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Original Free · 1975

Mini-Mental State Examination: Most-used cognitive screen ever

11-item bedside cognitive screen that produced a single 0-30 score. Originally published as a free 1975 research instrument; became the world's most-used dementia screening tool. Items cover orientation, registration, attention, recall, language, and visual-spatial copying. Takes 5-10 minutes to administer.

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About the Mini-Mental State Examination

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was published in 1975 by Marshal Folstein and colleagues as a brief practical bedside cognitive screen. The original paper provided the complete test in the appendix, freely usable. Over the next 25 years, the MMSE became ubiquitous in neurology, psychiatry, and geriatric medicine.

The MMSE has 11 items: orientation to time (5 points), orientation to place (5), registration of 3 objects (3), serial 7s or spell "world" backward (5), recall of 3 objects (3), naming 2 objects (2), repetition of "no ifs, ands, or buts" (1), 3-step command (3), reading and obeying "close your eyes" (1), writing a sentence (1), copying intersecting pentagons (1). Total 30 points; cutoffs vary but <24 typically suggests cognitive impairment.

In 2001 PAR acquired commercial rights and began licensing fees, controversially attempting to enforce them. Many institutions switched to the MoCA (2005) or free alternatives like the SLUMS or Mini-Cog. The 1975 paper remains in the literature and the original test is widely reproduced in textbooks; the legal status of clinical use is contested but academic and historical reference use is generally accepted as fair use.

About this interactive version: PAR Inc. acquired MMSE rights in 2001 and licenses clinical use commercially. The 1975 paper (with full test in appendix) is the original source we document. For free clinical alternatives, see the MoCA, SLUMS, or Mini-Cog.

The 0 subtests

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Mini-Mental State Examination (Folstein 1975): 30-point bedside cognitive screen. The original 11 sections cover orientation, registration, attention, recall, language, and visual-spatial copying. Web-adapted: text-only items at each step.

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About these items: These Mini-Mental State Examination items are originally-written reconstructions in the tradition of the original 1975 test, NOT verbatim copies of the historical items. Where the original is a 1-on-1 oral or physical-apparatus test (e.g., examiner shows a card, child draws a shape), we have adapted the format to self-administered multiple choice. See the original source for the authentic 1975-era items in their original administration format.

Read the Original

The following are legitimate free or borrowable full-text sources for this test or its primary documentation:

Source

All test materials and historical content on this page are transcribed from:

Folstein, M.F., Folstein, S.E., & McHugh, P.R. (1975). "Mini-Mental State". Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12(3), 189-198.

Marshal Folstein (Johns Hopkins, then Tufts) developed the MMSE in 1975 as a free research tool. PAR (Psychological Assessment Resources) acquired the rights in 2001 and now licenses the test commercially, but the original 1975 form remains historically and culturally available as the journal article is public. Read it on Internet Archive: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0022395675900266.

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