What is the WAIS IQ test?

Short answer: The WAIS IQ test is the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, a clinical intelligence test for adults. Its current edition is the WAIS-5, published by Pearson in 2024 for ages 16 to 90 (Pearson, read 12 October 2026). A qualified examiner gives it one to one. It reports five primary index scores and a Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) (Pearson's Q-global help). Its composite scores use the standard IQ scale, an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, which the WAIS-IV index scores also use (Albayrak Rasborg Hartogsohn and colleagues, 2025); in the WAIS-5 standardization data, Winter and colleagues (2025) report standard deviations that "are all approximately 15". Each score is an estimate with a range.

WAIS-5 at a glance:

• Published by: Pearson, with David Wechsler named as author (Pearson's WAIS-5 page, read 12 October 2026).
• Edition: the fifth, published in 2024 (Pearson). Researchers date its release to August 2024 (Winter, Trudel and Kaufman, Journal of Intelligence, 2024).
• Ages: 16 to 90, written 16:0 to 90:11 in Pearson's notation (Pearson).
• Time: about 45 minutes for the 7-subtest FSIQ and about 60 minutes for the 10 primary index subtests (Pearson).
• Who gives it: a professional who meets Pearson's Qualification Level C, one to one, on paper or on two iPads (Pearson).
• Scores: a Full Scale IQ and five primary index scores, compared with people your own age (Pearson's Q-global help).

What is the WAIS?

Pearson describes the WAIS-5 this way: "It is an individually administered clinical instrument for assessing cognitive ability." Its scoring help page adds that it gives "a composite score that represents general intellectual ability (i.e., Full Scale IQ [FSIQ])" and that "Standard scores are derived using age-based norms" (Pearson's Q-global help, read 12 October 2026). In plain words, your score shows where you stand among people your own age.

The WAIS is widely used. Winter, Trudel and Kaufman (2024) write that "Wechsler’s scales have been the most popular IQ tests worldwide for more than a half century". Pearson says the WAIS-5 "is widely used in clinical, educational, correctional, and pharmaceutical research and in government settings."

If you have seen the WAIS-IV mentioned, that is the previous edition, from 2008 (Pearson). On 12 October 2026 the WAIS-IV page still offered forms and support materials but carried a banner announcing the WAIS-5, and the WAIS-5 has replaced it as Pearson's current edition.

What the WAIS-5 measures

The WAIS-5 has 20 subtests. Pearson's scoring help: "The WAIS-5 comprises 20 subtests (10 Primary, 10 Secondary), an FSIQ composite, five primary index scores, 15 ancillary index scores, and 13 process scores." The 10 primary subtests form five index scores, two subtests each (Pearson's WAIS-5 overview brochure, 2025). The short description of each index follows Winter and colleagues (Journal of Intelligence, 2025):

• Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI): problem solving with language and verbally presented information.
  • Similarities
  • Vocabulary
• Visual Spatial Index (VSI): problem solving with mainly visual information, such as spatial puzzles.
  • Block Design
  • Visual Puzzles
• Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI): problem solving with new information.
  • Matrix Reasoning
  • Figure Weights
• Working Memory Index (WMI): holding information in mind and using it to solve a new problem.
  • Digit Sequencing
  • Running Digits
• Processing Speed Index (PSI): solving problems quickly with known or easy-to-access information.
  • Coding
  • Symbol Search

The FSIQ comes from seven of those subtests: Vocabulary, Similarities, Block Design, Matrix Reasoning, Figure Weights, Digit Sequencing and Coding, as Winter, Trudel and Kaufman (2024) report from the WAIS-5 manuals. Pearson's FAQ confirms that "Visual Puzzles does not contribute to the FSIQ."

The other 10 subtests are secondary. Pearson says "The WAIS-5 provides ten secondary subtests to expand the clinical utility. If you opt to administer these subtests, the testing time will be somewhat longer." Beyond the FSIQ, Winter, Trudel and Kaufman (2024) list a General Ability Index, a Nonverbal Index and a Nonmotor Index among the test's global scores.

More on that ability in what fluid intelligence is, and on how separate tasks become one number in what an IQ test measures.

What changed from the WAIS-IV

The WAIS-5 is a revision of the WAIS-IV, published "a decade and a half after its predecessor" (Winter, Trudel and Kaufman, 2024). The main changes:

• Four indexes became five. The WAIS-IV had verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed (Pearson's WAIS-IV page). Winter and colleagues (2025) explain that "The WAIS-5 split and restructured the PRI into the VSI and FRI, aligning more closely with CHC broad abilities."
• The FSIQ uses 7 subtests instead of 10. Winter and colleagues (2025) describe "the adjustment from 10 to 7 core subtests used to calculate a Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ)". Winter, Trudel and Kaufman (2024) report that working memory and processing speed made up 40% of the WAIS-IV Full Scale and 28.6% of the WAIS-5's.
• It is shorter. Pearson's FAQ says "The FSIQ, now with only seven subtests, can be obtained about 20 minutes faster than the WAIS–IV."
• Subtests came and went. Pearson lists Set Relations, Running Digits and Naming Speed Quantity as new, plus Spatial Addition and Symbol Span, which are new to the WAIS but were already part of the Wechsler Memory Scale (Pearson's FAQ). Pearson's FAQ says two WAIS-IV subtests "were removed for this revision: Picture Completion and Cancellation". Winter, Trudel and Kaufman (2024) add that Arithmetic left the Working Memory Index, and Digit Span was substantially modified and renamed Digit Sequencing.
• New norms. Pearson standardized the WAIS-5 between February 2023 and January 2024 on 2,020 people aged 16 to 90 (Winter, Trudel and Kaufman, 2024). The WAIS-IV was normed in 2007 to 2008 (same source).

How the WAIS is given and how long it takes

You sit with the examiner, who reads the instructions, times the tasks and records your answers. The test can be given on paper or with Q-interactive, a system Pearson describes as "a 1:1 iPad®-based testing system". With Q-interactive, "The examinee uses the other iPad to view and respond to stimuli." Coding and Symbol Search are still done on paper in a response booklet (Pearson's FAQ, read 12 October 2026).

Pearson gives "45 minutes for the 7-subtest FSIQ; 60 minutes for the 10 primary index subtests". Secondary subtests add time. For comparison, Pearson's WAIS-IV page gives "60-90 minutes for core subtests". An evaluation can include more than the test, such as an interview (APA), so the appointment can run longer than the testing time.

How the WAIS is scored

The examiner turns your answers on each subtest into a scaled score, then combines those into index scores and the FSIQ.

• Subtest scores: "Scaled scores have a mean of 10 and a standard deviation (SD) of 3" (Albayrak Rasborg Hartogsohn and colleagues, Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 2025, describing the WAIS-IV).
• Index scores: "each with a mean of 100 and a SD of 15" on the WAIS-IV (same paper).
• WAIS-5 FSIQ and index scores: in the WAIS-5 standardization data, "Standard deviations for Full-Scale IQ and Index scores are all approximately 15" (Winter and colleagues, Journal of Intelligence, 2025).
• Percentiles: in Pearson's words, "an examinee with a percentile rank of 15 performs better than 15% of other examinees the same age".
• Confidence intervals: in Pearson's WAIS-5 report settings the examiner can "Select the desired confidence interval (i.e., 90% or 95%)" (Pearson's Q-global help).

By the normal curve with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, about 68% of people score between 85 and 115, about 50% between 90 and 109, and about 2% at 130 or above (our calculation). For more on the middle of the scale, see what the average IQ is.

Score reports often add a word next to a number. Pearson's WAIS-5 sample report uses plain labels such as Average and Above average, and Pearson's FAQ says "Qualitative descriptors are only suggestions and are not evidence-based; alternate terms may be used as appropriate."

Every score carries error

A WAIS score is an estimate. Winter, Trudel and Kaufman (2024), citing the manual, report that "The mean reliability of the FSIQ averaged 0.97 across the age range", so the standard error is about 2.6 points and a 95% band runs roughly 5 points either side of a measured FSIQ (our calculation). A score can also differ between tests and sittings: in the manual's retest data, WAIS-5 FSIQ gains "dropped to 3.7 IQ points for ages 16–34 and 35–69" (same authors), and an older edition's norms can read higher (see the history below). In the manual's study of 186 people who took both the WAIS-IV and the WAIS-5, "Full Scale IQs correlated 0.92 between the two versions of WAIS" (same authors). For retest results and what these figures mean for one person's score, see are IQ tests accurate?.

Who gives the WAIS and what it is used for

Pearson sells the WAIS-5 at Qualification Level C. "Tests with a C qualification require a high level of expertise in test interpretation", and one route to buying is "A doctorate degree in psychology, education, or a closely related field with formal training in the ethical administration, scoring, and interpretation of clinical assessments related to the intended use of the assessment" (Pearson qualifications policy, read 12 October 2026).

A WAIS score is one part of an evaluation. The American Psychological Association says "Licensed clinical psychologists are expertly trained to administer assessments and tests and interpret the results", and that an assessment "can include numerous components such as norm-referenced psychological tests, informal tests and surveys, interview information, school or medical records, medical evaluation, and observational data" (APA, updated 2022).

Psychologists use the WAIS as part of evaluations. Learning disability evaluations are one example: Pearson's FAQ says "The FSIQ is generally the first choice for an ability-achievement discrepancy analysis because it provides the broadest sample of behavior."

IQ testing also comes up in US disability benefits. The Social Security listing for intellectual disorder (12.05) rests on three elements: significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, "significant deficits in current adaptive functioning", and evidence that the disorder began before age 22. Where the listing uses a score, it asks for "an IQ score(s) on an individually administered standardized test of general intelligence that meets program requirements and has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15", given by a qualified specialist. One path needs no IQ score, for people who cannot take part in standardized testing (eCFR, 20 CFR 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1, read 12 October 2026). The listing does not name the WAIS or any other test.

Pearson also notes, on its WAIS-IV FAQ, that "specific profiles are not diagnostic of particular disorders". No score on its own answers a question about ADHD, autism, a learning disability or giftedness. If that is your question, talk to a licensed psychologist.

Can you take the WAIS online, and is it free?

Not on your own. Pearson's store lists the WAIS-5 at Qualification Level C, and its terms say "Access to test materials must be limited to qualified persons with a responsible, professional interest who agree to safeguard their use" (Pearson terms, updated August 3, 2026). We found no public, self-administered WAIS on Pearson's pages on 12 October 2026. A free web quiz labeled "WAIS" is not the published test and does not use its norms.

What does exist is remote testing run live by an examiner. Pearson says "The WAIS-5 Nonmotor Index (NMI) can be easily applied in remote testing situations." Its telepractice guidance (2024) adds that the norms were collected in person, so a remote session counts as a departure from standard administration.

For more on how the two kinds of test differ, see online and clinical IQ tests.

How much the WAIS costs

On Pearson's store in the US on 12 October 2026, the WAIS-5 Complete Kit (Print) cost $1,784.00, a one-year Q-global scoring subscription $60.00 and a pack of 25 record forms $193.40 (Pearson's WAIS-5 page). That is what a psychologist pays for materials. A test-taker pays for an evaluation.

An evaluation is priced by the provider. Two US university training clinics, read 12 October 2026, show how much fees can differ. The University of Washington's LEARN Clinic lists "IQ Testing/Giftedness Evaluation" at an estimated $1000-$1750 and does not bill insurance. The University of Alabama Psychology Clinic says "There is a flat fee for adult testing. All fees range from $250–$650." Neither page names the WAIS, and we found no reliable national average. Ask the provider for its fee and ask your insurer what it covers.

WAIS vs WISC, WASI and Stanford-Binet

• WAIS-5: adults and older teens, ages 16 to 90, published 2024 (Pearson).
• WISC-V: the children's Wechsler test, published 2014, for "Children aged 6:0–16:11", with core subtests at about 60 minutes (Pearson WISC-V page, read 12 October 2026). At age 16 the two overlap, and Pearson says practitioners can choose either.
• WASI-II: a brief Wechsler test, published 2011, for "Individuals 6:0–90:11", with a "Four-subtest form, 30 minutes; Two-subtest form, 15 minutes" (Pearson WASI-II page).
• Stanford-Binet 5: a different publisher's test, for ages 2 to 85 and older, with 10 subtests (PRO-ED, read 12 October 2026). See the Stanford-Binet test.

A short history of the Wechsler tests

• 1939: the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale, Form I, dated by Winter and colleagues (2025).
• 1955: the WAIS, dated by Winter and colleagues (2025).
• 1981: the WAIS-R, dated by Winter and colleagues (2025). Winter, Trudel and Kaufman (2024) list it as 1980.
• 1997: the WAIS-III, dated in Pearson's WAIS-IV FAQ.
• 2008: the WAIS-IV, published by Pearson.
• 2024: the WAIS-5, published by Pearson.

Each new edition brings new norms. In the WAIS-5 manual's study of 186 people who took both tests, the average FSIQ was 101.6 on the WAIS-IV and 99.7 on the WAIS-5, a gap of 1.9 points, or 1.2 points per decade (Winter, Trudel and Kaufman, 2024). The authors call this result "unexpected", since they had expected about 3 points per decade. For the previous change, from the WAIS-III to the WAIS-IV, Pearson's WAIS-IV FAQ says "the norms for the newer test are slightly harder due to the Flynn effect." So a score from an older edition can read higher than one from the current edition, though the measured WAIS-IV to WAIS-5 gap was small.

What a WAIS score can and cannot tell you

A WAIS score can tell you how your performance on a set of tasks compares with people your own age in the norm group, with a known margin of error.

It cannot tell you everything about your abilities. Weber and colleagues (2026) write that even comprehensive batteries such as the WAIS "do not cover all broad CHC abilities". Jennifer Puig, a research director at Pearson, adds that "these tests are not inclusive of all aspects of functioning and other areas should be considered in the context of a comprehensive evaluation" (Pearson blog, May 2025).

The norms also describe a particular group. The test "was normed on individuals whose primary language is English," Pearson's FAQ says. Winter and colleagues (2025) note that the norm sample excluded people with intellectual disabilities, psychiatric disorders and neurological conditions.

Researchers also debate how much a single FSIQ captures. Winter and colleagues (2025) describe a view that the FSIQ "may overgeneralize an individual’s cognitive performance as a composite of starkly different abilities", adding "although this remains a debated topic among psychologists".

Choosing your next step

If you need a WAIS or another clinical IQ test for a school, health, benefits or legal question, ask a licensed psychologist, who can give it and explain the result.

If you want a quick, non-clinical reading of one kind of reasoning, WhatIQ's test uses 24 timed picture puzzles, takes about 15 minutes and gives an estimate on the standard IQ scale with the range it most likely sits in. It is not the WAIS, and the site says it gives "an estimate from 24 puzzles, not a clinical assessment" (whatiq.com, read 12 October 2026). For how matrix puzzles began, see Raven's Progressive Matrices.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take a WAIS test online?

Not by yourself. Pearson sells the WAIS-5 to professionals who meet its Qualification Level C, and its terms limit test materials to "qualified persons" (Pearson, read 12 October 2026). A qualified examiner can run a remote session over video using Pearson's telepractice guidance, but you cannot take the published WAIS as a self-scored web quiz.

How much does a WAIS IQ test cost?

You pay a provider for an evaluation, and fees vary. On 12 October 2026 two US university training clinics listed $250 to $650 (University of Alabama) and an estimated $1000-$1750 (the LEARN Clinic at the University of Washington), and neither names the WAIS. The $1,784.00 Pearson kit price is a professional's materials cost.

Is the WAIS IQ test free?

The published WAIS-5 is not free. Pearson sells it to professionals who meet its Qualification Level C, and its terms limit test materials to "qualified persons" (Pearson, read 12 October 2026). On Pearson's store in the US that day, the WAIS-5 Complete Kit (Print) cost $1,784.00. A free online quiz with "WAIS" in its name is not the published test and does not use its norms. What a test-taker pays for is an evaluation by a provider, and fees vary.

How can I take the WAIS IQ test?

Ask a licensed psychologist or a university psychology clinic whether they give the WAIS-5 and what the evaluation includes. The APA says an assessment can include tests, interview information, records and observation, so expect more than the test itself. Ask for the fee first: on 12 October 2026 the University of Alabama Psychology Clinic listed $250 to $650 and the University of Washington's LEARN Clinic an estimated $1000-$1750; neither page names the WAIS. If you need it for a school, benefits or legal purpose, ask that organization which tests it accepts.

What is a good WAIS score?

A WAIS score is not pass or fail: it shows where you stand among people your age. WAIS composite scores use an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 (the WAIS-IV index scale; Winter and colleagues, 2025, report WAIS-5 standard deviations of about 15), so by the normal curve about 68% of people score between 85 and 115 (our calculation). Pearson calls its descriptive labels "only suggestions". Each score is an estimate with a range and can differ between sittings (Winter, Trudel and Kaufman, 2024).

How long does the WAIS take?

Pearson gives about 45 minutes for the 7-subtest FSIQ and about 60 minutes for the 10 primary index subtests (Pearson, read 12 October 2026). Secondary subtests add time (Pearson's FAQ). The same FAQ says the FSIQ "can be obtained about 20 minutes faster than the WAIS–IV." Plan for a longer appointment than the testing time, because an evaluation can also include an interview and a review of records (APA).