What is a normal Glasgow Coma Scale score?

A fully alert person scores the maximum 15 — Eye 4, Verbal 5, Motor 6. Any total below 15 means some impairment of consciousness. 15 is normal; 13–14 is a mild reduction that still warrants observation after a head injury.

What GCS score indicates a coma?

Coma is conventionally defined as GCS 8 or below — the patient does not open eyes, obey commands, or speak understandably. GCS ≤ 8 is also the usual threshold for considering airway protection. Severe head injury is classified as GCS 3–8.

How do you calculate the Glasgow Coma Scale?

Score the best observed response in three components — Eye opening (1–4), Verbal (1–5) and Motor (1–6) — then add them. The total ranges from 3 to 15. Report it in full E/V/M notation, for example E3 V4 M6 = GCS 13.

What is the lowest possible GCS score?

The lowest possible total is 3, not 0 — each of the three components has a minimum of 1 (no response), so the arithmetic floor is 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. A score of 3 reflects deep unconsciousness with no eye, verbal or motor response.

At what GCS is a patient intubated?

GCS 8 or below is the widely taught threshold for considering definitive airway protection, because the airway may not be self-protected. It is a prompt to assess, not an automatic rule — the decision rests on clinical judgement, trend and the whole picture.

Why does the calculator refuse to total a 'not testable' component?

If a component cannot be assessed — eyes swollen shut, a patient intubated, a limb paralysed — the standardised GCS records it as NT (not testable) and never scores it as 1. Summing NT as 1 would understate consciousness, so a numeric total is suppressed and the components are reported individually, e.g. E4 V-NT M5.

What do 'to sound' and 'to pressure' mean?

They are the 2014 standardised wording from the Glasgow Coma Scale team. 'To sound' replaced 'to speech' for eye opening (Eye 3), and 'to pressure' replaced 'to pain' (Eye 2, and stimulus for motor testing). The scores are unchanged; the wording is clearer and more reproducible.

Does this tool include the GCS-Pupils (GCS-P) score or the paediatric scale?

No. This version calculates the classic 15-point adult scale only. The GCS-Pupils extension (subtracting 0–2 for pupil reactivity) and the paediatric GCS with modified verbal criteria for infants use different rules and are out of scope for now.

Health · Neurology

Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) Calculator

Score a patient's level of consciousness from Eye, Verbal and Motor responses. You get the total GCS out of 15, the standard E/V/M notation, the mild / moderate / severe band, and a GCS ≤ 8 airway flag — free, no signup, sources cited below.

By Induwara Ashinsana— Executive Director, Ryzera TechnologiesUpdated Jul 10, 2026

Glasgow Coma Scale/ 15

Cross-checked

Eye opening(E)

Eyes open without any stimulus.

Verbal response(V)

Knows name, place and date; converses normally.

Motor response(M)

Follows a two-part command.

Scenarios

Total GCS

15/15

E4 V5 M6

Severity band

Mild

Range 13–15

Interpretation

Mild impairment of consciousness.

Response reference

Score	Response	Description
Eye opening (E)
E4	Spontaneous	Eyes open without any stimulus.
E3	To sound	Eyes open in response to voice or a sound.
E2	To pressure	Eyes open in response to a pressure stimulus.
E1	None	No eye opening to any stimulus.
E-NT	Not testable	Eyes cannot be assessed (e.g. swollen shut, dressing).
Verbal response (V)
V5	Oriented	Knows name, place and date; converses normally.
V4	Confused	Converses but is disoriented or confused.
V3	Words	Speaks intelligible single words, not sentences.
V2	Sounds	Makes only moans or groans, no words.
V1	None	No verbal response of any kind.
V-NT	Not testable	Cannot be assessed (e.g. intubated, dysphasic).
Motor response (M)
M6	Obeys commands	Follows a two-part command.
M5	Localising	Purposeful movement toward a pressure stimulus.
M4	Normal flexion	Withdraws / bends arm away from a stimulus.
M3	Abnormal flexion	Decorticate posturing — slow, stereotyped flexion.
M2	Extension	Decerebrate posturing — arm extends to a stimulus.
M1	None	No motor response of any kind.
M-NT	Not testable	Cannot be assessed (e.g. paralysed, sedated).

Response wording follows the standardised Glasgow Coma Scale (glasgowcomascale.org); severity bands follow ATLS head-injury classification. Educational reference only — not a substitute for clinical assessment.

Educational reference only. This calculator reports the published Glasgow Coma Scale score and its standard classification. It is not a substitute for clinical judgement, diagnosis or treatment, and must not be used as the sole basis for any medical decision.

How it works

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was published by Graham Teasdale and Bryan Jennett in The Lancet in 1974 to give a reproducible, communicable measure of impaired consciousness. It scores the best observed response in three independent components and adds them:

Eye opening (E) — spontaneous (4), to sound (3), to pressure (2), none (1).
Verbal response (V) — oriented (5), confused (4), words (3), sounds (2), none (1).
Motor response (M) — obeys commands (6), localising (5), normal flexion (4), abnormal flexion (3), extension (2), none (1).

The total is simply GCS = E + V + M, ranging from 3 (every component at its minimum — the scale has no zero) to 15 (fully alert). It is always reported alongside the component breakdown, for example E3 V4 M6 = GCS 13, because the same total can arise from different patterns and the parts carry clinical meaning.

Severity is classified using the standard head-injury bands taught in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS):

3–8: Severe
9–12: Moderate
13–15: Mild

A total of 8 or below is the conventional threshold for considering definitive airway protection, since the airway may not be self-protected at that level of consciousness. The tool flags this but does not make treatment decisions.

The one subtlety this calculator gets right is the not-testable (NT) component. Following the standardised GCS guidance, if a component genuinely cannot be assessed — eyes swollen shut, an intubated patient with no verbal channel, a paralysed limb — it is recorded as NT and never scored as 1. Defaulting NT to 1 is a known clinical error that would understate consciousness (for instance turning a true E4/M5 picture into a misleading 10/Moderate), so when any component is NT the tool suppresses the numeric total and reports the components on their own, e.g. E4 V-NT M5.

Worked examples

Head-injury triage — mild

E3 V4 M6 = GCS 13 / 15

Eyes open to speech → E = 3
Confused conversation → V = 4
Obeys commands → M = 6
Total: 3 + 4 + 6 = 13
Band: 13–15 → Mild. No airway flag (13 > 8).

Deteriorated patient — severe

E1 V2 M3 = GCS 6 / 15

No eye opening → E = 1
Incomprehensible sounds → V = 2
Abnormal flexion (decorticate) → M = 3
Total: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6
Band: 3–8 → Severe. Airway alert shown (6 ≤ 8).

Not-testable edge case — no numeric total

E4 V-NT M5

Eyes open spontaneously → E = 4
Patient intubated, verbal not testable → V = NT
Localising to pressure → M = 5
V is NT, so no numeric total is computed.
Reported as E4 V-NT M5; the severity band is suppressed.
Never summed as 10/Moderate — that would be a clinical error.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

The response wording and severity bands on this page were last cross-checked against these sources on 2026-07-10. This tool is for education and reference only; it does not provide medical advice and does not replace assessment by a qualified clinician.

Related tools

LiveHealth

NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS)

Score the 15 standardised NIH Stroke Scale items to get the total (0–42), the severity band (no-stroke, minor, moderate, moderate-to-severe, severe), an auditable per-item breakdown and a copy-ready summary line. Correct untestable (UN) handling, sources cited.

Open tool

LiveHealth

APGAR Score

Score a newborn's condition with the five APGAR signs — Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration — each 0–2, for the 1- and 5-minute totals. Get the condition band, a per-sign breakdown, and guidance on continued scoring. Free, runs entirely in your browser.

Open tool

LiveHealth

NEWS2 Score Calculator

Calculate the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) from seven bedside vitals — respiration, SpO₂, air/oxygen, systolic BP, pulse, consciousness and temperature. Get the aggregate score, red-score flag, clinical-risk band and RCP monitoring response. Free, no signup, RCP source cited.

Open tool

Rate this tool

Be the first to rate

Comments & feedback

Spotted a bug or want an improvement? Tell us — our team reviews every comment, and good ideas get built. Comments are public and anonymous.

Found a bug, edge case, or want to suggest an improvement?

Email me at [email protected] — most fixes ship within 24 hours.