STI testing: who should be tested and when

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) often have no symptoms, so you may not know you have one, but even without symptoms they can cause serious health problems and spread to others.¹ What you should be tested for, and how often, can depend on where you live, your age, your sexual history and practices, and any symptoms, and a health care provider can help you decide which tests you need.¹

This guide explains what two main U.S. sources recommend for women: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). They mostly agree, but not always, so we say who recommends what.

If you were sexually assaulted, testing, medicines to prevent HIV (which must be started within 72 hours), and the medical exam are covered in What to do after a sexual assault.²

Why testing matters when you feel fine

The USPSTF says chlamydia and gonorrhea in women are usually without symptoms and may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and its complications, such as ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and long-term pelvic pain.³ For HIV, the CDC says the only way to know your status is to get tested.⁴

Most of the recommendations below are about screening: testing people who don’t have symptoms.^5,6 If you do have symptoms, that is a reason to get checked, whatever your age or last test (see symptoms that are a reason to get care).

Recommendations at a glance

This summary is for women who are not pregnant. Pregnancy has its own section.

• Chlamydia and gonorrhea: every year if you are sexually active and younger than 25 (CDC); sexually active women 24 or younger (USPSTF); and older women at increased risk (both).^1,3
• HIV: at least once for everyone ages 13 to 64 (CDC); ages 15 to 65 (USPSTF); more often for some people.^4,7
• Syphilis: people at increased risk (USPSTF and CDC).^5,8
• Hepatitis B and C: CDC recommends testing all adults at least once; the USPSTF’s recommendations differ (see below).^9,10
• Trichomoniasis: CDC recommends screening for some groups only.¹¹
• Herpes: routine blood testing without symptoms is not recommended (CDC and USPSTF).^6,12
• HPV: tested as part of cervical cancer screening. Read more: Cervical cancer screening and HPV self-collection.

Chlamydia and gonorrhea

USPSTF (2021): The Task Force recommends screening for chlamydia, and for gonorrhea, in all sexually active women 24 years or younger and in women 25 or older who are at increased risk for infection.³ This includes pregnant people.³ The risk factors it lists include a new sex partner or more than one partner, a partner who has sex with other people at the same time, inconsistent condom use when not in a mutually monogamous relationship, and a history of STIs, incarceration, or sex work.³

CDC (2021 STI Treatment Guidelines): The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening of all sexually active women younger than 25, and screening of older women at increased risk, such as women 25 and older who have a new sex partner, more than one sex partner, a partner with other partners, or a partner who has an STI.¹³ Its gonorrhea screening recommendations for women follow the same age and risk groups.⁸

How often. The two sources frame timing differently. The CDC says “every year” for women under 25.¹ The USPSTF says there are no studies on screening intervals, and that a reasonable approach is to screen people whose sexual history shows new or continuing risk factors since their last negative test.³

After treatment. The CDC recommends retesting about 3 months after treatment for chlamydia, whether or not you believe your partners were treated.¹³ It recommends retesting 3 months after treatment for gonorrhea too.⁸

HIV

CDC: Everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 should get tested for HIV at least once, and people with certain risk factors should get tested at least once a year.⁴ The CDC also recommends HIV testing for all women who seek evaluation and treatment for STIs.⁸

USPSTF (2019): The Task Force recommends HIV screening for adolescents and adults ages 15 to 65, for younger and older people at increased risk, and for all pregnant people.⁷ It found too little evidence to set the best interval for repeat screening.⁷ As of September 28, 2026, the USPSTF website says this topic is being updated.⁷

The age ranges differ slightly (13 to 64 versus 15 to 65), but both organizations support at least one HIV test for most adults.

Syphilis

USPSTF (2022): The Task Force recommends screening for syphilis in nonpregnant adolescents and adults who are at increased risk for infection.⁵ Groups it describes as having higher rates include people with HIV or other STIs, people who use illicit drugs, people with a history of incarceration, sex work, or military service, and young adults.⁵

CDC: The CDC’s clinical guidelines recommend screening women without symptoms who are at increased risk, citing factors such as a history of incarceration or transactional sex work and where a person lives.⁸ The CDC’s page for the public puts it this way: most sexually active adults should be tested for syphilis based on where they live.¹ A health care provider can help you decide which tests you need.¹

Hepatitis B and C

The CDC’s STI screening recommendations include hepatitis B and C.⁸ The CDC and USPSTF recommendations don’t fully match.

• Hepatitis B. The CDC recommends screening all adults 18 and older for hepatitis B at least once in their lifetime (a 2023 recommendation).⁹ The USPSTF (2020) recommends screening adolescents and adults at increased risk.¹⁴
• Hepatitis C. The CDC recommends screening all adults 18 and older at least once in their lifetime.¹⁰ The USPSTF (2020) recommends screening adults ages 18 to 79.¹⁵

Trichomoniasis

The CDC says most people with trichomoniasis have minimal or no genital symptoms.¹¹ It recommends routine yearly screening for women with HIV, and says screening might be considered for people getting care in places where the infection is common, such as STI clinics and correctional facilities.^8,11 The CDC also notes that data are lacking on whether screening and treating trichomoniasis without symptoms reduces health problems.¹¹ For women who are treated, it recommends retesting about 3 months later.¹¹

Herpes

Both organizations advise against routine herpes blood tests for people without symptoms. The CDC says it does not recommend herpes testing for people without symptoms in most situations, because of the limits of the blood test and the chance of a wrong result, which is higher for people at low risk.¹² The USPSTF (2023) recommends against routine screening for genital herpes in adolescents and adults without symptoms, including pregnant people, because the widely available blood tests are likely to give many false-positive results.⁶

The CDC says a blood test might be useful if you have genital symptoms that could be herpes, if you have or had a partner with genital herpes, or if your provider found signs of herpes and needs to confirm it.¹²

Testing during pregnancy

The CDC says screening during pregnancy leads to treatment and care that can prevent passing infections to the baby.¹⁶

At the first prenatal visit, the CDC recommends testing all pregnant women for syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, and testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea for those under 25 and older women at increased risk.¹⁶ The CDC recommends hepatitis B testing in every pregnancy, whatever your vaccination or testing history.⁹

Syphilis later in pregnancy: where the groups differ.

• USPSTF (2025): The Task Force recommends early screening for syphilis for everyone who is pregnant, whether or not they have risk factors, or screening at the first chance if it wasn’t done early.¹⁷ It says there wasn’t enough evidence to judge testing more than once during pregnancy, so it makes no recommendation for or against repeat testing.¹⁷
• CDC (2021 guidelines): The CDC recommends testing again at 28 weeks and at delivery for pregnant women who live in communities with high syphilis rates or who have been at risk of getting syphilis during pregnancy.¹⁸ Risk factors it lists include substance use, STIs during pregnancy, more than one partner, a new partner, or a partner with an STI.⁸
• ACOG (April 2024): Because congenital syphilis rates have been rising quickly, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends testing all pregnant people at the first prenatal visit and again in the third trimester and at birth, instead of testing later only those at risk.¹⁹

Other repeat testing. The CDC recommends retesting for chlamydia and gonorrhea in the third trimester for women under 25 or at risk, and retesting for HIV in the third trimester for women at increased risk.⁸ The CDC says routine herpes blood screening is not recommended for pregnant women without symptoms.⁸

If you’re pregnant, it’s reasonable to ask which tests you’ve had and whether you’ll be tested again later in pregnancy.

What testing involves

Depending on the test, the CDC says you may be asked for blood, urine, or swabs from your vagina, throat, or rectum.¹ If you have had oral or anal sex, the CDC suggests talking with your provider about throat and rectal testing.¹

Swabs you collect yourself. For chlamydia, the CDC’s guidelines say vaginal swabs you collect yourself are as accurate as swabs a clinician collects.¹³ The USPSTF notes that the same sample can be used to test for both chlamydia and gonorrhea.³

Testing at home. The CDC describes three ways to test: at a provider’s office, with an at-home self-test, or with a self-collection kit you mail to a lab.¹ It says there are FDA-approved self-tests for HIV and syphilis, and for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis using a vaginal swab.¹ Even if you test at home, the CDC encourages an open and honest conversation with a provider about your sexual history and testing.¹

If a test is positive

The CDC’s recommendations for retesting about 3 months after treatment for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis are above.⁸

Partners may need treatment too. In expedited partner therapy (EPT), a provider gives a patient diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea a prescription or medicine to take to their partner, without examining the partner first.²⁰ You can ask your provider whether it is an option where you live.

Where to get tested

You can ask your regular provider, ob-gyn, or a clinic. If you’re not comfortable talking with your regular provider about STIs, the CDC says many clinics offer confidential and free or low-cost testing.¹ The CDC’s GetTested site lets you search by ZIP code for places near you that offer HIV, STI, and viral hepatitis testing, including free or low-cost options and home test kits by mail.²¹

For teens and young people. The CDC says all 50 states and the District of Columbia explicitly allow minors to consent to their own STI services, and no state requires a parent’s consent for STI care, though rules vary by state.²² It also notes that when a young person is on a parent’s insurance, a bill or explanation of benefits sent to the parent may list the STI tests or treatment.²² If privacy is a concern, you can ask a clinic about this before your visit.

Symptoms that are a reason to get care

The recommendations above are for people without symptoms. The CDC lists symptoms among the things that shape which tests you need.¹ If you have unusual discharge, sores, pain, or other vaginal or vulvar symptoms, our guide to painful sex and vaginal or vulvar symptoms explains when sources say to get care.

What we don’t know yet

• How often to test. The USPSTF says there are no studies on the best interval for chlamydia and gonorrhea screening, and it found too little evidence to set an interval for repeat HIV screening.^3,7
• Repeat syphilis testing in pregnancy. The USPSTF says it couldn’t assess testing more than once in pregnancy and calls for more research, while ACOG recommends testing three times for everyone.^17,19
• Trichomoniasis screening. The CDC says data are lacking on whether screening people without symptoms reduces health problems.¹¹
• Guidance that may change. The CDC’s STI Treatment Guidelines were published in 2021, and the USPSTF says its HIV recommendation from 2019 is being updated.^7,8 The recommendations described here are current as of September 28, 2026.

Questions to ask your doctor

• Based on my age and history, which STI tests do you recommend for me, and how often?
• Which tests are included in today’s visit? Is HIV testing included?
• Should I have throat or rectal testing?
• Can I collect my own swab, or use a home test?
• Do you recommend syphilis testing where I live?
• Have I been tested for hepatitis B and C?
• I’m pregnant: which tests have I had, and will I be tested again later in pregnancy or at delivery?
• If a test is positive, how will my partner get treated? Is expedited partner therapy available here?
• Who will see my results, and will anything be sent to the person who holds my insurance?

This article summarizes published research and official health information. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not medical advice. How we source.

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