What we publish, and what we will not
Psychological instruments are not automatically free because they appear in a journal. Many are commercial products. This is our record of which is which, and why each decision was made.
How this works
Every instrument is classified before it can reach you, and the classification is enforced by the build rather than by anyone remembering. If a test is not cleared, its questions are stripped from the published data entirely. Not hidden in the interface, but absent from the files, because publishing a question bank is reproducing it.
Anything unclassified is treated as restricted. That is deliberate: the failure mode of a register like this should be publishing too little, never too much.
Psychometrics Today currently takes no advertising and no fees, which is why the second group below is available.That is what donations protect.
Public domain (32)
Free to reproduce by law or by their authors’ explicit dedication, with no restriction on how they are used. These form the backbone of the catalogue.
360-LCExecutive Leadership Competency
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Original items operationalising Yukl's Multiple Linkage Model and Bass's transformational leadership theory. Theory is not copyrightable.
ADPSAdult Dyslexia & Processing Screener
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Built on the phonological deficit hypothesis (Snowling), which is theory.
The British Dyslexia Association Adult Checklist referenced in the source is BDA copyright. Items must be original, and the BDA checklist must not be reproduced.
ASRSAdult ADHD Self-Report Scale
World Health Organization
WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview screener; free to reproduce.
AUDITAlcohol Use Disorders Identification Test
World Health Organization
Published by WHO for free use; attribution requested.
Big FiveFive Personality Inventory OCEAN
International Personality Item Pool (IPIP)
IPIP items are explicitly public domain and carry no use restrictions.
Only lawful if the items used are IPIP items. The BFI-2 (Soto & John) is free for non-commercial research ONLY, and the NEO-PI-R is a commercial PAR instrument. Source Big Five items from IPIP.
DES-IIDissociative Experiences Scale
Carlson & Putnam
Authors placed the scale in the public domain and encourage free copying.
ECR-RAdult Attachment Scale
Fraley, Waller & Brennan
Authors publish the items openly for free research and educational use.
GAD-7Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Pfizer Inc. (developed via an educational grant)
Carries the same unconditional notice as the PHQ-9: "No permission required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute." The grant has no commercial carve-out.
GSESGeneral Self-Efficacy Scale
Schwarzer & Jerusalem
Distributed free by the authors for research and practice.
HAM-DHamilton Depression Rating Scale
Max Hamilton (1960), published in J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
Long-standing public domain status; reproduced freely in clinical literature.
Designed as a clinician-administered interview. A self-report adaptation is not the validated instrument and must be labelled as such.
IPIP-16PFSixteen Factor Profile
International Personality Item Pool (IPIP)
IPIP items are explicitly public domain: "one can copy, edit, translate, or use them for any purpose without asking permission and without paying a fee."
Lawful only while the items are IPIP items and the instrument is named as such. Cattell's own 16PF Questionnaire is a PSI/IPAT commercial instrument and must not be reproduced or implied. Item text was taken from the IPIP scoring key and cross-checked against an independent copy of the same scales.
IPIP-VIACharacter Strengths Profile
International Personality Item Pool (IPIP)
IPIP items are explicitly public domain: "one can copy, edit, translate, or use them for any purpose without asking permission and without paying a fee."
Lawful only while the items are IPIP items and the instrument is named as such. The VIA-IS itself is administered by the VIA Institute on its own terms and must not be reproduced or implied. Item text was taken from the IPIP scoring key; every scale's item count was checked against the count the key states for it.
Machiavellianism Inventory
Christie & Geis (1970)
Widely reproduced without restriction; effectively public domain.
MRSAMental Rotation Spatial Aptitude
Psychometrics Today (original stimuli)
Mental rotation is a public research paradigm (Shepard & Metzler, 1971).
The Vandenberg & Kuse MRT referenced in the source document is a specific copyrighted stimulus set. Generate original figures; do not reproduce theirs.
MSSMisophonia Sensitivity Scale
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Original items naming specific trigger sounds, grouped by the categories Wu et al. (2014) report as most commonly endorsed. The Amsterdam Misophonia Scale is not reproduced and was not consulted.
Misophonia is not a DSM-5 diagnosis. This measures how strongly someone reacts to particular sounds and does not ask about the life changes that decide whether it is clinically significant, so a high score is a reason to seek assessment rather than a result in itself.
NLDBNumerical Logical Deduction Battery
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Numerical and deductive reasoning formats are generic and unprotected.
The source document cites SHL, Wonderlic and Raven's as models. All three are commercial products with protected items and trademarked names. Use original items and never reference those brands in copy.
O*NETWork Importance Profiler
US Department of Labor, O*NET Resource Center
US federal government work, explicitly released for public use.
OCIOrganizational Climate Index
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Original items operationalising the five climate dimensions described by Litwin & Stringer (1968). Their dimensions are theory and unprotected; their item wording is not reproduced and was not consulted.
PCL-5PTSD Checklist for DSM-5
US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD
US federal government work; free to use, though the VA asks that users be aware of intended context.
PHQ-9Patient Health Questionnaire
Pfizer Inc. (developed via an educational grant)
Carries the explicit notice: "No permission required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute."
RIASECHolland Occupational Themes
US Department of Labor (O*NET Interest Profiler items)
Holland's RIASEC theory is not protected, and O*NET supplies public-domain interest items.
Holland's own Self-Directed Search is a commercial PAR product — do not reproduce its items.
RSD-SRejection Sensitivity Dysphoria Scale
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Rejection sensitive dysphoria is a clinical description popularised by William Dodson, not a published instrument. Items are original.
RSD is not a DSM-5 diagnosis. Frame it as a described pattern, never as a disorder.
RSESRosenberg Self-Esteem Scale
Morris Rosenberg estate / University of Maryland
Free use granted; no fee or permission required.
RWRSRemote Work Readiness Scale
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Original items informed by published telecommuting research (Allen et al., Wang et al.). No instrument reproduced.
SFCSSpann-Fischer Codependency Scale
Spann & Fischer (1990)
Published openly; freely reproduced in the literature.
SJTSituational Judgment Test Ethics
Psychometrics Today (original scenarios)
SJT methodology (Motowidlo et al.) is a published method, not a protected instrument. Scenarios are original.
StroopColor-Word Interference Test
J. R. Stroop (1935) — the paradigm
The Stroop paradigm is public domain. Commercial products (e.g. the Golden Stroop) are not; implement the task from first principles only.
TPSITeam Psychological Safety Index
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Original items operationalising Edmondson's psychological-safety construct. Her published 7-item measure is not reproduced.
Do not reproduce Edmondson's original seven items — use only the original set.
VDMSVocational Decision-Making Style
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Original items based on Harren's model of career decision making. The model is theory, not an instrument.
VFSBVerbal Fluency Syllogism Battery
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Built on Aristotelian syllogistic logic, which is public domain, with original stimuli.
VRSVenture Readiness Scale
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Original items based on Eckhardt & Shane opportunity-recognition theory.
WLBMWork-Life Boundary Management
Psychometrics Today (original items)
Original items operationalising boundary theory (Nippert-Eng; Ashforth et al.).
Free with the author’s permission (14)
The authors permit free reproduction, usually for non-commercial use. We host these because Psychometrics Today takes no advertising and charges nothing. The moment that changed, they would come down.
AQ-10Autism Spectrum Quotient
Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge
Free for non-commercial research and educational use.
Commercial use requires ARC permission.
Baron-Cohen Empathy Quotient
Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge
Free for non-commercial research and educational use.
Commercial use requires ARC permission.
DASS-42Depression Anxiety Stress Scale
Lovibond & Lovibond, University of New South Wales
Free to use for research, education and clinical practice; no fee.
The authors do not permit the scale to be sold. Keep it out of any paid tier.
DAST-10Drug Abuse Screening Test
Harvey Skinner / CAMH
Free for non-commercial clinical and research use.
Commercial use requires permission from CAMH.
Duckworth Grit Scale
Angela Duckworth / University of Pennsylvania
Free for non-commercial research and educational use.
Commercial use requires written permission.
EAT-26Eating Attitudes Test
David Garner / EAT-26.com
Permitted for free non-commercial screening with attribution retained.
Attribution and the copyright line must remain visible.
HEXACOPersonality Inventory
Kibeom Lee & Michael C. Ashton
Free for research and educational use, downloadable from hexaco.org.
The authors require permission for commercial use. IPIP publishes public-domain six-factor scales that measure the same structure without restriction — use those instead.
MDQMood Disorder Questionnaire
Hirschfeld et al.
Permission for free reproduction is routinely granted for non-commercial screening.
Confirm current terms before any paid deployment.
MLQMeaning in Life Questionnaire
Michael Steger
Free for research and educational use, downloadable from the author.
Commercial use requires permission.
NPI-16Narcissistic Personality Inventory
Ames, Rose & Anderson (2006)
Short form published in the article for free research use.
PERMAProfiler Seligman Well-Being
Butler & Kern
Free for research and personal use.
Commercial deployment requires the authors’ permission.
RSQRejection Sensitivity Questionnaire
Downey & Feldman (1996), Columbia University
Distributed by the authors for free research use.
The grant does not extend to commercial deployment. Blocked while the site carries advertising.
SD3Short Dark Triad
Jones & Paulhus
Published in the article with free research use granted.
Non-commercial research use only.
SLTShort Light Triad Scale
Kaufman et al.
Released openly by the authors for research use.
Licensed: we do not host these (29)
Commercial instruments whose publishers charge for use. We describe what they measure, because commentary is not reproduction, and we point to a free alternative where one exists. We do not reproduce a single item.
16PFCattells Sixteen Personality Factors
PSI / IPAT
Commercial instrument requiring qualified-user licensing.
Free alternative: IPIP supplies public-domain equivalents for all 16PF primary factors.
5 Love LanguagesFive Love Languages Equivalent
Gary Chapman / Northfield Publishing
"The 5 Love Languages" is a registered trademark and the assessment is proprietary.
Free alternative: Publish an explainer and build an original relationship-preferences scale under a different name.
ASPAdult Sensory Profile
Pearson Clinical
Commercial licensed instrument.
Free alternative: The Highly Sensitive Person Scale (Aron) is freely available for research use.
BelbinTeam Roles Assessment
Belbin Associates
Proprietary; Belbin licenses and enforces the nine team-role instrument.
Free alternative: Publish an explainer on team-role theory and build original role-preference items.
BRIEF-AExecutive Dysfunction Scale
PAR, Inc.
Commercial instrument requiring qualified-user purchase.
Free alternative: The Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale has freely available short forms, or use original items.
CD-RISCConnor-Davidson Resilience Scale
Connor & Davidson / Resilience Scale LLC
Licensed; a fee applies even for many research uses.
Free alternative: The Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al.) is free for research use.
CSICognitive Style Index
Allinson & Hayes (1996)
Published instrument; the authors retain rights and licence its use.
Free alternative: Rational-Experiential Inventory (Epstein) items are available in the published literature for research use.
DASDyadic Adjustment Scale
Multi-Health Systems (MHS)
Commercial licensed instrument.
Free alternative: Couples Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge), free for research use.
EnneagramEnneagram Personality Test
The Enneagram Institute
RHETI is a copyrighted commercial product.
Free alternative: Enneagram theory itself is unprotected; write original type-description items, or explain the system without administering the RHETI.
EPQ-REysenck Personality Questionnaire
Hodder & Stoughton / Eysenck estate
Commercially published instrument.
Free alternative: IPIP includes public-domain Eysenckian E/N/P scales.
ESSEpworth Sleepiness Mental Alertness
Murray Johns / MAPI Research Trust
Licensed; commercial use carries a fee.
Free alternative: The Stanford Sleepiness Scale is free to use.
FIRO-BInterpersonal Relations
The Myers-Briggs Company
Commercial licensed instrument.
Free alternative: Measure interpersonal needs with IPIP interpersonal-circumplex scales.
GottmanGottman Sound Relationship House
The Gottman Institute
Proprietary framework and assessments.
Free alternative: The Dyadic Adjustment Scale is also licensed; use the free Couples Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge).
HDSHogan Leadership Derailers
Hogan Assessment Systems
Commercial instrument restricted to certified users.
Free alternative: Derailer constructs overlap heavily with maladaptive-trait models; PID-5 (APA, free) covers similar ground.
KTSKeirsey Temperament Sorter
Keirsey.com / Prometheus Nemesis
Copyrighted commercial instrument.
Free alternative: Open Extended Jungian Type Scales (OEJTS) is free to use.
MBIMaslach Burnout Inventory
Mind Garden, Inc.
Sold per-administration. Mind Garden actively enforces its copyright.
Free alternative: Use the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) or the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) — both free for research use — to measure burnout.
MBTI-style16 Personalities Cognitive Function Stack
The Myers-Briggs Company (MBTI trademark); "16Personalities" is NERIS Analytics
Both the MBTI items and the 16Personalities instrument are proprietary. Jungian cognitive-function theory itself is not.
Free alternative: Open Extended Jungian Type Scales (OEJTS), free to use, measures the same four dichotomies.
MSI-BPDMcLean Screening for Borderline Personality
Zanarini / McLean Hospital
Permission required for use.
Free alternative: Explain borderline traits editorially and link to professional assessment.
PSQIPittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
University of Pittsburgh
Free for academic and non-commercial research, but commercial use requires a paid licence.
Free alternative: Use original sleep-quality items, or the free Insomnia Severity Index for research contexts.
RPMRavens Matrix Fluid IQ
Pearson Clinical
Raven’s Progressive Matrices is a commercial Pearson product.
Free alternative: Generate original matrix-reasoning items procedurally, or use the public-domain Sandia Matrices.
ScheinScheins Career Anchors
Wiley / Edgar Schein estate
Published commercially as a licensed self-assessment.
Free alternative: O*NET Work Importance Profiler covers career values in the public domain.
SPIN-LSSocial Phobia Inventory
Connor & Davidson / Duke University
Licensed by the same group as the CD-RISC.
Free alternative: The Social Phobia Scale / Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (Mattick & Clarke) is freely available.
SSS-VSensation Seeking Scale
Marvin Zuckerman estate
Copyrighted; permission required.
Free alternative: The Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (Hoyle et al.) is freely available.
Super's WVISupers Work Values Inventory
Donald Super's Work Values Inventory, published commercially
The WVI is a published commercial instrument.
Free alternative: The O*NET Work Importance Profiler measures the same values in the public domain — already in the catalogue.
TAS-20Toronto Alexithymia Scale
Bagby, Parker & Taylor
The TAS-20 is copyrighted and its authors require permission for use.
Free alternative: The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire is freely available for research use; or publish an explainer only.
TKIThomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode
The Myers-Briggs Company (CPP)
Commercial instrument sold per administration.
Free alternative: The Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory or an original conflict-style scale built on Blake-Mouton theory.
VIASurvey of Character Strengths
VIA Institute on Character
Free to take on the VIA site, but the items are copyrighted and may not be reproduced.
Free alternative: Link out to the official free VIA survey and publish an explainer on the 24 strengths.
WPTWonderlic Cognitive Ability Equivalent
Wonderlic, Inc.
Commercial cognitive test; the name is trademarked.
Free alternative: Build an original timed reasoning battery and do not reference Wonderlic in the product name.
Y-BOCSYale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale
Goodman et al. / Yale University
Copyright is retained and permission is required; it is also a clinician-administered interview, not a self-report.
Free alternative: The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) is freely available for research use.
Unresolved provenance (7)
Instruments whose rights position we could not establish with confidence. These are treated as restricted until that changes. The register fails closed by design.
DISCAssessment Profile
Marston (1928) theory is public domain; modern DISC instruments are proprietary
The DISC model may be described freely, but published DISC assessments are commercial products.
Free alternative: Write original behavioural-style items mapped to the four Marston quadrants and avoid vendor branding.
JungianJungian Archetypes Assessment
Jungian archetype theory is unprotected; Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator is commercial
Safe only if items are original and no commercial indicator is reproduced.
Merrill-ReidSocial Styles Profile
Tracom Group
SOCIAL STYLE is a Tracom trademark and commercial product.
Free alternative: Use original items describing assertiveness and responsiveness axes under a distinct name.
RotterLocus of Control Scale
Julian Rotter (1966), APA Psychological Monographs
Widely reproduced, but APA holds the original publication copyright and no explicit free-use grant exists.
Free alternative: Levenson's IPC Locus of Control Scales are freely available for research.
SHAIShort Health Anxiety Inventory
Salkovskis et al.
Widely used in research; explicit free-reproduction terms not established.
SMSSelf-Monitoring Scale
Mark Snyder
Published in a journal article with no explicit reproduction grant.
TABPType A Type B Behavior Pattern
Jenkins Activity Survey is a commercial Pearson product
The Type A/B construct is unprotected, but the validated instruments are licensed. Only original items may be used.
If you hold rights to one of these
If you are an author or publisher listed above and something here is wrong, or you would be willing to let an instrument be offered free to the public,please get in touch. Corrections are made immediately and without argument.
This register reflects our own diligence and is not legal advice. Terms change; if you are relying on it for your own project, verify against the rights-holder directly.