Answer nine questions about the past two weeks. The calculator adds your score, shows the severity band it falls in, and explains what that means. About three minutes, free and anonymous.
The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is the most widely used depression screening tool in the world. It is nine questions long, takes about three minutes, and is used routinely in primary care, psychiatry, and research. It was developed by Spitzer, Kroenke, and Williams, and it is in the public domain, which is a large part of why it became the standard.
Its nine items are not arbitrary. They map directly onto the nine diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode: low mood, loss of interest, sleep disturbance, fatigue, appetite change, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, concentration problems, psychomotor change, and thoughts of being dead or of hurting yourself. Each is rated from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day) for the past two weeks.
That one-to-one mapping is what makes the PHQ-9 useful as more than a number. A total of 14 built mostly from sleep, appetite, and fatigue describes a different clinical picture than a 14 built from worthlessness and loss of interest, even though the score is identical.
Add the nine item ratings. The total runs from 0 to 27. The standard severity bands:
Two further scoring notes matter in practice. First, question 9 — thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself — is treated as significant at any score above zero, independent of the total. Second, a change of 5 points or more is the usual definition of a clinically meaningful response, and a score below 5 is the usual definition of remission. That is why clinicians repeat the questionnaire rather than administering it once.
The PHQ-9 measures the intensity of depressive symptoms. It does not identify their cause, and several conditions produce an elevated score without major depression being the right answer.
Sorting this out is what a psychiatric evaluation is for. A score is a starting point for that conversation, and a good one — it gives the visit a measurable baseline.
For a fuller walkthrough of each band and how the score is used in ongoing care, see PHQ-9 explained.
A score of 10 or above, or any positive answer to question 9, is worth a referral to a mental health specialist or a conversation with your primary care clinician. Depression is among the most treatable conditions in medicine; the difficulty is almost always access rather than the treatment itself.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room. Do not wait for an appointment.
The results screen includes a print option — printing to PDF gives you a copy to bring to a first appointment or to compare against a later score. Nothing you enter is transmitted to us or stored on a server; the calculator runs entirely in your browser.
Depression and anxiety travel together often enough that most clinicians administer both questionnaires. If medication is part of the plan, how long an SSRI takes to work is the question patients ask next.
Scores run 0–27. A score of 10 or above is the usual threshold for probable major depressive disorder; 15–19 is moderately severe and 20 or above is severe.
Each of the nine items is rated 0–3 for how often the symptom bothered you over the past two weeks, and the ratings are added for a total out of 27. This calculator adds them for you and shows the matching severity band.
No. It is a screening tool. A diagnosis requires clinical assessment covering duration, functional impairment, and exclusion of medical causes, substances, bipolar disorder, and grief.
It asks about thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way. Any answer above zero is treated seriously in clinical practice and prompts a direct safety conversation, regardless of the total. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
A reduction of 5 points or more is generally considered a clinically significant response, and a score below 5 is the usual definition of remission. Repeating the questionnaire every few weeks is the basis of measurement-based care.
Yes. Free, no account, and it runs entirely in your browser — your answers are never sent to us or stored anywhere. The PHQ-9 itself is in the public domain.