In Brazil, no instruments evaluating adolescents' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have been developed from the adolescents' point of view. The use of an instrument developed in another socio-cultural context requires prior cultural adaptation, including conceptual, item, and semantic equivalence in the process. Vécu et Santé Perçue de l'Adolescent (VSP-A) is a French generic instrument developed to evaluate adolescents' HRQoL. The objective of the study was to evaluate the semantic, item, and conceptual equivalence of a Brazilian Portuguese version of the VSP-A. VSP-A was translated into Portuguese, back-translated (with steps evaluated by experts), and pre-tested in a group of 14 adolescents. Discussion with experts resulted in a final version of the questionnaire, considered semantically and conceptually equivalent to the original, despite the need to modify some items to facilitate use. Pretest results showed that the instrument is easy for adolescents to understand and answer. For use in Brazil, its psychometric properties need to be evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]