Dr. David Taylor, MD, PhD · Last reviewed May 7, 2026

Fall Risk Assessment Tool

The CDC's validated 12-question screener — interactive instead of a printable PDF — with a Timed Up-and-Go timer. Designed for adults 65+ and the people who care for them. Free, no signup, no ads.

Fall risk assessment screener

CDC Stay Independent screener

12 yes/no questions · designed for adults 65+

Score 0 of 12 answered
0 /14

  1. I have fallen in the past year. 2 pts

  2. I use, or have been advised to use, a cane or walker to get around safely. 2 pts

  3. Sometimes I feel unsteady when I am walking.

  4. I steady myself by holding onto furniture when walking at home.

  5. I am worried about falling.

  6. I need to push with my hands to stand up from a chair.

  7. I have some trouble stepping up onto a curb.

  8. I often have to rush to the toilet.

  9. I have lost some feeling in my feet.

  10. I take medicine that sometimes makes me feel light-headed or more tired than usual.

  11. I take medicine to help me sleep or improve my mood.

  12. I often feel sad or depressed.

Answer all 12 questions to see your fall-risk result and personalized guidance.

Companion test: Timed Up-and-Go (TUG)

A 60-second functional test. CDC STEADI cutoff: ≥ 12 seconds.
  1. Sit in a sturdy armchair against a wall.
  2. On "GO", stand, walk 10 feet (3 meters) at a normal pace, turn, walk back, and sit down.
  3. Tap STOP the moment you sit again.
0.0 sec
or enter manually:

Validated cutoffs

  • ≤ 10s — typical for healthy older adults
  • 11–12s — caution; re-test in 2–4 weeks
  • ≥ 12s — increased fall risk (CDC STEADI cutoff)
  • ≥ 14s — recurrent fall risk (Shumway-Cook 2000)
  • ≥ 30s — significant mobility limitation

Educational reference only. Uses the CDC's Stay Independent 12-question questionnaire and the Timed Up-and-Go test, both validated for adults 65+. Not a clinical fall-risk evaluation. Talk with your doctor, physical therapist, or occupational therapist about your specific risk and prevention plan.

Embed this tool on your site for free

How to use this fall risk screener

This tool combines two things the CDC ships separately: the patient-facing Stay Independent 12-question questionnaire (validated for older-adult self-screening) and the Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) functional test. One catches risk factors a person can describe in words; the other catches the gait, balance, and strength changes that don't show up until you actually try to walk. Together they take about three minutes.

  1. Tap "Yes" or "No" on each of the 12 questions. Answer for the past few weeks, not a single bad day. The score updates as you go — when all 12 are answered, the result, tier, and at-home suggestions appear.
  2. Run the Timed Up-and-Go test (optional but recommended). You need a sturdy chair against a wall and 10 feet of clear floor. Sit, stand, walk 10 feet, turn, walk back, sit. Tap STOP the moment you sit again. The result reads against the CDC STEADI cutoff (12 seconds) and the recurrent-faller cutoff (14 seconds, Shumway-Cook 2000).
  3. Save the result. If you're tracking risk over time — recovering from a fall, adjusting a medication, or watching a parent — tap Save result after each screening. The log lives only on your device.
  4. Download or share when it's time for a clinic visit. The PDF export is formatted for handing to a doctor, PT, or OT — chronological, with timestamps, scores, tier labels, and notes.

Why this version is different from other fall risk pages

Almost every fall-risk page that ranks in Google ships the same thing: a printable PDF for clinicians, a wiki article describing the instrument, or a paywalled commercial product for hospitals. The CDC's own patient-facing brochure is a 2-sided print-and-fill PDF. Here's what this version does differently:

  • Interactive, not a print-and-fill PDF. The CDC's validated 12-question instrument as a tappable questionnaire — running score, instant tier, plain-English guidance the moment you finish.
  • Built-in Timed Up-and-Go timer. The TUG test is a 60-second functional check that often catches risk the questionnaire misses. Most "fall risk" pages mention it but don't time it for you. We do, with the validated cutoffs surfaced in the result.
  • Caregiver-friendly, not clinician-coded. The reference PDFs that own this SERP are written for nurses and physical therapists. The questions and guidance here are written for the older adult and the family member sitting beside them.
  • Result-tied next steps. Hit the cutoff and you see what the at-home options look like — grab bars, medical alert systems, bathroom safety. Below the cutoff, no shopping suggestions — just "re-screen yearly."
  • Embeddable on any site, free. Senior-care blogs, geriatric clinics, OT/PT practices, home-health agencies, and family-caregiver sites can copy a one-line snippet and host the same interactive screener with attribution. No fee, no account.

How the scoring works (the science)

The 12-question instrument is the CDC's Stay Independent questionnaire, derived and validated by Rubenstein and colleagues (J Am Geriatr Soc, 2011). Eleven questions are weighted 1 point; questions 1 ("fallen in the past year") and 2 ("use or have been advised to use a cane or walker") are weighted 2 points each because both are independently strong predictors of future falls. Total possible: 14 points.

The CDC cutoff is ≥ 4 points → talk to your doctor about fall risk. Below that, the CDC recommends yearly re-screening and addressing any specific risk factor (medications, vision, footwear, home hazards). The original derivation reported a ROC AUC of approximately 0.78 for predicting falls within the next year — meaningful but not perfect, which is why the tool always recommends a clinician conversation rather than acting as a diagnosis.

The Timed Up-and-Go was first published by Podsiadlo and Richardson (1991) in J Am Geriatr Soc. It measures lower-limb strength, balance, and gait speed in one test. The CDC STEADI program uses ≥ 12 seconds as the cutoff for increased fall risk; Shumway-Cook et al. (2000) reported that ≥ 14 seconds best identified recurrent fallers. Above 30 seconds typically indicates significant mobility limitation — at that level, a comprehensive evaluation is warranted regardless of questionnaire score.

Three real-world examples

Solo-living 78-year-old with one fall last year

A widowed 78-year-old who lives alone fell in the bathroom last winter — she caught herself on the towel rack and bruised a hip. No fracture, didn't go to the ER. She runs this screener at her granddaughter's prompting and answers "yes" to questions 1 (past fall), 3 (sometimes unsteady), 4 (steadies on furniture), 5 (worried about falling). Score: 5 — moderate risk. The result links to grab bars and a medical alert pendant. Granddaughter installs both within the week, and they bring the screening PDF to the next primary-care visit, where the doctor reviews her sleep medication.

Caregiver tracking a parent over six months

An adult child caring for an 84-year-old father with mild cognitive impairment runs the screener monthly. The first month, dad scores 3 (low risk). After a hospitalization for pneumonia, the next screening is 7 (high risk) — three new "yes" answers (rushing to toilet, lightheaded medication, pushing up from chairs). The trajectory itself is the signal; the chronological PDF log shows the OT exactly when the change started, and a home-safety assessment is scheduled for the following week.

Rehab discharge planning

A 71-year-old discharged after knee replacement uses the TUG timer alone (the questionnaire doesn't apply to acute-recovery patients). At week 2 his TUG is 22 seconds — high fall risk. By week 6, with PT progress, it's 13 seconds — at the cutoff but trending right. By week 10, 9 seconds — typical range. The TUG log provides a concrete recovery curve for follow-up appointments and shows when home-safety upgrades from rehab can come down.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I run this screener?

The CDC recommends yearly screening for adults 65 and older with no specific concerns. Run it more often (every 1–3 months) after any fall, after a new medication, after a hospitalization, or when a family member notices a change in balance or gait. Tracking the trajectory over time is often more useful than any single score — the log + PDF export are designed for exactly that.

What counts as a "fall" for question 1?

Per the CDC and the original Rubenstein 2011 paper: any unintentional movement to a lower level (the floor, the ground, a chair you didn't mean to land in) — including caught-yourself "near falls" where you ended up on furniture or a wall. Slipping or tripping with a recovery doesn't count. If you're not sure, count it — sensitivity is more useful than specificity in self-screening.

Is this the same tool used in hospitals?

Hospitals typically use clinician-administered tools — the Morse Fall Scale, Hendrich II, or Johns Hopkins JHFRAT — which include observations the patient can't self-report (mental status, IV lines, gait observation). The Stay Independent questionnaire used here is the CDC's community-dwelling, patient-facing instrument, designed for adults 65+ to screen at home or in the doctor's waiting room. It's complementary to (not a replacement for) clinician assessment.

What does "rush to the toilet" have to do with falling?

Urge incontinence and rushing to the toilet are well-established fall-risk triggers. The combination of an urgent need, hurried movement, dim nighttime lighting, and a slippery bathroom is responsible for a substantial share of in-home falls in older adults. It's also one of the more reversible risk factors — pelvic-floor PT, medication review, or a bedside commode often makes a measurable difference.

Can I embed this tool on my own site?

Yes — copy the embed snippet at the bottom of this page. The embedded version is a stripped-down variant designed for senior-care blogs, geriatric clinics, OT/PT practices, home-health agencies, and family-caregiver sites. Required attribution is built in. There is no fee, no account, no rate limit.

For anyone who scored at or above the CDC cutoff, these three categories cover most of the high-leverage at-home interventions. Each links to the full review with current top picks:

  • Best Medical Alert Systems — one-button help if a fall happens. The single biggest peace-of-mind upgrade for adults living alone, and the intervention with the strongest mortality benefit when the alert is worn consistently.
  • Best Grab Bars — the bathroom is the highest-fall-risk room in the home, and grab bars at the toilet, tub, and shower entry are among the highest-yield, lowest-cost interventions in the literature.
  • Best Bath Lifts & Bathing Aids — for adults who can no longer step into a tub or stand for a shower without strain. Removes the highest-risk bathroom movements rather than just adding a handhold to them.
  • Best Orthotic Insoles — proper foot support improves balance and ground awareness, especially valuable for adults with reduced foot sensation (peripheral neuropathy is question 9 on the screener).

Sources & methodology

  • CDC STEADI initiative — Stop Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries; the canonical home for the Stay Independent questionnaire and TUG protocol.
  • CDC Stay Independent brochure (PDF) — the patient-facing 12-question instrument.
  • CDC STEADI Algorithm (PDF) — clinician fall-risk screening algorithm including TUG.
  • Rubenstein LZ, et al. Validating an evidence-based, self-rated fall risk questionnaire (FRQ) for older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2011.
  • Podsiadlo D, Richardson S. The timed "Up & Go": a test of basic functional mobility for frail elderly persons. J Am Geriatr Soc, 1991;39:142–148.
  • Shumway-Cook A, et al. Predicting the probability for falls in community-dwelling older adults using the Timed Up & Go Test. Phys Ther, 2000;80:896–903.

This tool is reviewed semi-annually for accuracy and current product recommendations. About Dr. Taylor · Last reviewed May 7, 2026.

Embed this tool on your site

Free for senior-care blogs, geriatric clinics, OT/PT practices, home-health agencies, family-caregiver sites, and patient-education resources. Required attribution is included in the snippet. No fee, no account. 

<iframe
  src="https://bestrateddocs.com/fall-risk-assessment-tool/embed/"
  width="100%"
  height="900"
  loading="lazy"
  style="border:1px solid #e8dfeb; border-radius:16px; max-width:760px;"
  title="Fall Risk Assessment Tool (BestRatedDocs)">
</iframe>
<p style="font-size:12px;color:#666;margin-top:8px">
  Fall risk assessment tool by
  <a href="https://bestrateddocs.com/fall-risk-assessment-tool/">BestRatedDocs</a>
  &middot; Reviewed by Dr. David Taylor, MD, PhD
</p>