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Screening check

PHQ-9 depression screening: your score and what it means

The PHQ-9 is the nine-question form many doctors use to screen for depression and measure how severe it is. Answer for the last two weeks. Your score is a starting point for a conversation with your doctor, not a diagnosis.

Last reviewed: By the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team Educational only, not medical advice.

Thinking about suicide or hurting yourself? Call or text 988 now.The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and open 24/7 (988 Lifeline). If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

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

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1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things?
2. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?
3. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much?
4. Feeling tired or having little energy?
5. Poor appetite or overeating?
6. Feeling bad about yourself—or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down?
7. Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television?
8. 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. Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way?
Your result appears here

What you will see

Your PHQ-9 score out of 27 and its severity range.

Educational only, not medical advice. A screening score, not a diagnosis.

Source

Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), developed by Drs. Robert L. Spitzer, Janet B.W. Williams, Kurt Kroenke and colleagues with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. No permission is required to reproduce it. Validated by Kroenke, Spitzer and Williams, Journal of General Internal Medicine 2001.

Validated in

Validated in 6,000 patients in 8 primary care and 7 obstetrics-gynecology clinics in the US (Kroenke 2001).

Limits

Screens and measures severity; it does not diagnose depression, which needs a clinician's interview. It cannot judge the risk of self-harm. The score only reflects the last two weeks and the answers you enter.

How the PHQ-9 is scored

Each answer scores 0 for "not at all", 1 for "several days", 2 for "more than half the days" and 3 for "nearly every day". The nine scores are added for a total from 0 to 27 (Kroenke 2001).

ScoreSeverity
0 to 4Below the mild range
5 to 9Mild
10 to 14Moderate
15 to 19Moderately severe
20 to 27Severe

Scores of 5, 10, 15 and 20 mark mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression (Kroenke 2001). In the original study, a score of 10 or more found 88% of people with major depression, and 88% of people without it scored below 10 (Kroenke 2001).

The PHQ instructions call a score of 10 or more a "yellow flag", drawing attention to a possible clinically significant condition, and 15 or more a "red flag", where active treatment is probably warranted (PHQ instructions).

Question 9 matters on its own

Question 9 asks about thoughts of being better off dead or of hurting yourself. Any answer other than "not at all" needs attention, whatever the total score. The PHQ instructions say a final decision about the actual risk of self-harm needs a clinical interview (PHQ instructions). If that is you, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free and confidential, any time (988 Lifeline), or call 911 if you are in immediate danger.

Who should be screened

The USPSTF recommends screening all adults for depression, including pregnant and postpartum people and adults 65 and older (grade B) (USPSTF 2023). It found the evidence insufficient to judge screening everyone for suicide risk (USPSTF 2023), which is why a "yes" on question 9 is a reason to talk to someone now rather than a score to file away.

Common questions

What is a normal PHQ-9 score?

There is no "normal", but scores under 5 are below the mild range (Kroenke 2001).

Can the PHQ-9 diagnose depression?

No. It screens for depression and measures how severe symptoms are. A diagnosis needs a clinician, who also checks for other causes such as a physical illness or medicine (PHQ instructions).

Can I use the PHQ-9 to track how I am doing?

Yes. The PHQ-9 is widely used as a severity and outcome measure, and its sensitivity to change has been confirmed (PHQ instructions). Taking it again later and sharing the scores with your doctor can show whether things are improving.

Also see the depression risk in pregnancy check, the teen depression screening check, the anxiety screening (GAD-7), the alcohol screening (AUDIT-C), the screening tests by age and the sleep apnea risk check.

Sources

  1. Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16(9):606-613. doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x
  2. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) Screeners. Instruction Manual: Instructions for Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and GAD-7 Measures. Developed by Spitzer RL, Williams JBW, Kroenke K and colleagues with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. www.phqscreeners.com/
  3. US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Depression and Suicide Risk in Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2023;329(23):2057. www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/screening-depression-suicide-risk-adults
  4. 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call, text or chat 988; available 24/7, free and confidential. 988lifeline.org/

Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-10-30. Spotted an error? See About.