What the PHQ-9 Is
The PHQ-9 is a nine-question test for depression. It takes about three minutes, it is scored out of 27, and it is one of the most widely used depression measures in general medicine.
Its nine items are the nine diagnostic criteria for major depression, turned into plain questions. That is what makes it unusual: it does not just estimate severity, it maps onto the definition itself.
It was validated in 2001 by Drs. Kurt Kroenke, Robert Spitzer and Janet Williams across 6,000 patients. In 2010 Pfizer, which funded the original work, released it without copyright restriction and at no charge, which is why you can take it here in full, for free, with nothing stored.
It screens. It does not diagnose.
Take the PHQ-9
Answer for the last two weeks. Everything stays in your browser.
PHQ-9 — score it yourself
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?
Nothing you enter here is saved, sent anywhere, or seen by us. It stays in your browser and disappears when you close the page.
0 of 9 answered
Please read this before you finish
You have answered that thoughts of harming yourself have been present. That answer matters more than your total score, and it deserves a response today — not at your next appointment.
Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and 24 hours a day. Or call Postpartum Support International on 1-800-944-4773, or text "Help" to 800-944-4773.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or go to an emergency room. You are not in trouble, and you will not lose your baby for saying this out loud.
- Take the number to a clinician — your ob-gyn, midwife, primary care doctor or your baby’s pediatrician are all legitimate doors.
- Say what the questionnaire did not ask about, if that is the real problem.
- Screening is not diagnosis. A score starts an appointment; it does not end one.
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 required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute. Validated in Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16(9):606–13.
How the PHQ-9 Is Scored
Each question is worth 0 to 3 points, giving a total from 0 to 27. Nothing is reverse scored.
| Score | Severity | What usually happens next |
| 0–4 | Minimal | No action indicated by this measure alone |
| 5–9 | Mild | Watchful waiting; repeat at follow-up |
| 10–14 | Moderate | Treatment plan; therapy, medication or both |
| 15–19 | Moderately severe | Active treatment |
| 20–27 | Severe | Prompt treatment; specialist referral often indicated |
10 is the working threshold. In the validation study, a score of 10 or higher had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 88% for major depression, measured against an independent mental health professional’s interview. According to PubMed, that is from Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JBW, J Gen Intern Med 2001;16(9):606–13, DOI 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.
Those are unusually balanced numbers. Most screening tools trade one for the other; the PHQ-9 at a cut-off of 10 does not.
Question 9 Is Not Like the Other Eight
The ninth question asks about thoughts of being better off dead or of hurting yourself. It is worth the same points as the others and it is not treated the same way.
Any answer above “not at all” deserves a response today, whatever the total is. A person can score 6 — comfortably in the minimal range — and have answered that question in a way that matters more than the other eight put together.
If you have answered it honestly and nothing happened, that is a failure of the system rather than a sign your answer was unimportant. Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or go to an emergency room.
The PHQ-9 After a Baby — Read This Before You Trust Your Score
Here is the problem nobody flags, and it cuts both ways.
Four of the nine questions ask about sleep, energy, appetite and slowed movement. Those four describe ordinary life with a newborn. A mother who is not depressed at all can answer “nearly every day” to broken sleep and low energy and collect 6 points before the questionnaire has asked a single question about her mood.
That matters in two directions:
- A moderate total can overstate things. If most of your score came from items 3, 4, 5 and 8, say so. The number is real but it is describing your circumstances as much as your mood.
- A low total is genuinely reassuring. If you scored low despite those four items being stacked against you, that is stronger evidence than the same score in someone sleeping normally.
This is exactly why the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale exists. The EPDS deliberately leaves the physical symptoms out, which is why it is the usual choice in pregnancy and after birth.
One point in the PHQ-9’s favor, though, which is rarely mentioned: its validation study ran across eight primary care clinics and seven obstetrics-gynecology clinics, and the authors reported that results were similar in both. It was not built for new mothers, but it was tested on them.
What the PHQ-9 Does Not Ask About
- Anxiety. Not one of the nine items asks about worry or fear. For that, take the GAD-7.
- Anger. Irritability is a recognized feature of depression and does not appear on this form at all.
- Intrusive thoughts. Question 9 asks about harming yourself. It does not ask about unwanted images of harm coming to your baby, which are a different thing entirely and are not dangerous in the way people fear.
- Birth trauma. Not covered.
- Postpartum psychosis. Not covered, and not findable by self-report.
PHQ-9, PHQ-2 and the Other Screeners
| Tool | Measures | Items | Asks about physical symptoms |
| PHQ-9 | Depression severity | 9 | Yes — sleep, energy, appetite |
| PHQ-2 | Depression, ultra-brief | First 2 PHQ-9 items | No |
| EPDS | Perinatal depression | 10 | Mostly not |
| GAD-7 | Generalized anxiety | 7 | No |
The PHQ-2 is the first two questions used as a fast filter; a score of 3 or more is the usual trigger to complete the full nine.
What to Do With Your Score
- Take the number to a person. Your ob-gyn, midwife, primary care doctor or your baby’s pediatrician are all legitimate doors.
- Say where the score came from. Whether it was the mood items or the physical ones changes what a clinician does next.
- Find a therapist who treats postpartum depression.
- Read about treatment — therapy, medication including zuranolone, and what combination tends to work.
- If you want to talk to someone tonight, Postpartum Support International runs a free HelpLine at 1-800-944-4773, or text “Help” to 800-944-4773 in English, 971-203-7773 in Spanish.
- In a crisis, call or text 988.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a normal PHQ-9 score?
Below 5 is treated as minimal. In the postpartum period, read a score of 5 to 9 carefully — check how much of it came from the sleep, energy and appetite questions before drawing a conclusion.
Is a PHQ-9 score of 10 bad?
It is the threshold clinicians act on. At 10 or above the test is right about 88% of the time in both directions. It means an assessment is warranted, not that the matter is settled.
Should I take the PHQ-9 or the EPDS after having a baby?
The EPDS is the better fit, because it leaves out the physical symptoms that newborn life produces anyway. But the EPDS cannot be offered as an interactive test here for copyright reasons, and the PHQ-9 can — so if you want a score right now, this is the one you can actually take. Bring either to your appointment.
Is the PHQ-9 free to use?
Yes. Pfizer released it in July 2010 without copyright restriction and at no charge, and the form carries the line “No permission required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute.”
Does this website store my answers?
No. The tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is transmitted, nothing is saved, and closing the page erases it.
Can a partner or father take it?
Yes. The PHQ-9 was validated on adults generally, so it applies as well to fathers and non-birthing partners as to anyone else. Postpartum depression in men is real and common, affecting about 1 in 10 new fathers.
