Start with WAIS-5 and a provider licensed for your purpose
Pearson's US WAIS-5 page lists the fifth edition as a 2024 publication for ages 16 years 0 months through 90 years 11 months. It is a Qualification Level C assessment intended for appropriately qualified professionals.
Psychologist, school psychologist, and neuropsychologist licensing and scope are governed at state level. Pearson's Qualification Level C information describes the training, licensure, or professional qualifications expected for restricted assessments, but the provider must also meet the rules that apply in the state and to the referral question.
Before booking, state whether the assessment is for clinical consultation, education, work, insurance, legal use, or self-understanding. Confirm the edition, the professional responsible for interpretation and signature, the report and feedback included, the expected dates and total quote, and whether any receiving organisation accepts that provider and document.
What the WAIS-5 session and report can include
Pearson lists individual paper or Q-interactive administration, with paper or Q-global scoring. A seven-subtest FSIQ can take about 45 minutes, while the ten primary index subtests take about 60 minutes. Intake, additional tests, breaks, feedback, and report preparation can make the full process longer.
The five primary WAIS-5 domains are:
- Verbal Comprehension Index, or VCI;
- Visual Spatial Index, or VSI;
- Fluid Reasoning Index, or FRI;
- Working Memory Index, or WMI; and
- Processing Speed Index, or PSI.
An older WAIS-IV report can still be useful, but its Perceptual Reasoning Index should not be relabelled as either WAIS-5 VSI or FRI. The edition and index structure need to remain visible when results are compared.
WAIS-5 is the current US product, but providers may move from WAIS-IV on different schedules. The provider should name the edition that will be administered and keep the relevant norms and index structure clear in the report.
Published prices are service examples, not a national WAIS fee
Published US university-clinic examples include USD 250–650, USD 500, USD 875, and USD 460–1,725. These figures do not describe equivalent packages. Some services include a broader psychological assessment rather than WAIS alone.
Private-practice fees, insurance arrangements, and external-document charges can differ. Compare the full package rather than the headline amount; the WAIS cost guide explains the components.
Digital administration is not a self-contained online WAIS
Q-interactive supports one-to-one professional administration, and Q-global supports scoring and reporting. These systems can replace parts of the paper workflow, but they do not turn WAIS-5 into a consumer test that someone can complete alone.
If a provider proposes remote or partly remote assessment, ask which parts are administered live, whether the conditions are standard or modified, how any modification will be documented, and whether the intended recipient accepts the report.
Can you take the WAIS online? covers the difference between professional digital tools and an unsupervised online IQ test.
For the professional process and score meanings, continue to how to take the WAIS and what WAIS measures. If Mensa membership is the only goal, check the American Mensa guide before commissioning WAIS.