Following the publication of the DSM-5, the CAPS was revised so that its item content accurately reflected the changes to the PTSD diagnostic criteria. In this revision, the authors also sought to streamline administration and scoring, thereby making the CAPS-5 more efficient and easier to learn than earlier versions. The revised CAPS, known as the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), retains many of the distinctive features of the prior version of the CAPS. Specifically, the CAPS-5:

• Takes both the frequency and intensity of each of the DSM-specified PTSD symptoms into consideration for making severity ratings
• Provides both PTSD diagnosis (present/absent) and symptom severity information
• Assesses for Criterion A in concert with a revised version of the LEC, the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5)
• Includes prompts to assess whether the symptom is trauma-related
• Provides standardized prompts for assessing each symptom

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