PHQ‑9: Patient Health Questionnaire‑9
The PHQ‑9 assessment is a clinically validated tool for assessing depression severity. Answer nine questions to get an instant score and guidance about what it means.
PHQ-9 Questionnaire Explained: A Depression Screening Tool
The Patient Health Questionnaire‑9 (PHQ‑9) is a brief, self‑administered questionnaire used worldwide to assess the presence and severity of depressive symptoms. Each of its nine items corresponds to diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder in the DSM‑5. Because it is concise and easy to score, the PHQ‑9 is widely adopted in primary care, mental health clinics and research studies.
DSM-5 Alignment: The PHQ-9 directly maps to DSM-5 criteria for major depressive disorder. Each question assesses one of the nine diagnostic symptoms: depressed mood, anhedonia (loss of interest/pleasure), sleep disturbance, fatigue, appetite changes, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, concentration difficulties, psychomotor changes and suicidal ideation. This alignment makes the PHQ-9 both a screening tool and a severity measure that can track symptom changes during treatment.
Evidence & validation: Research involving thousands of patients has shown that the PHQ‑9 is both reliable and valid. A score of 10 or greater has been found to have 88% sensitivity and 88% specificity for major depression. The tool's cut‑off scores (5, 10, 15 and 20) correspond to mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression.
Why use it? Depression affects millions of people around the globe, yet many go undiagnosed. The PHQ‑9 empowers you to reflect on your mental health and quantify your symptoms. Regular use can help you notice changes over time and facilitate discussions with healthcare professionals.
Alternatives: For rapid initial screening, healthcare providers sometimes use the PHQ‑2, which consists of the first two questions of the PHQ‑9. A positive PHQ‑2 should be followed by the full PHQ‑9. There are also other instruments such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, but these often require administration by a clinician.
Important disclaimer: The PHQ‑9 is a screening tool. It cannot diagnose depression. If your responses indicate moderate or severe symptoms or you have any thoughts of self‑harm, seek professional help immediately. In the U.S., you can call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Reference: View the original PHQ-9 questionnaire (PDF) from the American Psychological Association.
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This assessment takes about 2-3 min to complete. Your responses are private, never stored, and you can instantly download your results as a PDF.
How to Take the PHQ-9 Depression Test Online
Answer Questions
Complete the assessment honestly based on how you've been feeling
Get Your Score
Instant calculation using clinically validated scoring methods
Download PDF
Save or share your detailed results with your provider
You'll answer nine questions about how often you've experienced certain symptoms during the past two weeks. Each response is scored from 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day). After completing the questionnaire, your responses are summed to produce a total score between 0 and 27. The higher the score, the more severe your depressive symptoms are likely to be.
The PHQ‑9 covers core symptoms such as low mood, loss of interest, sleep and appetite changes, fatigue, concentration problems, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, psychomotor changes and suicidal thoughts. Completing the questionnaire typically takes just a couple of minutes.
PHQ-9 Scoring Guidelines and Clinical Interpretation
0–4 (Minimal): You may have little to no depressive symptoms. Continue monitoring your mental health, and consider using the PHQ‑9 periodically.
5–9 (Mild): Mild symptoms that may be situational. Self‑care strategies, lifestyle changes, or brief counseling may be helpful. Reassess in two weeks.
10–14 (Moderate): Symptoms are likely interfering with your daily life. A comprehensive assessment by a healthcare provider is recommended to discuss treatment options.
15–19 (Moderately Severe): Significant symptoms requiring active treatment. This often involves psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both. Close follow‑up is essential.
20–27 (Severe): Very severe symptoms or functional impairment. Immediate treatment is necessary. Seek prompt evaluation by a mental health professional, and if you have thoughts of self‑harm, contact emergency services right away.
Using your results: Print or download your score to share with your doctor. Keep a record if you're monitoring treatment progress. Remember that the PHQ‑9 is a guide—not a diagnosis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the PHQ‑9 assessment.
- The PHQ‑9 has high sensitivity and specificity for major depression when using a cut‑off score of 10 or higher. However, it cannot capture all aspects of depression, and a clinician will consider many factors—including duration of symptoms, functional impairment and medical history—before making a diagnosis.
- Yes. Many therapists and clinicians use the PHQ-9 at intake and throughout treatment to monitor changes in symptom severity. Regular administration (typically every 2-4 weeks) helps track treatment effectiveness, guide clinical decisions, and provide objective measures of patient progress.
- Yes. Clinicians often administer the PHQ‑9 at regular intervals (e.g., every two weeks) to monitor changes in symptom severity and assess whether a treatment plan is effective.
- The standard PHQ‑9 is designed for adults. There is an adolescent version (PHQ‑A) with language adapted for teens. If you’re concerned about a young person, consult a healthcare provider who can recommend an appropriate screening tool.
- A moderate score (10–14) suggests that depressive symptoms are likely interfering with your daily activities and warrant professional assessment. A severe score (20–27) indicates pronounced symptoms and functional impairment. In both cases, talking to a healthcare provider is crucial.
- Yes. After completing the assessment, you can download your results as a professional PDF report that includes your score, severity level, clinical interpretation, and detailed responses. This PDF includes the CoralEHR logo and can be shared with your healthcare provider or kept for your records.
- Yes. All assessment data is processed entirely in your browser - nothing is sent to or stored on our servers. Your responses remain completely private and are never transmitted or saved anywhere. This client-side processing ensures full privacy and HIPAA compliance for clinical use.
- No. The PHQ‑9 on this site is processed entirely in your browser. We do not collect or store your answers. Your privacy is fully protected.
- For ongoing monitoring, taking the PHQ‑9 every two weeks can reveal trends in your symptoms. Avoid taking it more frequently, as the questionnaire asks about a two‑week timeframe.
- Use the PHQ-2 (2 questions, <1 minute) for rapid initial screening in time-limited settings like annual physicals, emergency departments or population health surveys. If the PHQ-2 is positive (score ≥3), follow up with the full PHQ-9. Use the PHQ-9 (9 questions, 2-3 minutes) when you need detailed severity assessment, are monitoring treatment response, or when a patient has already indicated depressive symptoms. The PHQ-9 provides richer clinical information including specific symptom domains (sleep, appetite, concentration) and suicidal ideation, making it more useful for treatment planning. Many clinicians use [PHQ-2](/assessments/phq-2) for screening and PHQ-9 for diagnosis confirmation and ongoing monitoring. If anxiety is also a concern, pair the PHQ-9 with the [GAD-7](/assessments/gad-7) to assess for comorbid conditions.
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