About the AUDIT Alcohol Screening Test
The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is a 10-question screening questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization to identify hazardous and harmful drinking and possible alcohol dependence. Questions 1–3 ask about how much and how often you drink, questions 4–6 about signs of dependence, and questions 7–10 about alcohol-related harm. The total ranges from 0 to 40.
The WHO guidelines for primary care group scores into four risk zones: 0–7 (Zone I, low risk), 8–15 (Zone II, hazardous drinking), 16–19 (Zone III, harmful drinking) and 20–40 (Zone IV, possible dependence). You can also score only the first three consumption questions — the AUDIT-C — which is widely used as a quick screen; a score of 4 or more in men or 3 or more in women is considered positive.
The AUDIT was validated in adults across six countries and uses a "drink" meaning a standard drink of about 10 g of pure alcohol in the WHO version; national standard drink sizes differ (14 g in the US). It is a screening tool and does not diagnose an alcohol use disorder. If you are worried about your drinking, speak to a health professional.
With the default inputs, the score is 9. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the audit alcohol screening test
- 1Choose the full 10-question AUDIT or the 3-question AUDIT-C.
- 2Select your sex so the AUDIT-C cut-off is correct.
- 3Answer each question about your drinking over the past year.
- 4Read your score and risk zone, and consider talking to a professional if it is 8 or more.
Formula and method
Questions 1 to 8 are scored 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 according to the response, and questions 9 and 10 are scored 0 (No), 2 (Yes, but not in the last year) or 4 (Yes, during the last year). The total is compared with the WHO primary care risk zones: 0–7 low risk, 8–15 hazardous, 16–19 harmful and 20 or more possible dependence. The WHO manual recommends a cut-off of 8 for hazardous and harmful drinking.
The AUDIT-C uses only the three consumption questions (0–12). Validation studies in US primary care found the best balance of sensitivity and specificity for alcohol misuse at 4 or more for men and 3 or more for women, which is the cut-off used here.
- Q1–Q3
- Alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C)
- Q4–Q6
- Dependence symptoms
- Q7–Q10
- Alcohol-related harm
Worked examples
Regular weekend drinker
Q1 2–3 times a week (3) + Q2 3 or 4 drinks (1) + Q3 monthly heavy episodes (2) = AUDIT-C 6. Adding Q4 (1), Q7 (1) and Q8 (1) gives 9 — Zone II, hazardous drinking.
AUDIT-C only, woman
Drinking 2–4 times a month (2), 1–2 drinks per occasion (0) and six or more drinks less than monthly (1) gives an AUDIT-C of 3, which is positive for women.
Possible dependence
Consumption 4 + 3 + 4 = 11, dependence 3 + 2 + 2 = 7, harm 3 + 2 + 2 (injury, but not in the last year) + 4 (concern raised in the last year) = 11. The total of 29 is in Zone IV.
Occasional drinker
Drinking monthly or less with 1–2 drinks and no other positive answers gives 1 point — Zone I, low risk.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good AUDIT score?+
A total of 0–7 is in the WHO low-risk zone. Scores of 8 or more suggest hazardous or harmful drinking, and 20 or more suggests possible alcohol dependence that warrants specialist assessment.
What is the AUDIT-C?+
The AUDIT-C is the first three AUDIT questions, about how often you drink, how much on a typical day and how often you have six or more drinks. It scores 0–12 and is positive at 4 or more for men and 3 or more for women.
What counts as one drink in the AUDIT?+
The WHO version assumes a standard drink of about 10 grams of pure alcohol. In the US a standard drink is 14 g and in the UK a unit is 8 g, so some countries adapt the wording of questions 2 and 3.
How are questions 9 and 10 scored?+
They have only three answers: No scores 0, "Yes, but not in the last year" scores 2, and "Yes, during the last year" scores 4. Questions 1 to 8 score 0 to 4.
Does a high AUDIT score mean I am an alcoholic?+
No. The AUDIT is a screening test. A score of 20 or more suggests possible dependence, but an alcohol use disorder is diagnosed by a clinician through a fuller assessment.
For healthcare professionals and education only. This calculator implements a published formula or score but is not a diagnosis and does not replace clinical judgment. Verify inputs and results against the original source before using them in patient care.
Sources
- WHO — AUDIT: the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, guidelines for use in primary health care (2nd ed., 2001)
- Bush K et al. The AUDIT alcohol consumption questions (AUDIT-C). Arch Intern Med 1998
- Bradley KA et al. AUDIT-C as a brief screen for alcohol misuse in primary care. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2007