Cervical cancer screening has changed. HPV tests now lead the way, the recommended schedule depends on your age, and, new in 2025, you can even collect the sample at home. Tell the tool your age and whether you have a cervix and it returns your recommendation: when to start, which test, how often, and when you can stop. Everything runs in your browser: nothing is sent, saved, or shared.
New: you can test at home. An FDA-approved at-home HPV self-collection kit (the Teal Wand, 2025) lets people 25–65 collect a sample themselves through a telehealth service, a comfortable alternative to an in-office exam.
This is general information from USPSTF and American Cancer Society guidelines, not a diagnosis. Your provider may adjust it for your history (past abnormal results, immune status, DES exposure). Cervical screening is separate from STD testing.
Cervical screening by age
The recommendation shifts as you get older, moving from Pap (cytology) tests toward HPV-based testing. Here's the picture at a glance:
| Age | What's recommended |
|---|---|
| Under 21 | No screening yet |
| 21–29 | Pap (cytology) every 3 years (ACS: may start at 25 with HPV) |
| 30–65 | Primary HPV test every 5 years (preferred); or co-test every 5 yrs; or Pap every 3 yrs |
| Over 65 | May stop if you have an adequate normal-result history |
USPSTF starts screening at 21; the American Cancer Society's 2025 guideline starts at 25 with primary HPV testing and adds at-home self-collection. Both agree that from age 30, an HPV-based test every 5 years is the preferred approach. Follow whichever guideline your provider uses.
Pap test vs HPV test
A Pap (cytology) test looks at cervical cells for abnormal changes. An HPV test looks for the high-risk virus that causes almost all cervical cancer. For people 30–65, a primary HPV test every 5 years is now preferred because it catches risk earlier and lets you screen less often, since most HPV clears on its own between screens — see the typical clearance timeline and when to re-screen. Two alternatives are an HPV + Pap co-test every 5 years, or a Pap alone every 3 years. Under 30, a Pap is typically used.
At-home HPV self-collection
This is new. In May 2025 the FDA approved the first at-home HPV self-collection device, the Teal Wand, a prescription kit paired with a telehealth service for people 25–65 at average risk. You collect a vaginal sample yourself and mail it to a lab that runs the same HPV test clinics use. It's a comfortable alternative to an in-office exam; a positive result is followed up with a provider.
When you can stop
You can usually stop cervical screening after 65 if you have an adequate history of normal results: generally three normal Pap tests in a row, or two normal HPV tests within the past 10 years, with the most recent in the last 5. If you don't have that history, or you've had a serious abnormal result, screening continues past 65. People who've had the cervix removed in a total hysterectomy for a non-cancer reason generally don't need it at all.
Screening is not the same as STD testing
Cervical cancer screening (Pap/HPV) checks for cancer risk from HPV: it is not a general STD test and won't detect chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, or other infections. You may want both, but they're ordered separately. The HPV vaccine also prevents most (not all) cervical cancers, so vaccinated people still follow the same screening schedule, the vaccine and screening work together.
Keep exploring on EasySTD: which STD test you need, the best at-home STD tests and HPV testing.