery.
• A transparent water bottle and a watch that is not smart (the hall clock may be far away).
• Revise from your own short notes or a quick sheet, not a new chapter.
• Sleep seven hours. A rested hour in the hall is worth more than a tired hour of revision.

In the hall

• Reach early. Leave the phone, smartwatch and notes where the centre tells you.
• Reading time (1.45 to 2 PM): pick your questions, note optional choices, and budget minutes per mark (180 minutes for 100 marks is 1.8 minutes a mark).
• Start with the question you know best; never leave a compulsory question blank.
• Write working notes, formats and the section or standard you rely on: marks come from the steps.
• Keep the last ten minutes to number answers correctly and check the cover page.