| Score | Band | What it usually means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | Minimal | Everyday nerves. Nothing on this measure suggests treatment. |
| 5–9 | Mild | Present but manageable. Worth re-checking in two weeks to see the direction. |
| 10–14 | Moderate | The usual cutoff for a fuller conversation. Therapy is a common and effective first step. |
| 15–21 | Severe | Anxiety is likely shaping daily decisions. Getting an appointment soon is reasonable. |
Free tool · 1 minute · No account, nothing stored
Free anxiety test (GAD-7)
Seven questions about the last two weeks, scored on your own device. It is the same short form your doctor's office uses — except here, nobody but you ever sees the answer.
- ✓ Free, no email
- ✓ Scored in your browser
- ✓ Analytics off on this page
Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following?
What your GAD-7 score means
Each of the seven items scores 0 to 3, so the total runs 0 to 21. These bands come from the instrument's validation work. They describe how loud the last two weeks have been — not who you are.
A high score is not a life sentence. Anxiety responds well to treatment — often faster than people expect. What the number is really good for is a baseline: repeat it in a month and you will have evidence about whether what you are doing is working.
Why this instead of a personality quiz
The GAD-7 was published in 2006 by Drs. Robert Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet Williams and Bernd Löwe, validated across 2,740 primary care patients, and released free to reproduce without permission. It is now the standard short screen in California clinics, county behavioral health, and health plan intake. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends anxiety screening for adults 64 and younger, which is why these seven questions keep appearing at ordinary appointments.
That matters for you in two practical ways. Your number is recognised anywhere in the state, so it saves you explaining from scratch. And because it is a fixed instrument, taking it again in three weeks is a genuine measurement rather than a mood.
And why here rather than a therapy company
Free screeners are usually the top of a sales funnel. The FTC fined BetterHelp $7.8 million in 2023 for sharing intake answers with advertising platforms. This page is built so that cannot happen: no ad pixels, no session recording, no server call, and our own analytics are switched off on this URL. That is a design decision, not a promise we ask you to take on faith — open the page source and check.
Paid for by participating therapists · No ads · Data never sold · Read the full pledge
You have a number. Now what?
Anxiety is the condition people most often manage alone for years. Three things make starting easier in California specifically:
See the real price first
City-by-city fees and every route below sticker, from Medi-Cal to sliding scale.
Use the 10-day rule
California law gives you a non-urgent appointment inside 10 business days. Here are the scripts.
Make your plan work
Kaiser, Medi-Cal, Anthem, Blue Shield — the route through each, in plain words.
Find a California therapist Take the depression test (PHQ-9)
Questions people ask
Is this anxiety test free?
Yes. No account, no email, no paywall, no upsell. TherapyCalifornia is paid for by the California therapists who list in our directory, not by advertisers.
How accurate is the GAD-7?
In the 2006 validation study across 2,740 primary care patients, a GAD-7 score of 10 or higher identified generalized anxiety disorder with roughly 89% sensitivity and 82% specificity. It also picks up panic, social anxiety and PTSD at reduced accuracy. It screens; it does not diagnose.
Do you keep my answers?
No. The seven items are scored by JavaScript on your own device. Nothing is sent to a server, no record is written, and our analytics scripts are disabled on this page, so no session recording or event can observe what you selected.
What is a high GAD-7 score?
0 to 4 is minimal, 5 to 9 mild, 10 to 14 moderate, and 15 to 21 severe. Ten is the usual cutoff for a fuller clinical conversation; fifteen and above generally means active treatment is worth arranging soon.
Anxiety or something physical?
The GAD-7 cannot tell the difference. Thyroid problems, some medications, caffeine, and sleep debt all produce a convincing anxiety pattern. That is one more reason the number belongs in a conversation with a clinician rather than on its own.
What should I do with the result?
Note the score and the date, then take it to a first appointment — it gives a clinician a two-week picture in one number. If you do not have anyone yet, our cost page shows real California fees and the guides show how to be seen inside the state 10-day timely access rule.
Sources
- Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JBW, Löwe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(10):1092–1097.
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Anxiety Disorders in Adults: Screening. Final recommendation statement, June 2023 (Grade B, adults 64 and younger).
- Federal Trade Commission. FTC to Ban BetterHelp from Revealing Consumers' Data. Press release, March 2023 ($7.8M).
- GAD-7 developed by Drs. Robert L. Spitzer, Janet B.W. Williams, Kurt Kroenke and colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. No permission is required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute it.
Updated August 2026 · Sources cited above · Education, not diagnosis