Chronic Disease Surveillance and Research Branch

California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

The California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an annual statewide telephone survey managed by the Chronic Disease Surveillance and Research Branch (CDSRB) in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data has been collected in California since 1984 about health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services among non-institutionalized adults aged 18 and older. The data is utilized by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), other state and local agencies, researchers, and nonprofit organizations to monitor health and behavioral trends, prioritize intervention for preventable chronic diseases, and allocate resources.

Learn more with the California BRFSS At-A-Glance

State-Added Questions for the California BRFSS Survey

The California BRFSS survey is composed of three types of questions: core questions asked by all 50 states and US territories, optional modules that are standardized sets of questions supported by CDC, and state-added questions. State-added questions are supplementary survey questions developed and funded by individual states. California state-added questions monitor behaviors related to climate change, environmental health, firearm safety, adverse childhood experiences, cognitive decline, and various chronic conditions and factors impacting health outcomes. These questions support program planning and evaluation, funding allocation, policy education, and enhance public health efforts across California. If you are interested in purchasing questions or need more information, please email: BRFSShelp@cdph.ca.gov.

How to Submit a Proposal

Complete the BRFSS State-Added Question Proposal Form.

Please contact BRFSShelp@cdph.ca.gov to recieve form.

Proposal for the CA BRFSS questionnaire will be accepted through the first Friday of October of each year.

Please submit your proposal to BRFSShelp@cdph.ca.gov.

Please contact us for an estimated cost to add questions on the survey at BRFSShelp@cdph.ca.gov.

How to Request BRFSS Data Sets

To obtain BRFSS datasets, complete the Data Use Agreement (DUA) and submit the form to BRFSShelp@cdph.ca.gov.

Upon approval, further instructions will be provided through email to complete the secure file transfer process and gain access to the data.

Data from 1984-2024 are currently available.
To receive a copy of the questionnaire and codebook for any year of data collection, email your request to BRFSShelp@cdph.ca.gov.
If you have any questions about data requests, please email BRFSShelp@cdph.ca.gov.

*Note: Questions specifically purchased by programs (state-added questions) are not available to the public right away. These questions are released one year after the full dataset is published. Programs that funded these questions may access them earlier. All other requestors will only receive variables from the core portion of the survey.