Official IQ Test: How to Take One, What It Costs and What You Get

There is no single official IQ test. In practice, “official” means a standardized intelligence test, such as the WAIS-5 for adults, given one-to-one by a qualified psychologist, or a supervised admission exam such as Mensa’s. Pearson lists 45 minutes of testing for the WAIS-5’s seven-subtest Full Scale IQ and 60 minutes for its ten primary subtests, and Mensa sessions run one to two and a quarter hours. On price, American Mensa charges $60 for local-group testing and $99 for private testing, Mensa UK charges £49, and the full assessments listed by four university clinics run from $300 to $2,500. This guide covers what counts as official, how long it takes, what it costs, where to book one, whether you can take one online and what score you actually receive.

• What counts: a standardized test given one-to-one by a qualified professional, or a supervised exam such as Mensa’s. No single test holds the title.
• Time: 45 to 60 minutes of testing for the WAIS-5 (Pearson); one to two hours for American Mensa; 1½ hours online and 2¼ hours in person for Mensa UK.
• Cost: $60 (American Mensa, local group) to $99 (private testing); £49 (Mensa UK); $300 to $2,500 for full assessments at four university training clinics.
• Who gives it: for a Wechsler scale, someone with Pearson “Level C” qualifications, such as a psychologist with a doctorate or a licensed practitioner with assessment training.
• The score you get: a Full Scale IQ and index scores from a clinician. American Mensa releases no IQ score at all, Mensa Canada gives a percentile and Mensa UK reports an IQ score for its in-person test.
• Online: Mensa UK’s online supervised test is proctored (£49); an unsupervised online quiz cannot be official.

What counts as an official IQ test?

No test carries the title. What people mean is a test with three features: it is standardized against a large norm sample, it is given individually or under supervision by someone trained to do it, and its results come from a professional or an organization with the standing to stand behind them. The clinical batteries are the Wechsler scales, the Stanford-Binet, the Woodcock-Johnson cognitive battery and a handful of others, all compared in our guide to professional IQ tests. For adults the Wechsler choice is the WAIS-5 (published 2024, ages 16:0 to 90:11) or the older WAIS-IV, and for children the WISC-V or, for the youngest, the WPPSI-IV.

Publishers control who can use these tests. Pearson gives every product a qualification level, and the WAIS-5 is Level C, the highest. Its policy says Level C tests “require a high level of expertise in test interpretation” and can be purchased by people with a doctorate in psychology, education or a closely related field plus formal assessment training; or a license or certification to practice in a related field; or certification by, or full active membership in, a professional organization such as APA or NASP that requires assessment training and experience. A quiz website cannot license a Wechsler test, and a psychologist cannot skip the qualification.

Mensa uses the word differently. It runs its own supervised admission tests and also accepts evidence of a professional test. Mensa UK lists “a full educational psychologist’s report” and “documentary evidence of a professionally administered IQ test” as acceptable, and Mensa New Zealand accepts a score above the 98th percentile on any IQ test given in person by a registered psychologist, if its supervisory psychologist approves it. Our guides to Mensa score requirements and high-IQ societies cover the cut-offs.

How long does an official IQ test take?

Pearson lists 45 minutes of testing for the WAIS-5’s seven-subtest Full Scale IQ and 60 minutes for its ten primary subtests; the WAIS-IV took 60 to 90 minutes and the WISC-V takes about 60. American Mensa sessions run one to two hours, and Mensa UK’s take 1½ hours online or 2¼ hours in person. A full clinical evaluation is longer, because it adds an interview, other tests, scoring and a feedback session: one US university clinic quotes five to seven hours of testing over two visits. Our guide to how long an IQ test takes gives the time for every major test, how many questions to expect and why two people take different amounts of time.

How much does an official IQ test cost?

The price depends on what you buy: a pass-or-fail admission exam, or a full clinical assessment with an interview, several tests, a written report and a feedback session. The prices below were read from each provider’s own page on 30 September 2026, and promotions change often.

Two cautions apply. First, the clinic lines are prices for whole assessments, of which an IQ test is one part; none of these four pages lists an IQ-only fee, and psychologists in private practice price it in their own way. Second, CU Boulder says its fee is “lower than what psychologists typically charge in the community,” so a training-clinic price is closer to a floor than to an average.

Does insurance cover an IQ test?

Usually not when the reason is curiosity, education or membership. Aetna’s clinical policy on psychological and neuropsychological testing (last reviewed 20 March 2026) says testing “for educational reasons is not covered,” adding: “This testing is usually provided by school systems under applicable state and federal rules. Most benefit plans exclude coverage of educational testing.” It excludes testing “for employment, disability qualification, or legal/court-related purposes” too, while treating neuropsychological testing to assess cognitive impairment due to medical or psychiatric conditions as medically necessary when its criteria are met. Other insurers have their own policies, so check yours.

Can a school give a child an IQ test at no cost?

In the United States, sometimes. Under the federal special-education law (IDEA), a school district must evaluate a child it suspects has a disability. The regulation says the initial evaluation must be conducted “within 60 days of receiving parental consent,” or within the state’s own timeframe (34 CFR 300.301), and defines “public expense” as the agency either paying “the full cost of the evaluation” or ensuring it is “otherwise provided at no cost to the parent” (34 CFR 300.502, the independent-evaluation rule). The purpose is to decide whether a child has a disability and needs special education, so a school evaluation is not an on-demand IQ test, and scores from group gifted-program screeners such as the OLSAT are a separate matter. Our guide to IQ testing for children covers what children’s sessions involve.

Where can you take an official IQ test near you?

Start with the purpose. For a clinical evaluation, look for a licensed psychologist who lists cognitive or intellectual assessment, and ask which test and edition they use. National directories help: the American Psychological Association’s Psychologist Locator in the US, the British Psychological Society’s find-a-psychologist search in the UK and the Australian Psychological Society’s find-a-psychologist search. For a child, a school psychologist is the usual first contact. For a membership test, American Mensa asks for your ZIP code and lists sessions near you, and Mensa UK lists test centers and online bookings. Suggested searches such as “psychologist IQ test near me” and “Mensa IQ test near me” point to the two routes that can be official; an online quiz found through “IQ test near me” cannot be.

Before you book with a psychologist, ask:

• Which test and edition? For adults, the WAIS-5 or the WAIS-IV, and whether you will get the Full Scale IQ and the index scores.
• What does the fee include? The interview, the written report and a feedback session, or testing alone.
• How long is testing, and how soon is the report? One session or two, and the turnaround.
• Are they qualified for the test? Licensed, and eligible to buy and use it (Level C for Wechsler scales).
• Paper, digital or remote? The WAIS-5 can be given on paper or on Pearson’s Q-interactive platform.

Can you take an official IQ test online?

Some, yes. Mensa UK’s online supervised test takes place in “a fully proctored, secure online environment.” American Mensa’s two options are local-group sessions and private sessions at “approved testing facilities,” the second with the exam “administered electronically.” On the clinical side, Pearson’s FAQ says the WAIS-5 Nonmotor Index “can be easily applied in remote testing situations” because “no manipulatives or response booklets are required,” and the publisher offers telepractice guidance. What cannot be official is an unsupervised online quiz: nobody verifies who took it, under what conditions or with what help. Our guides to online IQ test quality and IQ test accuracy explain what such a score can and cannot tell you. If you want a quick estimate of where you stand, the IQ Metrics test is an online estimate, not a clinical evaluation.

What score do you actually get?

It depends on who ran the test. A clinician reports a Full Scale IQ, usually with a confidence interval and index scores, in a written report; see our guide to reading an IQ test report. Mensa works differently on purpose. American Mensa says its test “is given for the purpose of admission into Mensa and not to quantify intelligence,” that a qualifying score means you “tested at, or above, 98 percent of the general population,” and: “We are not able to provide a detailed report with scores, percentile ranks, or your IQ score,” citing Psychology Board of Texas regulations. Mensa Canada says an IQ score “per se, isn’t given but your percentile ranking is.” Mensa UK says of its in-person test: “you will receive your IQ score.”

The reason for percentiles is scale confusion. Mensa Canada quotes Mensa International: “The result on one test of 132 can be the same as a score 148 on another test.” That gap is the standard-deviation problem covered in our guide to SD 15 versus SD 16 and in Mensa score requirements. A single score also carries a margin of error; see IQ score margin of error.

Age limits, retests and waiting times

• Minimum ages: Mensa UK tests candidates “over the age of 10 and a half”; American Mensa cannot test under 14 and encourages younger children to submit results from a clinical psychologist or their school; the WAIS-5 covers ages 16:0 to 90:11.
• Retests: American Mensa says individuals “may take a test or test battery once every eight weeks.” Repeating the same test soon inflates a score through practice; see the practice effect.
• Waiting: American Mensa lists private-testing results “in days”; Mensa Canada asks candidates to follow up after a month with no answer; clinic report times vary by practice, so ask when you book.

Quick answers

• Is there an official IQ test? No single test holds the title. Official means a standardized test given by a qualified professional, or a supervised exam such as Mensa’s.
• How long does an official IQ test take? Pearson lists 45 to 60 minutes of testing for the WAIS-5; Mensa sessions run one to two and a quarter hours; add the interview, scoring and feedback for a clinical evaluation.
• How much does an IQ test cost? $60 to $99 for American Mensa, £49 for Mensa UK, and $300 to $2,500 for full assessments at four university clinics.
• Can I take an official IQ test online? Yes, if it is proctored: Mensa UK’s online test is £49, while American Mensa’s $99 option is taken at an approved testing facility.
• Does insurance pay? Aetna’s policy excludes testing for educational reasons; check your own plan.
• Do I get an IQ score from Mensa? Not from American Mensa; Mensa Canada gives a percentile and Mensa UK reports an IQ score for its in-person test.
• Where do I take one near me? Through a licensed psychologist (use a national directory), a school psychologist for a child, or a Mensa session.

The bottom line

“Official” is a matter of who runs the test and under what conditions, not of a brand name. If you want a diagnosis, an educational placement or a full profile, book a psychologist and expect thousands of dollars for a comprehensive assessment or a few hundred at a training clinic. If you only want to know whether you would qualify for a high-IQ society, a supervised Mensa session costs $60 to $99 in the US and £49 in the UK, and the answer may be a pass or a fail rather than a number. An online quiz can only be an estimate.

Sources

• American Mensa: Take the Mensa Admission Test (fees, duration, score policy, retest rule), checked 30 September 2026.
• Mensa UK: Test Yourself (Home Test, online and in-person supervised tests, prior evidence, age limit), checked 30 September 2026.
• Mensa Canada: Frequently Asked Questions (percentile reporting, quoting Mensa International), checked 30 September 2026.
• Mensa New Zealand: How to join (prior evidence from a registered psychologist).
• Pearson: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition (WAIS-5): completion time, age range, qualification level and FAQ, checked 30 September 2026.
• Pearson: Qualifications policy (Levels A, B and C).
• University of Nevada, Reno: Psychological Services Center fees.
• Western Sydney University: Psychology Clinics, about our services (psychometric assessment fees).
• University of Colorado Boulder: CU PATH clinic, how much does an evaluation cost.
• University of Victoria: Psychology Clinic fees.
• Aetna: Clinical Policy Bulletin 0158, Neuropsychological and Psychological Testing (last review 20 March 2026).
• 34 CFR 300.301: Initial evaluations (IDEA).
• 34 CFR 300.502: Independent educational evaluation and the definition of public expense (IDEA).