Mobility and fall risk in older adults. Free to use.
Timed Up and Go (Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test) is a validated clinical instrument used to assess mobility and fall risk in older adults. The instrument contains 1 item.
Source / attribution: Podsiadlo D, Richardson S. JAGS 1991
The instrument's primary construct — mobility and fall risk in older adults — is operationalized through a fixed set of items, each with a defined response format. This standardisation is what allows Timed Up and Go scores to be compared meaningfully across clinicians, sites, and studies.
Like all screening or assessment instruments, Timed Up and Go is a structured aid — not a diagnostic test in isolation. Results should be interpreted alongside history, examination, and clinical context. Where a score crosses an actionable threshold, the next step is typically a more detailed clinical evaluation rather than a definitive diagnosis.
Answer all 1 item below to see your Timed Up and Go score and interpretation.
All scoring runs in your browser. No data is sent anywhere — close the tab and the answers are gone.
Timed Up and Go uses simple summation: each item's selected response is converted to a numeric value, and the values are added to produce a total score. Reverse-scored items are inverted before summation.
Scoring notes: Educational use only. Cutoffs vary by population.
The cutoffs below are drawn from the published validation literature. Always interpret in clinical context.
| Score range | Band | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0–10 | Normal mobility | Normal. |
| 11–20 | Mild mobility limitation | Mild slowing. |
| 21–30 | Moderate mobility limitation; fall risk | Moderate — fall risk. |
| 31–120 | Severe mobility limitation; high fall risk | Severe — high fall risk. |
This is an illustrative walkthrough, not a real patient. Follow the same four steps with your own answers — or use the live calculator at the top of this page.
Read each question and choose the response that best fits. Each response has a number next to it — that number is the item's score. The example below uses illustrative answers.
| # | Item | Example response | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Time taken (seconds) | 16 | 16 |
Add up all the item scores you noted in Step 1.
16 = 16
Find the row in the interpretation table whose range contains your total:
Total = 16 falls between 11 and 20 → Mild mobility limitation
Mild mobility limitation. Mild slowing.
A score is one input alongside history and examination. Timed Up and Go supports clinical judgment — it does not replace it.
If Timed Up and Go doesn't fit your context, related instruments in geriatrics include:
| Scale | Measures | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barthel Index | Functional independence in ADLs | 10 | — |
| GDS-15 | Depression screening in older adults | 15 | — |
| Katz ADL | Functional independence in basic ADLs | 6 | — |
| CAM | Bedside delirium screen | 4 | — |
| Lawton IADL | Functional independence in instrumental ADLs | 8 | — |
| APGAR Score | Rapid assessment of newborn at 1 and 5 min | 5 | — |
| ASA Physical Status | Pre-operative health status | 1 | — |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | Annual stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation | 8 | — |
Timed Up and Go (Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test) is a validated instrument that assesses mobility and fall risk in older adults. It is designed for clinicians, medical students, evidence-synthesis researchers. The 1 items are summed to produce a total score.
Timed Up and Go contains 1 items. Item scores are summed to produce the total. Scores run from 0 to 120, grouped into 4 interpretation bands from ‘Normal mobility’ up to ‘Severe mobility limitation; high fall risk’.
On the Timed Up and Go (total score 0–120), scores of 31–120 fall in the ‘Severe mobility limitation; high fall risk’ band — interpreted as: Severe — high fall risk. The full ladder is: 0–10 — Normal mobility: Normal.; 11–20 — Mild mobility limitation: Mild slowing.; 21–30 — Moderate mobility limitation; fall risk: Moderate — fall risk.; 31–120 — Severe mobility limitation; high fall risk: Severe — high fall risk. A higher score reflects a more severe presentation, and crossing a cutoff is a prompt to step up assessment or care — but these bands are screening thresholds, not diagnoses.
Scores of 0–10 fall in the ‘Normal mobility’ band: Normal. A low score is reassuring but does not by itself rule out the underlying condition — if symptoms or clinical suspicion persist, reassess over time or use a complementary evaluation rather than relying on the number alone.
Yes — Timed Up and Go is in the public domain and free for clinical, educational, and research use without permission. You can use this calculator and the scale itself freely; if you publish results or reproduce the scale, cite the original source paper.
Podsiadlo D, Richardson S. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1991;39(2):142-148. This is the original publication for the Timed Up and Go — the reference to cite when reporting results.
No. Timed Up and Go is a structured assessment aid, not a diagnostic test. Its proper role is clinical assessment of mobility and fall risk in older adults — it standardizes assessment and flags who needs closer evaluation, but the result must be weighed alongside history, examination, and clinical context. When a score conflicts with your clinical impression, clinical judgment takes precedence; treatment decisions should never rest on a screening score alone.
Timed Up and Go is supported by the following peer-reviewed sources: