Background The study assessed the criterion validity of the 15‐item version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES‐D‐15) as a screening instrument in paediatric care. Method A total of 327 patients (13–16 years) completed the CES‐D‐15 and a diagnostic interview serving as gold standard diagnosis for validation. Results Receiver operating characteristics yielded an overall accuracy of area under the curve (AUC) = .90 (95% CI [.85, .95]) for the detection of any depressive disorder. At the optimal cut‐off point of 14, sensitivity (.85) and specificity (.84) were good. Conclusions The CES‐D‐15 is a promising tool for paediatricians to enhance the recognition rate of juvenile depression.