Here are a few options that have been validated to use for remote testing:

Abbreviated Telephone Versions

1. MoCA without the visual elements, scored out of 22. Cut-off: N ≥ 19. You can download the Blind version of the MoCA from our website and administer it over the phone. Pendlebury et al. Stroke. 2013; 44:227-229

2. Mini/5min MoCA Hong Kong version. 30 points. Wong et al. Stroke. 2015; 46(4): 1059-1064.

3. Mini/5min MoCA, Montreal version. 15 points. Cut-off: N ≥ 11. Nasreddine et al. Validated but not yet published. Test and Instructions are now available on the website as well as the initial validation results comparing the 5 min version to the full version.

Full MoCA via Audio-Visual Conference

Full version can be administered via Skype, FaceTime, or Teleconference, or any locally approved platform.

To download the modified instructions and audiovisual stimuli files, please log in to your account, click MoCA TEST, choose PAPER.

On that page, select the version (MoCa Audiovisual) and language (MoCA Test Full – Telemed instructions), then choose one of the options listed below, then click on Download Test.

Here are some references validating the remote administration of the MoCA :

Comparing face-to-face and videoconference completion of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in community-based survivors of stroke.
Chapman JE, Cadilhac DA, Gardner B, Ponsford J, Bhalla R, Stolwyk RJ.
J Telemed Telecare. 2019 Dec 9:1357633X19890788.

A Validation Study of the Remotely Administered Montreal Cognitive Assessment Tool in the Elderly Japanese Population.
Iiboshi K, Yoshida K, Yamaoka Y, Eguchi Y, Sato D, Kishimoto M, Funaki K, Mimura M, Kishimoto T.
Telemed J E Health. 2019 Nov 19. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2019.0134.

A feasibility study of conducting the Montreal Cognitive Assessment remotely in individuals with movement disorders
A Abdolahi, MT Bull, KC Darwin… – Health informatics …, 2016 – journals.sagepub.com
Health Informatics J. 2016 Jun;22(2):304-11. doi: 10.1177/1460458214556373. Epub 2014 Nov 11.

The reliability of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment using telehealth in a rural setting with veterans
Nathaniel DeYoung, Brian V Shenal
First Published January 10, 2018

Gerontologist. 2017 Oct; 57(5): e85–e93.
Published online 2017 Feb 3.
Dementia Care Comes Home: Patient and Caregiver Assessment via Telemedicine
Allison Lindauer, et al

Any clinician, health professional, researcher or worker who has successfully completed the official MoCA training and certification module can administer and score MoCA. Only health professionals with expertise in the cognitive field should interpret the results. To ensure consistency and accuracy, training and certification has been mandatory since September 1st 2019. If you wish to continue using MoCA without being officially trained and certified, you will be at increased risk for administration, scoring and interpretation errors which could lead to misdiagnosis and liability MoCA users. A disclaimer must be signed by non-certified.

A Training & Certification program for the MoCA is available. It is essential to ensure standardization of the testing procedures, and has been mandatory since September 1, 2019.

Yes, for those with visual impairments we have created a paper test version called the MoCA-Blind. For those with other physical disabilities such as hemiplegia, test scoring can be applied and converted. More information is included in the Training and Certification program.

Yes, the MoCA app was released in May 2017. It is a replica of the paper version. The Visuospatial/ Executive portion of the test may be administered on the screen using an iPad compatible pen or on paper and integrated into the electronic pdf using the camera option. The MoCA app facilitates administration and scoring procedures, test comparison over time, and detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment as it calculates execution time. It is available on iPad and iOS 9.0 and above and available in English and 4 other languages with more to come. The cost for the MoCA app is of 20 USD per month per rater.

In order to discontinue your subscription:

1. Login to www.mocatest.org from your computer.
2. click MoCA TEST, choose APP
3. Click on the ’Subscription Details’ button,
4. At the bottom of that page, you can click on ‘DEACTIVATE PLAN’

   You will receive an email confirming that your plan has been deactivated.

Version 8.1 is the most updated version of the MoCA. It contains additional scoring precisions, instructions on how to calculate the Memory Index Score (MIS) (which is a subscore), and revised instruction verbatim for the verbal fluency and abstraction task. For more information on the MIS, please refer to the following article: MoCA-MIS-JAGS

The alternative/equivalent versions of the MoCA should be used to decrease possible learning effects when the MoCA is administered repetitively, for example, every 3 months or less.

The test retest performance is very good at even one month with no significant learning effect (please see the MoCA validation study in the References section of the MoCA website). The alternative/equivalent versions of the MoCA should be used to decrease possible learning effects when the MoCA is administered repetitively, for example, every 3 months or less.

The test may be scored on 25 and converted back to 30. Example: 22/25 converts back to 30 by performing the following equation: (22×30) ÷ 25. Total converted score is= 26.4 or 26/30 which is considered in the normal range. Please note that this conversion has not been validated.

Successful completion of the official MoCA training and certification module (taking approximately one hour) is required for all clinicians, researchers, health professionals, and workers administering MoCA for clinical or research purposes. Certain academic discounts apply. See Get Certified for more information
If you wish to continue using MoCA without being officially trained and certified, you will be at increased risk for administration, scoring and interpretation errors which could lead to misdiagnosis and liability. A disclaimer must be signed by non-certified MoCA users.

The training is based on MoCA Full version 8.1, but is required regardless of the version the examiner intends to use. The specific instructional PDF for each version must be followed for administration and scoring.

The paper test is available in nearly 100 languages. The app test is available in 5 languages with more coming every month.

Please see the Permissions page of the MoCA website. If permission is required for your use of the MoCA, simply scroll down to complete the Permission Form.

The MoCA has been validated for 55-85 year olds. For more information, please see the Normative Data section of the MoCA website.

You may refer to the MoCA Clinical Data section and References Studies section of the MoCA website.

The calculation must be performed mentally; therefore, the subject may not use his/her fingers nor a pencil and paper to execute the calculation task.

No, a circle must be drawn.

No, only two trials are permitted.

MoCA Full: If the subject has 12 years of education or fewer, a point is added to his/her total score. Note that this number of years does not refer to a particular education level, for example, it does not refer to individuals that have or have not completed high school. The number of years of education must actually be counted starting after kindergarten (kindergarten must not be included in the count). Please note that the maximum score is 30, therefore, if a subject scores 30/30, a point is not added if he/she has 12 years of education or less.

*Some versions of the MoCA do not require an education correction or require a different education correction. Please follow the scoring instructions detailed in the instructional PDF for the version you are using.

Only a health professional with expertise in the cognitive field may interpret the results.

With regards to the MoCA FULL, the following ranges may be used to grade severity: 18-25 = mild cognitive impairment, 10-17= moderate cognitive impairment, and less than 10= severe cognitive impairment.

The cut-off score of 18 is usually considered to separate MCI from AD but there is overlap in the scores since, by definition, AD is determined by the presence of cognitive impairment in addition to loss of autonomy. The average MoCA score for MCI is 22 (range 19-25) and the average MoCA score for Mild AD is 16 (11-21). For more information, please see the Normative Data section of the MoCA website.

In a Thai sample, the optimal cut-off score of <24/30 yielded 81% sensitivity and 86% specificity for MCI: MoCA-Basic-JAGS

This was done purposefully to reduce test sheet manipulation. The administrator can simply slide the test sheet across the table to the subject for him/her to perform this task.