Addiction Calculator: AUDIT Alcohol Screening Test

1. Choose who is answering. WHO suggests a lower cut-off for women and for men over 65.
2. Answer all 10 questions about the past year, as honestly as you can. Count drinks as standard drinks.
3. Read your AUDIT score, the WHO risk zone and the three subtotals. Use the help lines below if your score or your worries are high.

Need Help Now?

In the US, the SAMHSA National Helpline gives free, confidential treatment referrals: call 1-800-662-4357 (1-800-662-HELP) or text your zip code to 435748. If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988. In an emergency, call 911.

The AUDIT is a 10-question screening test developed for the World Health Organization to find hazardous and harmful drinking. It takes two to four minutes to complete and a few seconds to score.

WHO designed it for primary health care, and it covers three areas: how much you drink, signs of dependence and harm from drinking. It is a screening tool. A high score means you should talk with a professional, not that you have a disorder.

An alcohol use disorder is diagnosed by a health care professional using the DSM-5 criteria. NIAAA describes it as an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite harm, and it can be mild, moderate or severe. Terms such as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence and alcoholism all fall under it.

The AUDIT score is the sum of the points for your 10 answers. Questions 1 to 8 score 0 to 4 points each, and Questions 9 and 10 score 0, 2 or 4.

1. Score each answer: the first choice is 0, and each later choice adds a point. On Questions 9 and 10 the choices are 0, 2 and 4.
2. Add the 10 scores. The highest possible total is 8 x 4 + 2 x 4 = 40.
3. Compare the total with the cut-off. WHO recommends 8 or more as the sign of hazardous and harmful use, and 7 or more for women and men over 65.
4. Find the risk zone below, and look at which questions scored points.

The WHO manual also says to give the next level of help when Questions 4 to 6 score 2 or more, or Question 9 or 10 scores 4. The calculator flags those answers.

A man under 65 drinks 2 to 3 times a week (3 points), usually has 3 or 4 drinks (1 point) and has six or more drinks monthly (2 points). He sometimes cannot stop once he starts and sometimes misses duties, both less than monthly (1 point each), and never drinks in the morning (0). He feels guilty less than monthly (1), had a blackout less than monthly (1), has no injuries (0), and his doctor raised his drinking more than a year ago (2).

Calculation: 3 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 1 + 0 + 2 = 12. Consumption is 6, dependence signs 2 and harm 4.

Meaning: a score of 12 is in Zone II, above the cut-off of 8. WHO pairs this zone with simple advice on cutting down. Most of his points come from how much he drinks, and a talk with his doctor is the sensible next step.

Your answers set the score, but how you count drinks and which cut-off you use change how it reads.

What Counts as One Drink

The AUDIT assumes a standard drink of about 10 grams of alcohol. A US standard drink holds 14 grams, about 1.4 times as much. Counting US drinks, you may place yourself one answer lower than the WHO scale intends. WHO notes that a 330 ml beer at 5% holds about 13 grams.

Sex and Age

Alcohol affects people differently by body weight and metabolism. WHO says a cut-off of 7 for all women and for men over 65 finds more people who need help.

The Time Frame

Most questions ask about the past year. If your drinking changed, answer for the heaviest period, as the WHO guidelines suggest for irregular drinkers.

Honesty and Recall

Self-report tests depend on candid answers. A score is only as accurate as the answers behind it.

Other Risks

NIAAA lists drinking at an early age, family history, mental health conditions and trauma as factors that raise the risk of an alcohol use disorder.

A screening test sorts people by risk, and a diagnosis is a clinical judgment. The AUDIT is the first step, and a professional assessment is the second.

Why Not Estimate Life Lost per Dose?

An earlier version of this page used a widget that turned doses per day into years of life lost. Those figures were not sourced for most substances, and a single life-expectancy number is not a validated health measure. A validated screening test gives you something you can act on.

You Are Unsure About Your Drinking

The AUDIT gives a structured answer to the question "do I drink too much?" in a few minutes.

Before a Doctor Visit

Bring your score and your answers. They show where your points come from and help the conversation.

Tracking Change Over Time

Retake the test after cutting down. Pair it with a streak count, as in how to track days sober, or count days with the date calculator.

Understanding the Health Cost

Drinking also adds calories; see how many calories are in alcohol.

1. Treating the Score as a Diagnosis

A score screens for risk. Only a professional can diagnose an alcohol use disorder.

2. Counting Large Pours as One Drink

A big glass of wine or a strong craft beer can hold two or more standard drinks.

3. Answering for a Typical Week Only

The questions cover the past year, including heavy periods.

4. Ignoring a Low Score with Warning Answers

Morning drinking, injuries or a doctor's concern matter even when the total is under 8.

5. Stopping Suddenly After Heavy Drinking

NIAAA warns that alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening after long heavy drinking. Get medical help to stop safely.

6. Using It for Other Drugs

The AUDIT screens alcohol only. Ask a clinician about screening for other substances.

The scoring matches the WHO manual exactly, but any screening test can miss people or flag people who are fine. WHO says a cut-off of 10 gives greater specificity at the cost of sensitivity.

A score of 8 or more suggests hazardous or harmful drinking, and 7 or more for women and men over 65. A score of 20 or more suggests possible dependence and warrants a professional assessment. The score does not diagnose a disorder.

Yes, it is a validated screening test developed for the World Health Organization and used worldwide. Like any screen, it can miss some people or flag others, so a professional makes the diagnosis.

No. It tells you whether your drinking pattern looks risky. An addiction, called an alcohol use disorder, is diagnosed by a health care professional using DSM-5 criteria.

No. The AUDIT covers alcohol only. Ask a doctor or clinic about screening for other drugs.

The AUDIT assumes about 10 grams of pure alcohol. In the US, NIAAA defines a standard drink as 14 grams, or 0.6 fluid ounces of pure alcohol.

NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern that brings blood alcohol to 0.08% or higher. For a typical adult that is five or more drinks for men, or four or more for women, in about two hours.

Not always. NIAAA warns that alcohol withdrawal after long, heavy drinking can be life-threatening. Talk with a doctor, who can prescribe medicines to make stopping safer.

NIAAA lists three FDA-approved medicines (naltrexone, acamprosate and disulfiram), behavioral treatments and mutual-support groups. A doctor can help you choose.

Call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free, confidential referrals, or text your zip code to 435748. In a crisis, call or text 988. In an emergency, call 911.

No. Your answers are scored in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. The Save button stores a result only in this browser on this device.

• AUDIT: the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, guidelines for use in primary health care (World Health Organization, 2001; the questions, scoring, cut-offs and risk zones).
• Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder (NIAAA, National Institutes of Health; DSM-5 severity, risk factors, treatment, withdrawal warning).
• Drinking Levels and Patterns Defined (NIAAA; the US standard drink and binge drinking).
• Substance abuse help and the SAMHSA National Helpline (USA.gov; 1-800-662-HELP (4357), text HELP4U, free and confidential).
• Help for Mental Illnesses (National Institute of Mental Health; the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline).