Your GAD-7 score, from 0 to 21, reflects how often seven anxiety symptoms bothered you over the past two weeks. Scores of 0 to 4 are minimal, 5 to 9 mild, 10 to 14 moderate and 15 to 21 severe. A score of 10 or more is a good reason to talk with a doctor. The score can flag anxiety, but it cannot diagnose it.
The quick answer
Each of the seven questions scores 0 to 3, and Survey Doctor adds them up. The original primary care study proposed the 5, 10 and 15 boundaries used below.
| Score | Band | What the band describes | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | Minimal anxiety | Little or no anxiety in the past two weeks | Keep any care you have, and speak up if you feel unwell |
| 5-9 | Mild anxiety | Several symptoms on some days, or a few more often | Notice whether it lasts, and take the GAD-7 again later |
| 10-14 | Moderate anxiety | At least two symptoms on more than half the days | Talk with a doctor or therapist |
| 15-21 | Severe anxiety | Most symptoms on more than half the days, at least one nearly every day | Book an appointment with a doctor soon |
Find your exact score
Every question has the same four answers. "Not at all" scores 0, "several days" 1, "more than half the days" 2 and "nearly every day" 3. Three totals make useful landmarks. Answering "several days" to all seven questions gives 7. Answering "more than half the days" to all seven gives 14, and "nearly every day" to all seven gives 21.
| Score | Band | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Minimal | You answered "not at all" to every question |
| 1-2 | Minimal | One or two symptoms on several days, or one on more than half the days |
| 3-4 | Minimal | A few symptoms on some days, or one or two more often |
| 5-6 | Mild | The start of the mild band, such as five or six symptoms on several days |
| 7 | Mild | The same total as every symptom on several days |
| 8-9 | Mild | The top of the mild band. At least one symptom came on more than half the days |
| 10-11 | Moderate | Starts at the usual screening cutoff. At least two symptoms came on more than half the days |
| 12-14 | Moderate | At least three symptoms came on more than half the days |
| 15-17 | Severe | At least one symptom nearly every day, and at least four on more than half the days |
| 18-20 | Severe | At least four symptoms nearly every day |
| 21 | Severe | The highest score: every symptom nearly every day |
Scores next to each other can differ by one step on a single answer. That one step can move a total from 9 to 10, or from 14 to 15. The band label changes, but your experience over those two weeks may be almost the same. Read your answers as well as the total.
What a score of 10 or more means
A score of 10 starts the moderate band, and it is the standard cutoff for a closer look. The GAD-7's developers tested it on 2,740 adults at 15 US primary care clinics. Mental health professionals then interviewed 965 of them by phone (Spitzer et al., 2006).
At 10 or more, the GAD-7 picked up 89% of the people the interviewers found to have generalized anxiety disorder. It correctly cleared 82% of the people who did not have it. Some people with the condition still score below 10, and some without it score 10 or more.
A second analysis of the same patients looked at other anxiety problems (Kroenke et al., 2007). The GAD-7 also worked as a screen for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and PTSD. A high score can therefore point to more than one kind of anxiety problem.
Some services use a cutoff of 8 instead. A 2016 review pooled 11 groups of patients checked for generalized anxiety disorder (Plummer et al., 2016). At a cutoff of 8, the GAD-7 picked up 83% of people with the condition. It correctly cleared 84% of those without it. Cutoffs from 7 to 10 worked about as well. Survey Doctor keeps 8 and 9 in the mild band, but a doctor may still want to ask more.
What the seven questions ask
The seven questions ask how often each of these bothered you:
- feeling nervous, anxious or on edge
- not being able to stop or control worrying
- worrying too much about different things
- trouble relaxing
- being so restless that it is hard to sit still
- becoming easily annoyed or irritable
- feeling afraid as if something awful might happen
The first two questions on their own make up the GAD-2, a shorter screen explained in the GAD-2 score guide.
You can take the GAD-7 on Survey Doctor without an account. Your total and band appear at the end. If any answer is above zero, Survey Doctor also asks how much these problems made work, home life or relationships difficult. That question is optional and never counts toward your score.
What your score cannot tell you
The GAD-7 measures how often symptoms happened, not why. It cannot diagnose an anxiety disorder or tell one kind of anxiety from another. A medical problem, a medicine, alcohol or drugs, or a hard stretch of life can cause similar symptoms. A doctor or therapist needs a fuller assessment to sort this out.
The score covers only the past two weeks. It does not ask about panic attacks or specific fears, and it misses symptoms from before that window. A low score is not a reason to stop care you already have. It also does not mean your concerns are wrong.
The GAD-7 has no question about suicide or self-harm, so a low score says nothing about those thoughts. If you have them, get support now, whatever your score.
If you need help now. In the US, Call 988 or text 988. Call 911 if you are in immediate danger. Outside the US, contact your local emergency number or find support in your country.
Comparing scores over time
Taking the GAD-7 again can show whether symptoms are easing or getting worse. Use the same seven-question form under similar conditions, and compare each answer as well as the total. A steady total can hide one symptom improving while another gets worse. Crossing a band line on its own does not prove recovery or relapse.
With an account, Survey Doctor saves each result and charts your scores over time. A manually entered total has no answers to the seven questions, so check the original form before relying on it.
Some older imported summaries have unverified form completeness and scoring provenance. Survey Doctor shows their saved numbers in reports and trend charts but does not give them a GAD-7 band. A displayed number does not prove it was scored like a native result, so the two are not directly comparable.
If you are a provider, the GAD-7 treatment-decision guide covers reading repeated scores alongside daily functioning. The DASS-21 score guide explains a different questionnaire with its own ranges and a one-week window. Its numbers do not compare directly with GAD-7 scores.
When to talk to a professional
Talk with a doctor or therapist if you score 10 or more. At any score, do the same if anxiety lasts for weeks, keeps coming back or disrupts daily life. You do not need a high score to ask for help.
A primary care doctor is a good place to start. They can look for physical causes and refer you to a therapist if you want one. If your score seems too high or too low for how you feel, tell them that too.
It helps to bring:
- your total, your band and, if you have them, your answers to the seven questions
- how long you have felt this way, and whether it comes and goes
- what anxiety makes harder, such as work, school, sleep or relationships
- physical symptoms the questions did not ask about, such as a racing heart or poor sleep
- the medicines you take, and any caffeine, alcohol or drugs you use
- what you want from the visit, such as advice, a referral or a physical check-up
If you are still working out what you feel, read do I have anxiety? or am I stressed or anxious?.