The Mini-Cog is a three-minute screen for dementia in older adults. The person repeats three words, draws a clock, then recalls the words. It scores 0 to 5, and a total of 0 to 2 is a positive screen. See how to score it, what each total means, and what comes next, then record the result with the free template. Get the official form from mini-cog.com.
Mini-Cog result template
FreeMINI-COG SCREEN Date: [Date] Patient: [Name or ID, age] Given by: [Name and role] Why screened: [Annual check-up, memory concern from the patient or family, assessment before surgery, or other reason] Language of testing: [Language used; official translation or interpreter if used] RESULT Word list version: [Version number from the official form] Words recalled: [0 to 3, without cues] Clock: [Normal, 2 points, or abnormal, 0 points; what was wrong if abnormal] Total: [0 to 5] Cut point used: [Under 3, or under 4 for higher sensitivity] Screen: [Positive or negative] CONDITIONS ON THE DAY Hearing and vision: [Hearing aids and glasses in use; any trouble hearing the words or seeing the page] Language and schooling: [First language, years of schooling, reading and writing if relevant] Mood and alertness: [Low mood, anxiety, drowsiness, or signs of delirium] Health and medicines: [Recent illness, pain, new or sedating medicines, alcohol] Drawing hand: [Tremor, arthritis, weakness, or other limits on drawing] HISTORY FROM OTHERS Concerns noticed: [What the patient and a family member or close friend have noticed, and since when] Daily function: [Medicines, money, driving, cooking, and any recent change] PLAN Next step: [Fuller cognitive test, bloodwork, medication review, referral, or repeat screen] Follow-up: [Date, and who will come with the patient] Result discussed with: [Patient, family member, or both; how it was explained] Clinician: [Name, credentials]
Use it for
The test takes about 3 minutes in a quiet room with few interruptions. Use the official standardized form: it has the instructions, the word lists, and a printed circle for the clock.
Avoid: Making up your own words or giving the instructions from memory. Scores compare only when the form is used as written.
The person hears three unrelated words and repeats them back, with up to three tries. After the clock, they’re asked for the words again.
Avoid: Giving a category or first-letter hint and then counting the word. Only words recalled without a cue score.
The clock fills the gap between hearing and recalling the words, and it tests planning and visual-spatial skills.
Avoid: Giving partial credit. A clock that is nearly right, with one number missing or the hands at the wrong time, scores 0.
Add recall and clock for a total of 0 to 5. Under 3 is a positive screen; use under 4 when you want higher sensitivity.
Avoid: Calling a total of 3 to 5 normal cognition. It makes dementia less likely but doesn’t rule out milder impairment.
A positive screen shows impairment at the time of testing. A fuller assessment finds the cause and how far it has gone.
Avoid: Diagnosing dementia from the Mini-Cog alone.
Each one follows the recording template. Use them to judge how much to write.
Family practice, annual check-up, given by the medical assistant before the clinician came in
Word list version 1. Words recalled: 2 of 3 without cues. Clock: abnormal, 0; all 12 numbers there but bunched into the right half, and both hands drawn to the same number. Total 2. Cut point under 3: screen positive.
77-year-old woman, retired school secretary. Hearing aids in and working; reading glasses on. English first language, finished high school. Alert and settled, no signs of delirium; PHQ-2 1. No recent illness. Takes oxybutynin for an overactive bladder and diphenhydramine most nights for sleep. Mild arthritis in both hands, but she drew without trouble.
Her daughter, at the visit with her consent, has noticed her repeating questions and stories over the past year. Two utility bills went unpaid this fall, and last month she got lost driving to a store she has used for 20 years. She lives alone and fills a weekly pill box; her daughter has found missed doses. The patient says her memory is “not what it was” but feels she manages.
Positive screen, with a year of decline described by her daughter. Explained as a possible memory problem that needs a closer look. Bloodwork: blood count, kidney and liver tests, calcium, glucose, TSH, and vitamin B12. Diphenhydramine stopped, and oxybutynin switched to mirabegron, to cut the anticholinergic load. Longer visit in 2 weeks with her daughter for a MoCA and a fuller history; imaging decided then. Her daughter will drive her until that visit.
Pre-operative assessment clinic, 3 weeks before an elective hip replacement, given in Spanish by a bilingual nurse
Official Spanish form, word list version 1. Words recalled: 3 of 3 without cues. Clock: normal, 2. Total 5. Negative at both the under-3 and under-4 cut points.
69-year-old man, retired bus mechanic. No hearing problems; reading glasses worn for the clock. Spanish first language, 9 years of schooling. Alert, no signs of delirium; PHQ-2 0. Right hip pain 4 out of 10 on acetaminophen; no opioids or sleeping pills. Two beers on weekends. Right-handed, no tremor.
His wife, at the visit, has noticed no change in his memory. He handles the household bills, drives, and still fixes neighbors’ cars. No family history of dementia.
Negative screen, and no concerns from him or his wife. No further cognitive testing now. Result kept as a baseline before surgery, to compare against if he is confused afterwards. Usual delirium prevention after the operation: glasses with him, early walking, his wife visiting, and sedating medicines kept to a minimum. Repeat at his next annual check-up with a different word list.
A total of 0 to 2 shows impairment on the day, not its cause. Delirium, illness, and medicines can all lower it; a fuller assessment decides.
A 3 is negative at the usual cut point and positive at the higher-sensitivity one. Record the cut point, and follow up when anyone is worried.
A hint turns recall into recognition. Score only the words the person brings back without help.
The clock scores 2 or 0. A clock that is close, but with a missing number or the hands wrong, scores 0.
People can learn the words from the last test. Note the version, and change it each time.
Someone who didn’t hear the words or can’t see the page scores low for the wrong reason. Check aids, use a translation, and record what may have affected the score.
Vero Scribe records the Mini-Cog result in your template from the visit, with the patient’s consent, or from your dictation: the words recalled, the clock, the total, what may have affected the score, and the plan. You review and edit every line, then copy it into your record. Vero works in 60+ languages.
Give 1 point for each of the three words the person recalls without a cue, for 0 to 3. Give 2 points for a normal clock and 0 for an abnormal one, or one they can’t or won’t draw; there is no 1. Add them for a total of 0 to 5. The official form lists what counts as a normal clock.
A total of 0, 1, or 2 is a positive screen: the cut point of under 3, validated for dementia screening. A total of 3 to 5 makes dementia less likely. When higher sensitivity is wanted, the official form recommends a cut point of under 4, so a 3 also leads to further evaluation.
A 3 is negative at the usual cut point of under 3, and positive at the higher-sensitivity cut point of under 4. Many people with mild but meaningful impairment score 3 or more. If the patient, the family, or the clinician is concerned, go on to a fuller cognitive assessment.
The Mini-Cog takes about 3 minutes and scores 0 to 5. It’s a quick first screen. The MoCA, MMSE, and SLUMS each score 0 to 30, take about 7 to 10 minutes, and test more areas, such as attention, language, and orientation. The MoCA and SLUMS pick up mild cognitive impairment better than the Mini-Cog or MMSE. A positive Mini-Cog is often followed by one of them.
In a community sample of 1,119 older adults, it picked up 76% of people with dementia and correctly cleared 89% of those without it, about the same as the MMSE. In its first study, where about half the people didn’t speak English, it worked across languages and levels of schooling without changes, while the MMSE was thrown off by both. It misses more mild cognitive impairment than dementia.
Anyone on the care team, with brief training: medical assistants, nurses, social workers, physicians, and trained lay health workers. It needs no background in cognitive disorders. A clinician reads the result and plans what comes next.
Yes, for clinical and educational use. Download the standardized form, with its instructions and word lists, from mini-cog.com, along with translations in 27 languages. The form may not be changed, and commercial, marketing, or research use needs the author’s permission. The recording template on this page is free to copy or download.
Six self-report questions on the past six months: a positive adult ADHD screen at 4 or more of 6 shaded answers.
Eleven items on memory, attention, and executive function: a cognitive screen scored 0 to 30, with cutoffs set by schooling.
Memory, attention, language, visuospatial and executive skills, and orientation in about 10 minutes: scored 0 to 30, normal at 26 or more.
The yearly visit where a Mini-Cog often sits, from history to plan.
A common next test after a positive screen: getting the form and recording the score.
Common codes, including mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.
Complex visits, care plans, and caregiver guidance, drafted from the visit for your review.
Annual visits and follow-ups, from chart prep to the finished note.
Every tool, by area, with what its scores mean.
Vero records scores, findings, and plans in the templates you choose, so you review instead of type.
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