How to Find Out Your IQ: Every Option, Compared

There is no IQ number stored anywhere that you can simply look up. An IQ is the result of a test: you answer a set of standardised questions, and your score is compared with a large group of people your age. To find out your IQ, someone has to test you, or you have to find a test you already took.

That leaves five realistic routes. They differ hugely in time, cost and what you get back, so the right one depends on why you want the number.

The five ways to find out your IQ

Route	Time	Typical cost	What you get	Best for
Psychologist (WAIS or Stanford-Binet)	1 to 3 hours, report 1 to 2 weeks later	$400 to $2,000 (US), £450 to £1,200 (UK)	Full-scale IQ, index scores, written report	Diagnosis, education or legal needs
British Mensa supervised test	About 1.5 hours online, 2.25 hours in person	£49	An IQ score by email	Mensa entry, a proctored score in the UK
American Mensa admission test	1 to 2 hours	$60 group session, $99 private	Pass or fail only	Mensa entry in the US
Old school or clinical records	A few letters or calls	Usually nothing	A past score, if it still exists	People tested as children
Online reasoning test	10 to 45 minutes	Free to paid, varies by site	An estimate of reasoning ability	Curiosity, a first reading

Prices are the providers' published rates in October 2026. Mensa runs occasional discounts, so check the current fee before you book.

1. Book a full IQ assessment with a psychologist

This is the gold standard. A qualified psychologist gives you an individually administered test, most often the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV, or the newer WAIS-5) or the Stanford-Binet. You sit with the examiner, who reads out questions, times your answers and records how you work.

What happens. Expect a short intake interview about your history and reasons for testing, then the testing itself: about 45 to 60 minutes for the newer WAIS-5, or 60 to 90 minutes for the WAIS-IV. Many practices add more measures, which is why a session often runs two to three hours. The written report usually follows within one to two weeks and lists your full-scale IQ, your index scores (verbal comprehension, perceptual or fluid reasoning, working memory and processing speed) and a confidence range.

What it costs. In the US, private IQ testing typically runs from about $400 to $2,000, depending on the city and how much else is assessed. In the UK, private cognitive assessments are usually £450 to £1,200. Insurance and the NHS rarely pay unless there is a clinical question, such as a suspected learning disability or a brain injury.

How to find one. In the US, use the American Psychological Association's Psychologist Locator and search for "psychological testing" or "cognitive assessment". In the UK, use the British Psychological Society directory and check the name on the HCPC register, since "practitioner psychologist" is a protected title. University psychology clinics sometimes test at reduced fees, with trainees supervised by faculty.

Ask before you book: which test they use, whether you will receive your actual scores (not just a summary), and the total price including the report.

2. Take a supervised Mensa test

Mensa admits people who score at or above the 98th percentile, which is about IQ 130 on the common scale. Its supervised tests are cheaper than a psychologist, but what you get back depends on the country.

• British Mensa charges £49 for a supervised test, either at a test centre (about two and a quarter hours) or online with a remote proctor (about one and a half hours). You must be over ten and a half. Your IQ score is emailed to you, and anyone in the top 2% is invited to join. You can read more on our Mensa practice test page.
• American Mensa charges $60 for a local group session or $99 for a private sitting at an approved centre. The test takes one to two hours and you must be 14 or older. It reports pass or fail only: American Mensa says plainly that it does not give out IQ scores or percentiles.

So if you want a number rather than a membership card, the US Mensa test will not give you one.

3. Find a score you already have

Many people took an IQ test at school without being told the result. If you were assessed for a gifted programme, special education support or a learning difficulty, there may be a record.

1. Contact the school district or local education authority, not just the school. Individual schools often destroy files after several years, but districts keep some records far longer.
2. Ask for your full record in writing. In the US you may need a signed release form. In the UK you can make a subject access request for personal data the authority still holds.
3. Name the likely tests. Common ones are the WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), the Stanford-Binet, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the Otis-Lennon. A named test helps the records office search.
4. Check other assessments. Educational psychology or neuropsychology reports from childhood usually include a full-scale IQ.

Old admissions tests can count too. American Mensa accepts some older scores as evidence, for example a Wechsler full-scale IQ of 130 or more, a Stanford-Binet IQ of 132, or an SAT of 1250 or more taken between 1974 and January 1994. Our SAT to IQ converter shows how rough those links are.

Bear in mind that a childhood score is a snapshot. IQ is fairly stable across life, but an individual score can move by 10 points or more between childhood and adulthood.

4. Take an online reasoning test

This is the fastest route by far, and the quality varies more than anything else on this list. Some online tests are carefully built. Many are flattering quizzes that hand out high numbers to sell a certificate.

A useful online test has:

• A fixed set of questions and a firm time limit. Untimed tests inflate scores, because anyone can solve a puzzle given an hour.
• Abstract reasoning items, such as matrix puzzles, rather than trivia or general knowledge.
• A clear statement of what it is and is not. No online test is a clinical assessment, and an honest one says so.
• No bait and switch. If the test is advertised as free but asks for payment at the end, you should know before you start.

The LifeScore IQ test is a 25-question visual reasoning test that takes about 12 minutes. It needs no sign-up to start, and the score and full report are a paid unlock once you finish. It is an estimate of reasoning ability, not a clinical IQ. Our guide to how accurate online IQ tests are explains what any online score can and cannot tell you.

5. Use practice tests for a rough idea

Free practice tests are fine for a feel of the questions, but they are not designed to give you a trustworthy number.

• Mensa's online workout (about 15 minutes) is a set of puzzles, and Mensa says it is not a valid IQ test.
• British Mensa's home test (£15, about 45 minutes) gives an "indicative score" to help you decide whether to book the supervised test.
• Our example IQ questions with answers let you see the matrix format before you try a full test.

Which route should you choose?

Your reason	Best route
You are curious where you stand	An online reasoning test, then a psychologist only if you need more
You want to join Mensa	A Mensa supervised test, or old qualifying scores
You suspect ADHD, dyslexia or a learning difficulty	A psychologist; an IQ score alone diagnoses nothing
You need a score for school, work or a legal case	A psychologist; only an individual assessment will be accepted
You were tested as a child	Request your records first; it may cost nothing

How to read the number you get

An IQ score only makes sense next to its scale. Most modern tests use a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, so about 68% of people score between 85 and 115 and about 2% score above 130. Some older tests and high-IQ societies use a standard deviation of 24, where 148 means roughly the same as 130 on the usual scale.

Every score also carries some error. Even on the WAIS, your true score sits within a band of a few points either side of the number on the report. Two tests a month apart, or two different tests, will rarely give you the exact same number. That is normal, and our guide to why IQ scores differ between tests explains how large the gap can be.

To see what a particular number means, look it up on our IQ score pages or put it into the IQ percentile calculator.

Can you work out your IQ without a test?

Not reliably. People are poor judges of their own intelligence. A meta-analysis of studies that compared self-estimates with measured ability found an average correlation of about 0.33 (Freund and Kasten, 2012). That is a real link, but a weak one: plenty of people who think they are average score well above it, and the reverse.

School grades and admissions scores are related to IQ but measure learning and effort too. They can hint at a range. They cannot replace a reasoning test.

Common questions

Can I get my IQ tested for free?

Sometimes. Schools test some children at no cost, university clinics may test cheaply, and an old record may already exist. For adults, a full professional assessment is rarely free unless there is a clinical reason and a referral.

How long does it take to find out your IQ?

An online test takes 10 to 45 minutes. A Mensa supervised test takes one and a half to two and a quarter hours, with results by email later. A psychologist's assessment takes two to three hours, with the report one to two weeks after. Our guide to how long an IQ test takes compares every major test.

Is an online IQ score my real IQ?

It is an estimate. A well-built online test can give a useful reading of your reasoning ability, but only a professionally administered, normed test gives a clinical IQ.

Should I prepare first?

Sleep well and take the test when you are alert. A little familiarity with the question types helps, but heavy practice can inflate a score without changing your ability. See how to prepare for an IQ test.