STD Testing FAQs

Testing is done at a local lab. There are over 4,500 lab locations nationwide, and most do not require an appointment — you order online, then walk in. The visit itself usually takes about 15 minutes.

No appointment is needed at most locations. You order the test first, then visit the lab whenever suits you during opening hours.

Almost certainly — the network covers over 4,500 locations across the country. Use the clinic finder to check the ones closest to you and their hours.

Free and low-cost STD testing is available through many public health clinics and community health centers, and eligibility usually depends on your income, age or location. Our clinic listings include free options where they exist in your area. Free testing typically means longer waits and a more limited menu of tests.

At-home collection kits exist and can be a reasonable option if getting to a lab is difficult. The trade-off is that you collect the sample yourself, which introduces a step where things can go wrong, and turnaround is usually slower because the kit has to be shipped both ways.

It depends on how many infections you test for. The comprehensive 10-test panel is $198, and individual tests cost less. The full price list is on our costs page, and the price you see is the price you pay — there is no separate office visit fee on top.

No, and for many people that is the point. You pay directly, which means nothing is submitted to your insurer and nothing appears on an explanation of benefits that another member of your household might see.

Often yes, if you go through a doctor or urgent care. The thing worth knowing is that an insurance claim creates a record: the visit and the tests ordered can appear on an explanation of benefits sent to the policyholder, who may not be you.

Yes. If you know which exposure you are worried about, individual tests and two-test panels cost considerably less than the full 10-test panel. If you are unsure, a panel is usually better value than ordering several tests separately.

No. The price covers the lab visit and the results. There is no consultation charge, no appointment fee and no separate draw fee.

Results are typically available in 1 to 2 days after your lab visit. You are notified when they are ready and view them in a secure account rather than receiving them by email or post.

That depends on the infection. Every STI has a window period — a stretch of time after exposure when a test can still come back negative even though the infection is present. Testing before the window has passed is the most common reason for a false negative.

The HIV RNA early detection test is FDA-approved to detect an HIV infection as early as 9 days after exposure. The standard 4th-generation antibody test needs longer.

About 15 minutes in most cases. You are giving a urine sample, a blood sample or both, depending on which tests you ordered.

You are able to speak with a physician about the result and, where appropriate, about treatment. Most bacterial infections are cleared with a short course of antibiotics. Partners should be tested as well.

With a urine sample, a blood sample, or both. Chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis are tested from urine. HIV, syphilis, herpes and hepatitis are tested from blood. There is no swab involved for a standard panel.

The urine tests involve nothing more than a sample cup. The blood tests need a single, standard blood draw. There is no genital swab in a standard panel.

The comprehensive panel covers the infections most people are screened for in one visit, from a single set of samples. The full contents of each panel are listed on the tests page.

No. Chlamydia and gonorrhea can infect the throat and rectum, and those sites need their own swab. If you have had oral or anal exposure, say so, because a urine sample alone will not detect an infection there.

No fasting or preparation is required for standard STD testing. You can eat and drink normally beforehand.

Many urgent care clinics do. The differences to weigh are cost and privacy: urgent care usually charges an office visit on top of the lab work, and typically bills insurance, which creates a record. It also generally requires seeing a provider before any sample is taken.

Planned Parenthood provides STD testing and, depending on the health center and your circumstances, fees may be reduced or waived — they note testing is sometimes free. The trade-offs are appointment availability and travel, since there are far fewer health centers than commercial lab locations.

Yes at many locations — CVS MinuteClinic appears in the CDC’s own national directory of STD testing sites. It is billed as a fee or through insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, so a visit is a clinical appointment that generates an insurance record. Availability varies by location, so check the clinic nearest you.

Yes, and if you have a relationship with a doctor that is a perfectly good route. It usually means an appointment, a consultation, and a claim through your insurance. Direct lab testing exists for people who want to skip those three things.

Speed and privacy, mainly. No appointment, no consultation, results in 1 to 2 days, no insurance claim and no record with your regular provider unless you choose to share it.

Yes. Results go into a secure account that only you access. Nothing is sent to your insurer, and nothing is added to your medical record with your regular doctor unless you share it yourself.

Billing is discreet and does not name the tests ordered.

Not through us. Because no insurance claim is filed, there is no explanation of benefits sent to a policyholder — which is the most common way testing becomes visible to someone else in a household.

Yes. The lab has to match the sample to the person it came from, and a result is only meaningful if it is genuinely yours. Your information is not shared beyond what the testing itself requires.

Through a secure online account. Results are not emailed or posted, so they cannot be read by anyone with access to your inbox or mail.