Free instruments
Tier 2 measures ask for a reported change. Each instrument below has a form you can link to and a license sentence quoted from its publisher. Check the quote before you rely on it.
- Free, with conditions 2. Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
- Screening only 2. Cleared for screening. It is not built to show change over time.
Cleared instruments, best rights class first 4
Lubben Social Network Scale, LSNS-6
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“Author welcomes use "for your research"; requests a demographic/research-goals form. No fee is stated on the permission page.”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
6 items2-3 min (estimated)Social isolation/network resources
- Scoring
- Six 0-5 responses; sum 0-30, higher = stronger network resources.
- Named by funders
- None named in the sources opened.
- Validity
- Lubben et al., 2006, The Gerontologist 46:503-513; primary comparative validation: Myagmarjav et al., 2019.
- Caveat
- EN; Japanese, Portuguese and others. Research-use permission is not an unrestricted commercial license.
Form License source
Lubben Social Network Scale, LSNS-18
Free, with conditionsLicense wording
“Same "for your research" permission and requested form as the LSNS-6.”
Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.
18 items5-8 min (estimated)Social isolation/network resources
- Scoring
- Eighteen 0-5 responses; sum 0-90, higher = stronger resources.
- Named by funders
- None named in the sources opened.
- Validity
- Myagmarjav, Burnette & Goeddeke, 2019, PLOS ONE 14:e0215523; supports reliability but finds better factor fit for the LSNS-6 in that sample.
- Caveat
- EN verified; Mongolian validation reported. The downloaded PDF has an inconsistent LSNS-R/twelve-item footer; confirm the version and key before deployment.
Form License source
Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS-15
Screening onlyLicense wording
“The original scale is in the public domain.”
Cleared for screening. It is not built to show change over time.
15 items5-7 minOlder-adult depressive symptoms
- Scoring
- One point for each depression-keyed response; 0-15, higher = more symptoms.
- Named by funders
- No US grant mandate verified.
- Validity
- Sheikh & Yesavage, 1986; validity references and administration guidance on the HIGN sheet.
- Caveat
- EN; numerous translations. The instrument is public domain; the surrounding HIGN teaching sheet has its own publication rights.
Form License source
Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS-30
Screening onlyLicense wording
“The original scale is in the public domain.”
Cleared for screening. It is not built to show change over time.
30 items5-10 min (estimated)Older-adult depressive symptoms
- Scoring
- Depression-keyed yes/no responses, sum 0-30.
- Named by funders
- None named in the sources opened.
- Validity
- Yesavage et al., 1983, J Psychiatric Research 17:37-49.
- Caveat
- EN; translations. Exactly at the 30-item ceiling. Cognitive impairment can affect suitability.
Form License source
Looks free, is not 15
Each of these circulates widely and carries a licensing restriction. The wording is quoted from the publisher's page.
- Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, CSQ-8. Use requires "express written permission" and "remission of use fees." Applies to service and research use. It also measures satisfaction, not outcome change. Licensing page
- Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, MMAS-8 / MMAS-4. Owner license pricing posts fees of $7 per MMAS-8 administration and $4 per MMAS-4 administration, with other licensing arrangements. Licensing page
- Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC. The author's request form refers to "terms of use and payment details"; PhenX confirms a licensing agreement is required. Current owner-site pricing is unverified because those sites did not open. Licensing page
- Outcome Rating Scale, ORS. Agency and group paper licenses carry fees; electronic or digital use is excluded from that license. Not universally paid, but not blanket-free for a nonprofit agency. Licensing page
- Session Rating Scale, SRS. Same agency-fee and electronic-use restrictions as the ORS. It also measures therapeutic alliance rather than participant outcomes. Licensing page
- SDQ embedded in your digital product. Electronic reproduction requires authorization and may involve payment. This does not invalidate the conditional paper-use entry in the instrument list. Licensing page
- PRAPARE embedded in a platform. Developer agreements are listed at $5,000 per year (regular) or $10,000 per year (enterprise). Royalty-free end-user agreements are a separate category. These are the published 2024 terms, not a verified 2026 quotation. Licensing page
- North Carolina Family Assessment Scale, General Services (NCFAS-G). The license is issued to the purchasing agency, and cost depends on the number of workers using it. Viewing a sample is not permission to administer. Licensing page
- Parenting Stress Index, 4th ed., Short Form (PSI-4-SF). The publisher's purchase page lists paid materials. Its 36 items also exceed the 30-item length limit. Licensing page
- BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS). The publisher page lists paid forms and digital administrations and Qualification Level B. Short administration and simple completion do not make it public domain. Licensing page
- Drug Abuse Screening Test, DAST-10. The instrument is under copyright: "Copyright 1982 by Harvey A. Skinner, PhD, and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada." The PhenX page allows reproduction "for non-commercial use (clinical, research, training purposes)" with credit to the author, and says it "may be obtained through" CAMH. Conditional, not unrestricted; CAMH's own terms were not opened. Licensing page
- Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Beck Anxiety Inventory. The publisher sells it: the Pearson page lists the BDI-2 Complete Kit (Print) at $195.70, with items from $3.90, and shows Qualification level B. Licensing page
- Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). PAR publishes it and the site states "All rights reserved." A modified version requires a permission request to PAR. Licensing page
- Outcomes Star (family of Stars). The site refers to licence holders and states "all Outcomes Star licence holders must complete our core training programme." A licence is required; the page opened does not state fees. Licensing page
- PROMIS short forms embedded in an electronic platform. The PROMIS terms state "Permission to use PROMIS INSTRUMENTS does NOT grant permission to modify the wording or layout of items," or "to distribute to others for a fee, or to translate items into any other language." The need for HealthMeasures Electronic Administration Permission (HEAP) when embedding in a platform comes from secondary sources and was not found in the terms page. Licensing page