Skip to main content Skip to main content
VitalDecades logo VitalDecades

Self-tests / PHQ-9

Depression test (PHQ-9)

The PHQ-9 is the nine-question depression screener used across primary care. It asks how often each problem has bothered you over the last two weeks and scores 0 to 27.

9 questions · about 2 minutes · answers are scored on this page and never stored

The questionnaire

Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?

  1. 01 Little interest or pleasure in doing things
  2. 02 Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
  3. 03 Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
  4. 04 Feeling tired or having little energy
  5. 05 Poor appetite or overeating
  6. 06 Feeling bad about yourself, or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down
  7. 07 Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television
  8. 08 Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed? Or the opposite, being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual
  9. 09 Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way

Scored on this page. Your answers are not stored, logged or shared.

About the PHQ-9

Severity bands are the validation study's: 0-4 minimal, 5-9 mild, 10-14 moderate, 15-19 moderately severe, 20-27 severe. A score of 10 or more is the common cutoff for a clinical evaluation. The instrument is reproduced as published and scored exactly as the validation study scores it. A screening questionnaire estimates symptom severity over the last two weeks; only a clinician can diagnose, and scores can be elevated by grief, medical illness or medications.

If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) any time.