Free Online Test
Columbia Protocol Suicide Severity Screening (C-SSRS)
This is the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale screener, the reference-standard instrument for assessing suicidal ideation and behavior. Its six questions are reproduced exactly as written, because the scale must not be altered. It is a structured set of questions, not a score, and it does not replace an assessment by a trained clinician. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
- Questions
- 6
- Time
- ~2 min
- Instrument
- C-SSRS
- Cost
- Free
Anonymous and scored entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to us, saved, or stored anywhere. No email or sign-up required.
Before you begin
This is a clinical instrument that asks directly and specifically about suicidal thoughts, plans, and past attempts. It is designed to be administered by a trained clinician who can respond to your answers. Nobody is monitoring this page. If you are having thoughts of hurting yourself right now, please stop and call or text 988 instead. If you continue, crisis resources stay on screen throughout, and the result will be a set of questions to bring to a professional rather than a score.
What this measures
Severity of suicidal ideation and presence of suicidal behavior. Time frame: past month for ideation, lifetime and past 3 months for behavior.
This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. It can tell you how your answers compare to established ranges. It cannot tell you what is causing them, whether something else explains them, or what you should do next. Only a licensed clinician can do that, in a conversation.
Please check the box above to continue.
0 of 6 answered
Past month for ideation, lifetime and past 3 months for behavior
Answer each question honestly. Questions 1 and 2 ask about the past month. If you answer no to both, you may skip to the final question. Your answers are not saved or sent anywhere.
Answer every question to see your result.
Your result
0
Screening result
Breakdown by area
- Ideation0
- Behavior0
The Columbia Protocol is a triage instrument, not a summed score. What matters is which questions were answered yes, not how many.
What this result is not
This is a screening score, not a diagnosis, and not medical advice. It reflects how you answered today. It cannot account for your history, your circumstances, a medical condition, a medication, or anything else that might explain these answers. If the result matches what you have been experiencing, the useful next step is a conversation with a licensed professional - not a second test.
Your score is not saved. Leaving or refreshing this page clears it.
About the C-SSRS
The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale is the most widely used and most rigorously validated suicide risk instrument in the world. It is used in emergency departments, schools, primary care, the military, and research settings across dozens of countries.
The six questions above are the Screener version, reproduced exactly as written. The scale's own instructions state that it is to be followed exactly and cannot be altered, so nothing here has been reworded, simplified, or reordered.
The first five questions ask about suicidal ideation in ascending order of severity: a wish to be dead, non-specific thoughts of suicide, thoughts with a method, thoughts with some intent, and a specific plan with intent. The sixth asks about suicidal behavior at any point in life.
The Columbia Protocol was designed for a trained person to ask out loud, in a conversation, with the ability to follow up and respond. Taking it alone on a webpage gives you the questions but not the person. If any answer here was yes, the questions are worth bringing to someone who can do the rest.
Columbia Protocol questions
What is the Columbia Protocol?
It is the common name for the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, a structured set of questions that assess the severity of suicidal thoughts and whether any suicidal behavior has occurred. It is considered the reference-standard instrument for this purpose and is used worldwide.
Is this a score?
No. The Columbia Protocol is a triage instrument, not a summed scale. What matters is which specific questions were answered yes. Reporting a plan with intent is a different situation from reporting a passive wish to be dead, even though both are a single yes.
Should I take this instead of talking to someone?
No. This instrument was built for a trained clinician to administer in conversation, where they can ask follow-up questions and respond to what you say. Taking it alone can tell you the questions a professional would ask. It cannot do what the professional does.
What is the difference between this and the ASQ?
The ASQ is a brief four-question screener that answers whether a fuller conversation is needed. The Columbia Protocol goes further, grading the severity of ideation and asking about past behavior. In clinical settings, a positive ASQ often leads directly to the Columbia.
The ASQ screeningIs this confidential?
Yes. Your answers are processed in your browser and never leave your device. Nothing is transmitted, saved, or stored by us, and no one is notified. That also means nobody is monitoring this page, so if you need a response, please contact 988 or a clinician directly.
Other free tests
- Suicide Risk ScreenASQ · 5 questions
- Depression TestPHQ-9 · 9 questions
- Wellbeing TestWHO-5 · 5 questions
If this is something you are dealing with, here is how we treat it: Depression.
Instrument and attribution
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Copyright 2008, The Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. Posner, K., Brown, G. K., Stanley, B., et al. Free for use in community and healthcare settings. Reproduced without alteration, as the scale requires.
- Posner, K., Brown, G. K., Stanley, B., et al. (2011). The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale: initial validity and internal consistency findings. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168(12), 1266-1277.
Reviewed by the MindView Therapy Team · July 30, 2026
A score is a starting point, not an answer
If something on this page matched what you have been feeling, talk it through with a licensed therapist. We respond within one business day.