Bristol Stool Chart: what your poo type means
The Bristol Stool Chart sorts poo into seven types, from hard separate lumps (type 1) to entirely liquid (type 7). Types 3 and 4 are the healthy, easy-to-pass range. Tap the type closest to yours to see what it tends to reflect, what is worth looking at, and when to see your GP.
Written and reviewed by Georgina Waugh, Clinical Nutritionist. Updated 13 September 2026.
General information for adults, not medical advice. The chart describes what you see; it does not diagnose anything. Blood in your poo, or a change that will not settle, goes straight to your GP.
Which type is closest to yours?
Pick the one that matches most of the time, not your best or worst day.
Tap a type above to see what it means.
Type 1
Separate hard lumps
Small, hard, separate lumps, a bit like nuts or pebbles, that are hard to pass.
What it tends to reflect
The slow end of the scale. In the original Bristol research, harder stool went with a longer transit time, meaning it had spent longer in the bowel. The Continence Foundation of Australia groups types 1 and 2 with constipation.
What is worth looking at
The everyday things Healthdirect lists behind hard, dry stools: not enough fibre, not enough water, not enough movement, a change in routine, stress or anxiety, and some medicines, including strong pain relief.
When to see your GP
See your GP if constipation is severe, or is not getting better with simple changes. Healthdirect is clear that not going every day does not, on its own, mean you are constipated.
Seeing this type most weeks, once your GP has ruled out anything that needs them? Book a free 15-minute call and we can work out where to start.
Type 2
Lumpy sausage
Sausage-shaped but lumpy, as if small lumps have been pressed together.
What it tends to reflect
Still at the slower end, and still in the range the Continence Foundation groups with constipation. Type 2 is also one of the hardest types to tell apart from its neighbours: in a 2016 validation study, it was one of four types people classified correctly less than 80% of the time.
What is worth looking at
The same things as type 1. If you are straining, or often feel you have not finished, those are worth mentioning to whoever you see, because they are part of the picture as well as the shape.
When to see your GP
See your GP if constipation is severe, or is not getting better with simple changes. Healthdirect is clear that not going every day does not, on its own, mean you are constipated.
Seeing this type most weeks, once your GP has ruled out anything that needs them? Book a free 15-minute call and we can work out where to start.
Type 3
Sausage with cracks
Sausage-shaped, with cracks across the surface.
What it tends to reflect
Within the healthy range. The Continence Foundation describes types 3 and 4 as healthy and easy to pass, and that is the range most charts point to as the goal.
What is worth looking at
Nothing needs fixing if this is your usual and it is comfortable. The more useful question is whether your pattern has changed recently.
When to see your GP
Nothing to act on if this is usual for you and you feel comfortable. What is worth a GP visit is a recent change in your pattern that has not settled, or any of the signs in the list further down.
Type 4
Smooth and soft
Smooth and soft, like a sausage or a snake.
What it tends to reflect
The type most charts point to as the one to aim for: soft, well formed and easy to pass. The Continence Foundation groups it with type 3 as healthy.
What is worth looking at
Nothing, if this is what you usually see. Stool form can change from day to day, so one day on its own tells you very little.
When to see your GP
Nothing to act on if this is usual for you and you feel comfortable. What is worth a GP visit is a recent change in your pattern that has not settled, or any of the signs in the list further down.
Type 5
Soft blobs
Soft blobs with clear-cut edges that pass easily.
What it tends to reflect
This is where charts disagree. The Continence Foundation groups type 5 with diarrhoea or urgency, while the 2016 validation study counted types 3 to 5 as normal when it compared stool form with measured stool water. Healthy volunteers in that study averaged between types 3 and 4, with plenty of spread either side. A run of type 5s, especially with urgency, is worth noticing.
What is worth looking at
What you have eaten and drunk in the last day or two, caffeine and alcohol, a recent stomach bug, stress, and any new medicine or supplement.
When to see your GP
Healthdirect advises seeking medical advice for ongoing diarrhoea, diarrhoea at night, a fever, blood or mucus in your poo, or weight loss you cannot explain. Severe diarrhoea, signs of dehydration, heavy bleeding or severe tummy pain need a doctor straight away, or the emergency department.
Seeing this type most weeks, once your GP has ruled out anything that needs them? Book a free 15-minute call and we can work out where to start.
Type 6
Mushy, ragged edges
Fluffy, mushy pieces with ragged edges.
What it tends to reflect
Towards the fast end. Looser forms went with a shorter transit time in the Bristol research, and Healthdirect describes diarrhoea as three or more loose or liquid stools in one day, or more often than is normal for you.
What is worth looking at
A stomach bug is a common cause and usually settles in a few days. While it does, Healthdirect suggests drinking fluids to avoid dehydration and avoiding artificial sweeteners, alcohol and caffeine.
When to see your GP
Healthdirect advises seeking medical advice for ongoing diarrhoea, diarrhoea at night, a fever, blood or mucus in your poo, or weight loss you cannot explain. Severe diarrhoea, signs of dehydration, heavy bleeding or severe tummy pain need a doctor straight away, or the emergency department.
Seeing this type most weeks, once your GP has ruled out anything that needs them? Book a free 15-minute call and we can work out where to start.
Type 7
Entirely liquid
Watery, with no solid pieces.
What it tends to reflect
The fastest end of the scale. Healthdirect notes that diarrhoea can lead to dehydration, so fluids come first. The Continence Foundation groups it with diarrhoea or urgency.
What is worth looking at
The same things as type 6. Oral rehydration solution from a pharmacy or supermarket replaces salts as well as fluid, which Healthdirect notes is better than plain water for older people.
When to see your GP
Healthdirect advises seeking medical advice for ongoing diarrhoea, diarrhoea at night, a fever, blood or mucus in your poo, or weight loss you cannot explain. Severe diarrhoea, signs of dehydration, heavy bleeding or severe tummy pain need a doctor straight away, or the emergency department.
Seeing this type most weeks, once your GP has ruled out anything that needs them? Book a free 15-minute call and we can work out where to start.
The bar shows roughly how quickly things are moving through, from the slower end to the faster end, based on the link between stool form and gut transit time in the original research. Still unsure what your pattern means? Book a free 15-minute call.
The seven types at a glance
| Type and where it sits | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Type 1: Separate hard lumpsSlower end | Small, hard, separate lumps, a bit like nuts or pebbles, that are hard to pass. |
| Type 2: Lumpy sausageSlower end | Sausage-shaped but lumpy, as if small lumps have been pressed together. |
| Type 3: Sausage with cracksHealthy range | Sausage-shaped, with cracks across the surface. |
| Type 4: Smooth and softHealthy range | Smooth and soft, like a sausage or a snake. |
| Type 5: Soft blobsFaster end | Soft blobs with clear-cut edges that pass easily. |
| Type 6: Mushy, ragged edgesFaster end | Fluffy, mushy pieces with ragged edges. |
| Type 7: Entirely liquidFaster end | Watery, with no solid pieces. |
The groupings follow the Continence Foundation of Australia: types 1 and 2 with constipation, 3 and 4 as healthy and easy to pass, and 5 to 7 with diarrhoea or urgency.
How often should you poo?
Less often than most people think is fine. Healthdirect puts the normal range for adults at anywhere from three bowel movements a day to one every three days, and says that not going every day does not, on its own, mean you are constipated.
That is where the “3 and 3 rule” you may have seen comes from. It is a rule of thumb, not a target. What is usual for you, and whether that has changed, tells you far more than any number.
How much can a chart tell you?
More than you might expect, and less than a medical answer. The scale was developed at the University of Bristol, and in the 1997 study behind it, 66 volunteers had their gut transit time measured with marker pellets. Stool form tracked how long things took to move through more closely than how often people went, and it shifted in step when transit was sped up or slowed down.
A 2016 study checked the scale again. Across 169 volunteers, the type people chose rose in step with the measured water content of their stool. When 86 volunteers sorted 26 model stools, they got the type right 81% of the time, but types 2, 3, 5 and 6 were the hardest to call. So if you are torn between two neighbouring types, that is normal. Pick the closer one, and pay more attention to your overall pattern than to one day.
What I ask about first. Not what type you had this morning. I want to know what is usual for you, and whether that has changed.
How often you go. Whether you are straining, rushing, or feel you haven’t quite finished. What an ordinary day of eating and drinking looks like, and every medicine and supplement you take, because some of them change your bowels on their own.
The chart just means we are describing the same thing. Your poo is information, and what it means depends on the rest of your story.
When to see your GP, whatever your type
Book in with your GP if you notice
- blood in your poo or on the toilet paper, or bleeding from your bottom
- a recent change in your bowel habits that is not settling, such as looser stools, constipation, going more often, narrower stools, or feeling you have not fully emptied
- weight loss you were not trying for
- tummy pain, cramping or bloating that keeps coming back
- diarrhoea that wakes you at night, or comes with a fever
- tiredness you cannot explain
Go to your doctor straight away, or the emergency department, for severe diarrhoea, signs of dehydration (feeling tired, weeing less, thirst and a dry mouth), heavy bleeding from your bottom, or diarrhoea with severe tummy pain.
These signs come from Healthdirect’s bowel cancer page and its diarrhoea page. The free National Bowel Cancer Screening Program kit is offered every two years to Australians aged 45 to 74, but it is a screening test for people without symptoms. If you have symptoms, see your doctor rather than waiting for the kit.
When a gut test might be worth considering
Most changes in stool type come down to food, fluids, movement, stress, a new medicine or a recent bug, and they settle. Testing earns a place when a pattern has gone on for a while, your GP has looked at the ordinary explanations, and bloating or unsettled bowels are still part of most weeks.
Different tests answer different questions. A stool microbiome test looks at the community of microbes in your large bowel; our guide to what a gut microbiome test can and cannot tell you explains where it helps. A breath test looks at gases from bacteria in the small intestine; our guide to what SIBO is covers that. Neither one can tell you whether you have IBS, and neither replaces your GP.
If gut symptoms are what you are living with day to day, our page on how we work with bloating and gut symptoms sets out the wider approach.
Want help making sense of your pattern?
Bring what you have noticed: your usual type, how often you go, what has changed, and anything you have already tried. A short call is usually enough to work out whether your GP, a change to your routine, or a test is the right next step. No test is booked on the call.
Book a free 15-minute callFifteen minutes on the phone with a clinical nutritionist, at no cost.
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Common questions about the Bristol Stool Chart
What is normal on the Bristol Stool Chart?
Types 3 and 4 are the range the Continence Foundation of Australia describes as healthy and easy to pass. Some research also counts type 5 as normal. What matters more than any single day is what is usual for you, and whether that has changed.
What is the 3 and 3 poo rule?
It is a rule of thumb that anywhere from three times a day to three times a week can be normal. Healthdirect puts the normal range for adults at three bowel movements a day to one every three days, and says not going every day does not mean you are constipated.
Is a type 6 or type 7 poo a problem?
A short run after a stomach bug is common and usually settles in a few days, as long as you keep your fluids up. Ongoing diarrhoea, diarrhoea at night, fever, blood or mucus, or unexplained weight loss are reasons to see your GP. Severe diarrhoea, signs of dehydration or heavy bleeding need a doctor straight away.
Can the Bristol Stool Chart tell me if I have IBS?
No. The chart describes the shape and texture of a stool so you and a health professional are talking about the same thing. It does not diagnose any condition, including IBS, which needs your doctor to look at your symptoms and rule out other causes.
Is this chart for children?
This page is written for adults. The Continence Foundation of Australia has a separate chart and bowel diary for children, and Healthdirect has a page on constipation in children.
Sources
- Lewis SJ, Heaton KW. Stool form scale as a useful guide to intestinal transit time. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 1997;32(9):920-4. The original validation of the seven-point scale in 66 volunteers: stool form tracked whole-gut transit time more closely than how often people went.
- Blake MR, Raker JM, Whelan K. Validity and reliability of the Bristol Stool Form Scale in healthy adults and patients with diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2016;44(7):693-703. Stool form against measured stool water in 169 volunteers, and how accurately 86 volunteers classified 26 stool models.
- Continence Foundation of Australia. Bristol stool chart. How the seven types are grouped: 1 and 2 constipation, 3 and 4 healthy and easy to pass, 5 to 7 diarrhoea or urgency.
- Healthdirect Australia. Constipation. Normal bowel frequency for adults, common causes of hard stools, and when to see your doctor.
- Healthdirect Australia. Diarrhoea. The definition of diarrhoea, when to seek medical advice and when to seek urgent care.
- Healthdirect Australia. Bowel cancer (colorectal cancer). Bowel symptoms that should go to a doctor, and the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.
Important: This page is general information for adults, written by a clinical nutritionist. It is not medical advice and does not replace care from your GP or another qualified health professional. The Bristol Stool Chart does not diagnose any condition. Read our full disclaimer.
Written and reviewed by Georgina Waugh
Clinical Nutritionist, BHSc Nutritional Medicine
Last updated: 13 September 2026
Sources reviewed: the original Bristol stool form research, the 2016 validation study, the Continence Foundation of Australia and Healthdirect