ACS to FCS and the Certificate of Practice: What Each One Lets You Do?

Last Updated On -26 Sep 2026

By Sajith R S

Company Secretary comparing ACS Membership, FCS status and Certificate of Practice rights under ICSI rules

Clearing the CS Professional Programme feels like the finish line. Then a fresh set of questions begins. Should you apply for ACS Membership immediately? Is FCS a separate course you have to study for? Do you need a Certificate of Practice before you can sign anything?

Students mix up these three more often than almost any other part of the CS journey. They are not three levels of the same exam. ACS Membership is your entry into ICSI as a qualified member. FCS is an elevation that comes years later, based on work experience. The Certificate of Practice is a licence to work as an independent professional, and it comes with conditions that surprise many people.

Getting the sequence wrong costs money. Some members pay for a practising certificate, then accept a job offer and have to surrender it. Others wait quietly for FCS, assuming it arrives automatically after five years. A few miss an annual fee and find their name removed from the register.

This guide covers the eligibility, costs, signing powers and limits of all three. Fee figures reflect the ICSI schedule applicable from 1 April 2026.

What ACS Membership Means After You Qualify?

The ACS full form in ICSI terms is Associate Company Secretary. It is the first and compulsory membership category of the Institute.

Once your name is entered in the Register of Members, you get:

The right to use the letters ACS after your name
The right to call yourself a Company Secretary in your designation
Eligibility for appointment as a whole-time Company Secretary under the Companies Act, 2013
Access to ICSI member services, study material, CPE programmes and the Chartered Secretary journal
The option to enrol as a life member of the Company Secretaries Benevolent Fund for a one-time ₹10,000

Without ACS Membership, a qualified candidate is only a pass-out. The qualification exists; the professional status does not.

How to Get ACS Membership: Eligibility and Fees

The ACS qualification route is fixed. You need to satisfy every point below on the date of application:

Passed both the Executive Programme and Professional Programme examinations of ICSI
Completed the prescribed practical training and generated your Training Completion Certificate, or secured an exemption based on experience
Attained 21 years of age as per your Class X or school-leaving certificate
Obtained two fitness certificates from ICSI members with at least three years of standing
Submitted the application online through the ICSI member portal and paid the applicable fee

What ACS Membership Costs in Year One?

Fee component, including 18% GST	ACS	FCS
Annual membership fee	₹2,950	₹3,540
Annual fee, opting out of the printed journal	₹2,360	₹2,950
Annual Certificate of Practice fee	₹2,360	₹2,360

A one-time entrance fee of ₹3,540 applies at admission, so a fresh associate pays ₹6,490 in total, or ₹5,900 if the printed journal is declined. Candidates applying between October and March pay half the annual fee for that year.

Two dates matter after that. The annual fee falls due on 1 April and must reach ICSI by 30 June. Miss it, and your name stands removed without any further notice. Restoration then requires the arrears, a fresh entrance fee of ₹2,360 and a ₹295 restoration fee.

ACS Membership Benefits Inside a Company

Most members spend the first phase of their career in employment, and ACS Membership is enough for all of it.

Listed companies, as well as public companies with paid-up capital of ₹10 crore or more, must appoint a whole-time Company Secretary
Private companies with paid-up capital of ₹10 crore or more must also appoint one
Listed entities need a Compliance Officer, a role that usually sits with the Company Secretary
You sign board minutes, statutory registers and MCA filings as an officer of the company
Your earning curve moves with company size and listing status, not with FCS status

None of this requires a practising certificate. In fact, you cannot hold a COP while remaining in employment under a contract of service.

What Is FCS, and Is There an FCS Course?

This is the single biggest misconception we correct in counselling sessions. There is no FCS course. No syllabus, no exam, no classes and no coaching. FCS stands for Fellow Company Secretary, and it is an elevation granted on the basis of continuous membership and experience.

The base condition is five continuous years of ACS Membership, along with five years of experience in employment, in practice, or a mix of both, immediately before you apply.

The Three Routes to FCS Qualification

Five years of continuous practice in India as a Company Secretary
Five years in a supervisory position, of which at least three years were as secretary or in an equivalent or higher post, in a company with paid-up capital of at least ₹25 lakh, or
Five years of experience in law, management or commerce in a Group A central government post, an equivalent state post, or a supervisory role accepted by the Council

You also need a clean disciplinary record for the preceding five years and the prescribed Professional Development Credit hours. The application is submitted online in Form B, with a fee of ₹4,130, including GST.

Where FCS Applications Usually Go Wrong

Assuming elevation is automatic after five years. It is not. You must apply.
Counting training or pre-membership work. Experience is counted only from the date of ACS admission.
Falling short on credit hours, which can stall an otherwise strong application.
Losing touch with old employers and struggling to collect experience certificates and DIR-12 copies.

A gap of up to six months between jobs is allowed while computing the five years. This helps members who have changed roles during their careers.

What FCS Changes, and What It Does Not

FCS carries weight with boards, clients and senior panels. Firms bidding for listed-company work often lead with fellow members. Your annual fee also rises to ₹3,540.

What FCS does not do is give you a single extra signing right. Attestation work depends on the practising certificate, not on fellow status. An FCS in employment still cannot certify a secretarial audit report. An ACS with a valid COP can.

Certificate of Practice: The Licence to Practise

The Certificate of Practice is issued under Section 6 of the Company Secretaries Act, 1980. It converts a member into a Company Secretary in Practice.

Members entering practice on or after 1 April 2023 must complete the PCS Orientation Programme first
The COP application must follow within 90 days of receiving the POP completion certificate
The online POP costs ₹750 plus tax and is adjusted within the COP fee of ₹2,000, leaving ₹1,250 payable
Members with 15 years of post-qualification experience, or those who surrendered a COP within the last two years, are exempt from POP
Renewal costs ₹2,360 a year, due on 1 April and payable by 30 June
An unpaid COP stands cancelled from 1 July and can be restored until 31 March of the following year with a ₹295 fee

What a Practising Certificate Lets You Sign

Secretarial audit under Section 204 for listed companies, public companies with ₹50 crore paid-up capital or ₹250 crore turnover, and companies with borrowings of ₹100 crore or more
Certification of the annual return in MGT-8
Signing the annual return where the company has no Company Secretary of its own
Pre-certification of MCA e-forms
Appearance before the NCLT, Registrar of Companies, Regional Director and other authorities
Due diligence, share transfer and listing compliance certificates for listed entities

From FY 2025–26, listed entities appoint their secretarial auditor for a five-year term with shareholder approval, and the auditor must be peer reviewed. Peer review has quietly become the entry ticket to listed-company practice.

The Restrictions Attached to a COP

You cannot hold a COP while in employment under a contract of service
You cannot simultaneously hold a practising certificate from ICAI, ICMAI or a Bar Council
You cannot run any business or occupation; an interest in a family business needs prior approval and must not be substantial
Teaching is allowed within an average ceiling of four hours a day, but running a coaching centre is not
The Council caps signing at 80 compliance certificates and annual returns in a calendar year

Job First or Practice First: A Practical View

Very few members open a practice straight after receiving membership. Client acquisition takes time, and the first two years are usually lean. The common pattern is three to five years in a listed-company secretarial team, followed by a COP once a professional network exists.

If you already hold a COP and accept a job, surrender it before joining. If you return to practice within two years, you can skip POP the second time.

Mentors at IIC Lakshya help students map this timing against their financial position, since the right answer differs for a 23-year-old and a 30-year-old with dependants. Free counselling sessions are available for members weighing the switch.

ACS Membership Is the Base, the Rest Is Direction

ACS Membership makes you a Company Secretary. FCS reflects your years of experience and professional standing. The Certificate of Practice decides whether you sign as an independent professional or as an officer of a company. Only the third changes what you are legally allowed to do in independent practice.

Check the current fee schedule and elevation conditions directly through the ICSI member resources before you apply. If the sequence still feels unclear, speak to a mentor through our CS course page.

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