Depression test (PHQ-9)
This is a screening check-in, not a diagnosis. A doctor can tell you what the score means for you.
9 questions about the last 2 weeks, about 2 minutes. Your answers stay in your browser.
- Questions
- Result
Question 1 of 9
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?
The five bands, and what clinicians do with each
Nine answers, each scored from 0 to 3, give a total between 0 and 27.1 The authors split that range into five bands, and their guide for clinicians suggests a next step for each one:2
| Score | Band | What the authors' guide for clinicians proposes |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 4 | None-minimal | None |
| 5 to 9 | Mild | Watch how things go, and repeat the PHQ-9 at a follow-up |
| 10 to 14 | Moderate | A treatment plan, such as counseling, follow-up or medicine |
| 15 to 19 | Moderately severe | Active treatment with medicine, therapy or both |
| 20 to 27 | Severe | Start treatment right away, and a quick referral to a specialist if problems are severe or treatment isn't helping |
The authors call 10 or more a "yellow flag" and 15 or more a "red flag".2
Against an interview with a mental health professional, which 580 patients in the authors' study also had, a score of 10 or more caught 88% of people with major depression and correctly cleared 88% of people without it.1
The total is a starting point for a conversation with a clinician. It can't tell why you've felt this way, and a clinician also asks about other causes, such as an illness, a medicine or a recent loss.2 A low score doesn't settle anything either. If you're worried about how you've been, see a doctor whatever your number.
Your result opens with the questions you marked "Not at all". Those answers are part of the picture a doctor will look at.
About question 9
The last question asks about "thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way". If you answer anything other than "Not at all", the check-in pauses and shows ways to reach someone right away. In the US, you can call or text 988. For other countries, see crisis resources. You can still finish the check-in after that.
The PHQ-9's own manual says that a final decision about the risk of self-harm needs a clinical interview.2 Please tell your doctor about this answer, even if the thoughts come and go.
What to say at the appointment
A primary care visit is a fine place to start. Bring the printed summary from the end of the check-in, or a screenshot, and one plain sentence does the job: "I took the PHQ-9 and scored 12. Can we talk about it?"
If you feel unsafe, call or text 988 at any time.
How the nine questions were built
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 is the depression module of the longer Patient Health Questionnaire. Drs. Robert Spitzer, Janet Williams and Kurt Kroenke created it with colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer.3 Each of its nine questions scores one of the nine DSM-IV criteria for major depression.1
Its validation in 2001 drew on 6,000 patients in 8 primary care clinics and 7 obstetrics and gynecology clinics.1 Doctors use it to screen and also to follow someone over time, because the total moves as symptoms change.2
We compared this version with the publisher's English PHQ-9 form on October 29, 2026, question by question: the wording, the answer options, the 2-week time frame and the scoring all match. Only the paper form's instruction to tick a box is gone. The form ends with one more question, about how hard these problems make work, home and getting along with people. It doesn't count toward the score, so the tool asks it only once you've marked at least one problem.2
As for permission, the publisher's screener site grants it to everyone: "All PHQ, GAD-7 screeners and translations are downloadable from this website and no permission is required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute them."3
The PHQ-9 was studied in adults. Teenagers have their own version, the PHQ-A.2
The questions and your total live in your browser and stay there. No answer is stored, and none goes to us or anyone else. There's no ad tag on this page. Vercel Web Analytics tallies visits to the site; what you answer never reaches it.
Look at the questions you marked "Not at all". What has been helping with those, even a little?
Answer this with JoyQuestions people ask
What are the signs that I'm depressed?
The nine PHQ-9 questions follow the nine DSM-IV criteria for major depression.1 They cover little interest or pleasure, feeling down, sleep, tiredness, appetite, feeling bad about yourself, concentration, moving slowly or restlessly, and thoughts of death or self-harm. Only a clinician can tell you whether yours add up to depression.
Am I depressed or just sad?
Everyone feels sad or low sometimes, and those feelings usually pass.4 The PHQ-9 asks how often each problem bothered you over 2 weeks, because depression is about a pattern that lasts. If the low feeling has gone on for weeks, or it gets in the way of work, home or people, talk to a doctor.
How accurate is the PHQ-9?
Good, for a screener, and still imperfect. Against the interview, the line at 10 missed some people who had major depression and flagged some who didn't,1 which is why a high score leads to a conversation and a low one shouldn't stop you from having it.
Can I take it again?
Yes. Clinicians often repeat the PHQ-9 over weeks to see how symptoms change.2 Each result is gone once you leave the page, so keep a printout or a screenshot of every one you want to line up later.
Is this the same test doctors use?
It's the same nine questions and the same scoring as the published form that clinics use. A doctor can also talk with you about what the answers mean.
Related
- Anxiety test (GAD-7): the sister scale from the same authors.
- Postpartum depression test: for pregnancy and the year after birth.
- Understanding depression.