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AUDIT-C Alcohol Screening Questionnaire

Answer the three drinking questions from the WHO AUDIT. Your score, 0 to 12, is read against the published cut-offs as you answer. About a minute, no sign-up.

A screen, not a diagnosis. It asks only how much and how often you drink. The full ten-question version is the alcohol addiction quiz.

AUDIT-C screening result

getrebuild.app/tools/audit-c

Question 1 of 3

How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?

Question 2 of 3

How many drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day when you are drinking?

One drink is one standard drink: about 10 g of alcohol in the WHO manual, 14 g in the US. The units calculator turns any glass into standard drinks.

Not asked. When you never drink, the questionnaire scores this 0.

Question 3 of 3

How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?

Not asked. When you never drink, the questionnaire scores this 0.

Read my score against
The published cut-off is one point lower for women. Pick one, or keep both lines on the gauge.
Your AUDIT-C score A draft-mark gauge from 0 to 12. Water rises to your score, drawn in three layers, one for each answer. Two lines mark the cut-offs: 3 for women and 4 for men. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Women 3 Men 4 0 / 12

Answer the three questions. The water rises as you go.

How the AUDIT-C is scored

Each answer scores 0 to 4, left to right. Add the three: the total runs from 0 to 12.

Question Scores 0 Scores 1 Scores 2 Scores 3 Scores 4
How often you drink Never Monthly or less 2 to 4 times a month 2 to 3 times a week 4 or more times a week
Drinks on a typical drinking day 1 or 2 3 or 4 5 or 6 7, 8 or 9 10 or more
Six or more drinks on one occasion Never Less than monthly Monthly Weekly Daily or almost daily

Which cut-off, and where it comes from

There is no single line. Different studies and health services draw it in different places, so this page names the one it uses.

Source Positive screen Notes
Bradley et al., 2007 (used on this page) Men 4 or more, women 3 or more The lines that best balanced catching real cases against false alarms in 392 men and 927 women at a US family practice. At them the screen caught 86% of men and 73% of women with alcohol misuse, and correctly cleared 89% and 91% of those without.
UK, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities 5 or more, for everyone A different version: it asks in UK units, and the third question becomes 6 or more units for women and 8 or more for men. Its scores are not interchangeable with this page's.
Full AUDIT, World Health Organization 8 or more out of 40 The ten-question AUDIT, which adds seven questions about harm and dependence to these three.

How this is calculated

Each of the three questions is item 1, 2 or 3 of the WHO AUDIT in the manual's own wording, scored 0 to 4 in the order its answers are listed, and the three are added to a total of 0 to 12. If you never drink, the manual skips the next two questions, so they score 0. The result is read against the cut-offs Bradley and colleagues found in 2007 to balance sensitivity and specificity in a US family practice: 4 or more for men (sensitivity 0.86, specificity 0.89) and 3 or more for women (0.73 and 0.91). The UK's version asks in UK units, changes the third question and uses 5 or more, so its score is not the same number. A positive screen flags drinking for a conversation with a clinician; it is not a diagnosis.

Sources

Our editorial policy explains how these tools and articles are researched and kept up to date.

Why three questions are enough to start

In 1998, Bush and colleagues at the VA Puget Sound tested the first three AUDIT questions on their own, in 243 men at three Veterans Affairs clinics. For picking up heavy drinking, the three did as well as all ten: an area under the curve of 0.891, against 0.881 for the full AUDIT.

In 2007, Bradley and colleagues checked it in 392 men and 927 women at a family practice. The best cut-offs were 4 or more for men and 3 or more for women, the same lines earlier VA studies had found.

That is why this page draws both lines, and why the AUDIT-C is a first question rather than a last one. A positive screen is where a clinician usually asks the other seven.

Asked and answered

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the AUDIT-C?
The AUDIT-C is the first three questions of the World Health Organization's AUDIT, asked on their own: how often you drink, how many drinks on a typical drinking day, and how often you have six or more. Each answer scores 0 to 4, so the total runs from 0 to 12. Bush and colleagues tested it in 1998 in US Veterans Affairs clinics and found the three questions picked up heavy drinking as well as all ten.
What AUDIT-C score is positive?
Most US sources use 4 or more for men and 3 or more for women. Those are the lines Bradley and colleagues found in 2007 to balance catching real cases against false alarms. The UK version asks in UK units, changes the third question to 6 or more units for women and 8 or more for men, and counts 5 or more as positive. This page uses 4 and 3 and says so on the result.
Is the AUDIT-C a diagnosis?
No. It is a screen, not a diagnosis. It asks only how much and how often you drink, and a positive score means a clinician would usually ask more questions. Only a qualified health professional can diagnose an alcohol use disorder.
What counts as one drink?
One standard drink. The WHO manual writes the questions around a drink of about 10 grams of alcohol. A US standard drink is 14 grams: a 12 oz beer at 5%, a 5 oz glass of 12% wine or a 1.5 oz shot of 40% spirits. A large glass of wine or a strong beer is more than one.
Should I take the AUDIT-C or the full AUDIT?
The AUDIT-C asks only about amount and takes about a minute. The full AUDIT adds seven questions about control, harm and other people's concern, and scores 0 to 40. In primary care a positive AUDIT-C is usually followed by those seven. Rebuild has both, and the result card links one to the other.
My AUDIT-C score is positive. What should I do?
Take the number to a doctor, with your three answers. If you drink most days, do not stop suddenly on your own: alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous, and the withdrawal risk checker reads that risk first. In the US, the SAMHSA National Helpline on 1-800-662-4357 gives free treatment referrals 24 hours a day.

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