STD Testing FAQs

Order online or call (866) 872-1888. Pick a test or panel and the lab nearest you; a doctor’s order is included. Your lab order reaches the test center in 2–3 minutes. Go to the lab during its hours, sign in at the kiosk with your name and date of birth, give a small blood or urine sample, and results post to your private online account in 1–2 business days.

No. Order first, then go in – no appointment. Just go during the hours listed for the lab you picked. The visit takes about 5 minutes.

No. The lab can only draw a sample against a doctor’s order, and that order is created when you order with us. Ordering takes two minutes online or by phone and the order is at the lab within 2–3 minutes, so you can still test today.

If you know what you were exposed to, take that test. If you don’t, the 10-Test Panel checks the ten most common infections with one blood and one urine sample. If you’re not sure, call (866) 872-1888 – a care advisor will ask what happened and when, and tell you exactly which test and which day.

It depends on the infection and the test: the bacterial infections show up within a couple of weeks, HIV and syphilis take longer, and the hepatitis viruses and herpes longer still. Test too early and a negative result may need to be repeated. Our When to Get Tested page has the timing for every test, or call and a care advisor will tell you which day. If you have symptoms, get looked at now rather than waiting on timing.

No. A licensed physician in our network authorizes the lab order when you buy the test. You never need to see your own doctor.

Yes. Call and a care advisor sets up both orders at once. Each of you gets a separate private account for results. See the couples testing page for details.

You sign in at the kiosk with your first name, last name and date of birth – the lab already has your order under those, so there is no ID to show and no paperwork. A technician takes a small blood sample, a urine sample, or both, depending on your tests. There is no exam and nobody asks why you’re there. Most people are in and out in about 5 minutes.

No. We don’t use swabs. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, trich and Mycoplasma genitalium are urine tests; everything else is a small blood draw.

No fasting for STD tests. For urine tests it helps not to pee for about an hour before the visit so the sample is concentrated. No ID is needed.

No. Your test is paid for when you order. The lab never asks for a card or insurance and never sends you a bill.

Your order is good at any of our partner labs, so you can go to a different one. Check the hours on the location page, or call us and we’ll point you to one that’s open.

Many are open Saturday mornings; very few are open Sunday. Each location page lists its hours.

Most results are ready in 1–2 business days after your lab visit. A few tests take a little longer – we tell you which when you order. We don’t claim results the same day, because real lab results don’t work that way.

You get an email saying your results are ready – nothing else is in it. Log in to your secure online account to view them. Results are never mailed or texted.

You won’t just be handed a result. A member of our care team calls you, explains what it means in plain language, and sets up a consultation with a physician. Depending on the infection, care may be a prescription sent to the pharmacy you choose, an in-person visit for an injection (gonorrhea and syphilis), or a referral to ongoing care (herpes, HIV, hepatitis). The consultation is a separate fee.

Yes. Call (866) 872-1888 any time. Care advisors are available 24 hours a day, and a physician consultation is arranged when a result needs it.

These are the same FDA-cleared tests, run in the same CLIA-certified laboratories, that hospitals and doctors’ offices use. The main source of a wrong answer is testing too early – that’s why we ask when the exposure was.

No. We never bill insurance, and your testing information is handled confidentially by the physicians and laboratories providing your care. Nothing is mailed. Your lab visit doesn’t announce why you’re there – partner labs collect samples for many kinds of testing, so you’re simply another routine visit. Your card statement just says RSC Health. Results go only to your private online account.

No, and that’s deliberate – a claim to your insurer creates a record. You can pay with any major credit or debit card, PayPal, an HSA/FSA card, or a prepaid card.

The doctor’s order, the lab visit, the test and your results in your private account. There are no lab fees or hidden charges. The price on the button is the whole price.

RSC Health. Nothing on the statement says STD, test or lab.

Only where the law requires it: positive results for certain infections are reported to public health departments by the laboratory, the same rule every lab and clinic in the country follows. Nothing goes to your insurer, employer or doctor.

Yes – that’s the normal case. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, trich, herpes, HIV and hepatitis are all usually silent. Most people who test have no symptoms. Testing is the only way to know.

Yes. Gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and herpes pass through oral sex readily, and throat infections usually cause no symptoms. HIV can pass through oral sex, but the risk is very low compared with vaginal or anal sex.

Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis and Mycoplasma genitalium are cured with antibiotics. Hepatitis C is curable with modern antivirals. Herpes, HIV and hepatitis B are managed with medication so well that most people live completely normal lives.

It depends on your age, anatomy and situation. The CDC recommends yearly chlamydia and gonorrhea screening for sexually active women under 25 and for older women with a new or more than one partner; an HIV test at least once for everyone 13 to 64; and testing every 3 to 12 months for people with new or multiple partners. Any specific worry, or a new partner, is a good reason on its own.

The same thing. “Infection” is the more accurate word, since most are silent and don’t cause disease unless untreated. Most people still say STD, so we do too.