PCL-5
PTSD Screener (PCL-5)
A 20-question self-screener developed by the National Center for PTSD to gauge post-traumatic stress symptoms over the past month. Anchor your answers to a specific stressful or traumatic experience before you begin.
- Questions:
- 20
- Time:
- 4 minutes
- Source:
- PTSD Checklist for DSM-5
Educational screener only. Not a medical diagnosis. Your answers are not saved, transmitted, or tracked.
Before You Begin
The PCL-5 asks how 20 specific symptoms have affected you in the past month. Each question references "the stressful experience." Before you start, take a moment to identify the experience you'll be rating — typically the most distressing event from your life that still affects you, even if it was years ago. Common examples include accidents, assaults, abuse, combat, medical emergencies, sudden losses, or witnessing serious harm to others.
If multiple experiences come to mind, pick the one that has the biggest current impact. You can always retake the screener for a different event.
About the PCL-5
The PCL-5 is the standard self-report screener for PTSD as defined in the DSM-5 (the diagnostic manual used by US clinicians). It was developed in 2013 by researchers at the National Center for PTSD, the US Department of Veterans Affairs research center widely regarded as the world's authority on traumatic stress.
It is in the public domain and is widely used in research, primary care, and specialty mental health settings. The instrument maps directly to the four DSM-5 symptom clusters:
- Intrusion (questions 1–5): re-experiencing the trauma through memories, dreams, flashbacks, and distress at reminders
- Avoidance (questions 6–7): efforts to avoid trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and external reminders
- Negative alterations in cognitions and mood (questions 8–14): distorted beliefs, persistent negative emotions, anhedonia, and detachment
- Alterations in arousal and reactivity (questions 15–20): irritability, recklessness, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle, sleep, and concentration problems
What the PCL-5 Does (and Does Not) Do
A score of 31 or higher is the most commonly cited cutoff for "probable PTSD" — but a screener result is not a diagnosis. PTSD diagnosis requires a clinical interview that confirms exposure to a qualifying traumatic event, the presence of at least one symptom from each cluster, duration of more than a month, and meaningful functional impairment.
A high PCL-5 score in the absence of a qualifying trauma may reflect another condition — depression, generalized anxiety, complex grief, or adjustment disorder — that benefits from different treatment.
Next Steps
If your score suggests moderate or higher symptoms, consider:
- Reading about PTSD and complex PTSD
- Exploring evidence-based trauma therapies: CPT, Prolonged Exposure, EMDR, or TF-CBT for younger people
- Speaking with a trauma-trained therapist or your primary care provider
If you are a veteran, the VA's PTSD Coach mobile app is free and provides self-management tools alongside professional treatment.
If you are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988 in the US), the Veterans Crisis Line (call 988, then press 1; or text 838255), or Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741).
Citation
Weathers, F. W., Litz, B. T., Keane, T. M., Palmieri, P. A., Marx, B. P., & Schnurr, P. P. (2013). The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). National Center for PTSD. Available from www.ptsd.va.gov.