How to become a Chartered Accountant in India

To become a Chartered Accountant you will have to complete Chartered Accountancy Course
which is a correspondence course conducted by Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI)

At first you will have to register for the course.
Registration form is available on ICAI website.

You can register for the course after finishing class 10th.
Registration for the course remains open throughout the year. 
Only a registered student can apply for exams of CA course.

The exams (each exam) are generally conducted twice a year (One in June and other in December every year). The advt. for June exam is published in February and for December exam, it is published in August. You can apply for the course exams as instructed in the advt. 

CPT

You can apply for CPT during 12th class or after passing 12th.
It is necessary to pass 12th board exam for validation of CPT qualification. 
After passing the CPT exam you can move to next level of CA course that is IPCC.

IPCC

The IPCC comprises of Group-A and Group-B.
You can apply for Group-A and Group-B at the same time or at different times.
If you apply for both the groups at a time then after passing the IPCC exam, you will have to undergo 3 year Articleship Training.
In the last six months of Articleship Training, you can apply for CA Final Course exam and with passing the Final course exam, you will be certified as Chartered Accountant.

Appearing both the Group A & B of IPCC could be a hectic schedule so if you wish you can join Articleship Training just after passing Group-A and you can appear for Group-B any time between the training period and you can apply for Final course after completion of Articleship training.

In Brief,  Below are the steps to attain the certification of Chartered Accountancy

• Pass Class 12th from a recognised board with minimum of 50% 
• Pass CPT examination
• Register/Enroll for Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC)
• Complete 9 months of Study Course.
• Complete 100 hours of Information Technology Training (ITT).
• Complete Orientation Course (35 hours spread over one week).
• Pass Group I or both Groups of Integrated Professional Competence Examination (IPCE).
• Register as Articled Assistant for a period of 3 years.
• Pass Group II of IPCC if not already passed.
• Appear in Final Examination during last 6 months of 3 years of articled training.
• Pass both the Groups of Final examination.
• Get Final Examination Certificate.
• Complete remaining period of articled training, if applicable
• Complete Course on General Management and Communication Skill
• Enroll as a member of ICAI and designate as "Chartered Accountant"