STD Testing in Chattanooga, TN: Free, Same-Day & Confidential
Chattanooga's Hamilton County reported chlamydia cases run about 16% higher than the US average: whether you have symptoms or want peace of mind, finding the right testing method in Chattanooga, Tennessee depends on whether you want to walk in or book around your schedule. Learn about local clinics and at-home kits below.
11 testing options are listed for Chattanooga, TN. The nearest, Erlanger Health System, is about 1.3 miles away. Compare community and public clinics, private labs, and at-home kits below.
How to read these listings
Listings tagged Community health center are federally funded health centers and rural clinics that treat everyone regardless of insurance or ability to pay: required to bill on a sliding fee scale and provide confidential care, and in many states minors may consent to their own STI testing. A Title X tag flags centers funded for confidential family-planning services; confirm current participation when you call.
Source: CMS FQHC & Rural Health Clinic enrollment files (data.cms.gov), refreshed quarterly. Title X status reflects the latest OPA grantee list.
Premium Partner
Labcorp
Most popular Results in 1–2 days
2.7(50)?
Review sources
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EasySTD5
Rated 2.7 out of 5 from 50 reviews
Address
979 East 3rd Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403 2.6 miles away
Today's offer: $10 off any test panel, applied automatically at checkout.
Community health center 1.3 miles
Erlanger Health System
3.3(91)?
Review sources
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EasySTD5
Rated 3.3 out of 5 from 91 reviews
Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga requires an appointment, so scheduling ahead means arriving to a visit that covers gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV, herpes, hepatitis A, B, and C, and TB, bacterial infections treated same day, on a sliding-scale fee accepted alongside insurance and Medicaid.
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Herpes and Hepatitis Sit Beside the Standard Four
Erlanger tests for herpes and hepatitis A, B, and C alongside the core bacterial and HIV panel, which means a single appointment can surface chronic or often-missed infections at the same time. No separate visit required to fill those gaps.
Clinical Care Runs Fully in Spanish
Spanish-language care is available directly at Erlanger, so speakers can describe symptoms, ask questions, and absorb results in their primary language. Details that shape how clearly a person understands and acts on their care.
Cempa Community Care in Chattanooga is a community health center where STI testing (HIV, hepatitis C, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis) runs alongside PrEP, PEP, and full HIV/AIDS medical care, all on a sliding scale with walk-ins welcome, and every service accepted at no fee.
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Donations Drive the Care, Not Bills
Cempa's no-fee model is sustained through donations and Ryan White funding rather than billing each patient per visit. That means the sliding scale reaches zero: HIV testing, hepatitis C testing, PrEP, and STI treatment are all staffed and dispensed without a balance generated at checkout.
Spanish Is a Clinical Language Here
Spanish is woven into Cempa's care delivery: counseling, medication adherence education, and STI prevention conversations happen in Spanish as a primary language of service. For patients managing PrEP adherence or HIV treatment protocols, that continuity of language through every clinical touchpoint shapes whether instructions are actually followed.
Ryan White Closes the Gap Between Test and Treatment
Many testing sites hand off a positive HIV result with nowhere built in to go next. Ryan White funding at Cempa means HIV/AIDS medical treatment and medication adherence counseling are part of the same program, the same address, so care continues into ongoing management rather than stalling at diagnosis.
Tests & treatsRyan White HIV careSliding-scalePrEP
Address
1000 East 3rd Street, Suite 300 Chattanooga, TN 37403
Listing verified Jan 2026 · Source: CDC NPIN + HRSA
Community health center 2.7 miles
Erlanger Medical Center
2.6(857)?
Review sources
Google852
EasySTD5
Rated 2.6 out of 5 from 857 reviews
Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga carries federal community health center designation, which means STI screening (syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia) is priced on a sliding scale tied to what patients actually earn, no appointment needed to get started.
Sliding-scale
Address
975 East 3rd St Suite B-708, Chattanooga, TN 37403
Homeless Health Care Center in Chattanooga earns its federal qualification by serving people society's healthcare systems often leave behind. Sliding-scale fees bring syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia screening within reach for those paying cash or cycling between coverage gaps. No appointment needed to walk in.
Choice Health Network, a Positively Living Company in Chattanooga, runs STI care through an organization whose mission is built entirely around HIV and infectious disease: meaning testing, treatment, PrEP, and PEP all sit alongside viral hepatitis testing, with every service provided at no fee.
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Every Service Carries a Zero-Dollar Price
Choice Health Network covers its full range of services (rapid and conventional HIV testing, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis C, TB, STI treatment, PrEP, PEP, and both hepatitis vaccines) at no charge to anyone who walks in. For someone paying entirely out of pocket, or without a regular provider who can manage ongoing prescriptions, that means no billing calculation before or after care.
PrEP and PEP Prescribed and Managed On-Site
Choice Health Network prescribes both daily oral PrEP and PEP directly, not as a referral destination but as an ongoing clinical service. PrEP requires regular HIV testing and kidney-function monitoring to stay on the medication safely, and having that follow-up housed at the same organization means the monitoring cycle doesn't depend on coordinating with a separate provider.
Hepatitis C Testing Beyond the Bacterial Standard
The standard four-infection panel (HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia) is where many STI-focused clinics stop. Choice Health Network in Chattanooga extends its testing to hepatitis C and TB, infections that share transmission routes with other STIs but routinely get left off the intake list elsewhere.
Tests & treatsPrEP
Address
5721 Marlin Road, 6100 B1Dg Suite 3500-3600 Chattanooga, TN 37411
River Valley Health in Chattanooga tests for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, and hepatitis A, B, and C, with same-visit treatment for bacterial infections, on a sliding-scale fee open to all. Appointments are required.
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Hepatitis C Diagnosis Leads Directly to Treatment
River Valley Health carries hepatitis C treatment on-site, so a confirmed diagnosis moves into a managed care plan without transferring to a separate provider. That continuity keeps the treatment timeline intact from the first positive result forward.
Prevention Prescriptions Stay Within River Valley's Walls
Leaving a clinic with an unmet PrEP or PEP need means a second appointment, a second provider relationship, and days lost from a prevention window. River Valley Health prescribes both on-site, keeping prevention on a single clinical track.
Non-English Care Runs Through Live Interpretation
River Valley Health provides interpretation services for non-English languages, meaning clinical conversations (risk counseling, treatment instructions, medication adherence education) reach patients in full rather than through approximation. That precision directly affects how well patients engage with their care plans.
Tests & treatsSliding-scalePrEP
Address
5600 Brainerd Road, Suite A4 Chattanooga, TN 37411
Beyond the dedicated testing centers above: at-home kits by mail, hospital labs certified for STI testing, local clinicians who can order a panel during a regular visit, pharmacies for self-test kits and prescriptions, and online PrEP & treatment.
The nearest testing center is about 1 mile away, if you'd rather skip the trip, an at-home kit ships to Chattanooga, you collect the sample privately, and mail it back to a CLIA-certified lab. Results come online in days, with a clinician available if anything is positive. Same labs as a clinic, no waiting room, and you can read how accurate at-home STD tests are before you order.
Want a free option first? The CDC-supported TakeMeHome program mails free at-home HIV self-test kits, and, in many areas, free STI kits, to your door, with no insurance or payment needed. The paid kits below add broader panels and faster turnaround.
In-home collection
Quest Diagnostics
$79 & up
Panel:
8-infection panel incl. chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis, hepatitis & herpes: single tests too
Sample:
Quest Mobile: a phlebotomist collects your sample at home
Every kit uses CLIA-certified labs. At-home testing is for screening; a reactive result should be confirmed and treated by a clinician. Prices and panels shown are illustrative and change often, confirm current details on the provider's site.
Also in the area
Other CLIA-certified labs near Chattanooga, TN
Beyond the public testing sites above, these federally certified (CLIA) labs serve Hamilton County, each lab's town is shown on its card below. Many test through a doctor's order or by appointment rather than walk-in, so call ahead to confirm STD/STI testing and availability before visiting.
Associated Pathologists
1751 Gunbarrel Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421
CMS-certified labAccredited · College of American Pathologists
Showing 6 of the CLIA-certified labs in Hamilton County.
Source: CMS CLIA registry (Provider of Services), Q1 2026. Federal public records: active CLIA-certified laboratories near Chattanooga. A CLIA certificate records only that a laboratory is federally certified — it does not confirm the site performs STD testing, nor its hours, price or access. Inclusion is not an endorsement; always call to verify.
Local clinicians
Clinicians near Chattanooga, TN who may help arrange STD testing
Beyond dedicated clinics, 479 primary-care, OB-GYN, infectious-disease and other clinicians have a CMS practice record within 30 miles of Chattanooga. They may be able to evaluate symptoms or order a confidential STD panel during a regular visit, and 87 offer telehealth.
These are registry-listed clinicians, not dedicated STD-testing clinics. CMS records do not independently verify current licensure, testing services, availability, price, or new-patient status. Confirm each detail before booking. Source: CMS Doctors & Clinicians.
Nearby pharmacies
Pharmacies near Chattanooga, TN
Compare the pharmacies closest to Chattanooga, TN. Contact a location directly to confirm pharmacy-counter hours, services, prices, and product availability before visiting.
Showing the 5 closest pharmacies to Chattanooga, TN.
Directory records identify nearby pharmacies. Service, stock, price, and hours information is shown only when supported by current location-specific evidence.
Prevention & treatment
PrEP, prevention & online treatment
Testing is one step. For residents of Chattanooga, telehealth covers the rest: HIV-prevention medication (PrEP) and DoxyPEP to lower future risk, and discreet online treatment if a result comes back positive. All prescribed by licensed U.S. clinicians.
PrEP & DoxyPEP
Mistr
$0 with most insurance
Free online PrEP & DoxyPEP: HIV prevention, home lab kits, no in-person visit
Pricing varies by insurance and changes often, confirm on the provider's site. These services are not a substitute for emergency care.
STD stats & rates
STDs & HIV in Hamilton County: the local picture
How reported STI rates in Hamilton County, the county that includes Chattanooga, compare with Tennessee and U.S. averages, based on the most recent 2023 surveillance data. An estimated ~30% of residents are aged 15–34 (ACS), the age group with the highest reported chlamydia and gonorrhea rates nationally.
#11
#11 of 95 Tennessee counties for chlamydia, a higher rate than 88% of the state
Reported STD rates per 100,000, Hamilton County vs Tennessee vs U.S.
Hamilton CountyTennesseeU.S.▲▼ = Hamilton County vs the state average
Infection
Hamilton County
Tennessee
United States
Chlamydia
572.62,175 cases▲ 11%
517.4
492.2
Gonorrhea
192.4731 cases▲ 3%
186.4
179.5
Syphilis (P&S)
40152 cases▲ 170%
14.8
15.8
Syphilis (early)
13.752 cases▲ 19%
11.5
16
Syphilis (late/unknown)
24.794 cases▼ 6%
26.4
29.5
Rates per 100,000 population, 2023. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis). Population figures: U.S. Census Bureau ACS. These figures are the latest available surveillance estimates. Bars are scaled to the highest rate shown.
Reading these numbers: reported case rates only count infections that were actually tested for and diagnosed, so they track local screening effort as much as true spread: a higher rate can reflect more testing, a lower one less. Either way, most STIs cause no symptoms, so treat the figures above as context rather than a verdict, and test on the CDC's schedule regardless of how your area looks.
Reported STD rates in Hamilton County over time (per 100,000)
Chlamydia ▼ 3% vs 2022
Chlamydia Gonorrhea Syphilis (P&S)
Between 2020 and 2023 in Hamilton County, chlamydia has fallen from 621 to 572.6 per 100,000 (8%), gonorrhea has fallen from 308 to 192.4 per 100,000 (38%), and P&S syphilis has risen from 7.6 to 40 per 100,000 (426%).
The 2020 dip reflects reduced pandemic-era screening, not lower transmission. Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county, state & U.S., all-ages basis).
Community health context
What shapes testing access in and around Chattanooga, TN
Adults uninsured
9.5%
No routine checkup
23.7%
Binge drinking
16.5%
Frequent mental distress
18%
Depression
28.1%
Below poverty line
11.6%
Primary-care ratio
916 : 1
Hamilton County
Primary-care shortage score 17 / 26
Medically Underserved Area · IMU 56.43
Social Vulnerability Index · 56th percentile nationally
Sources: CDC PLACES (ZIP), County Health Rankings, CDC/ATSDR SVI, HRSA HPSA, HRSA MUA/P, Neighborhood Atlas ADI. Lower insurance coverage, fewer routine checkups, and a thin primary-care ratio all raise the value of low-cost public clinics and at-home testing in Hamilton County.
Local HIV snapshot
HIV in Hamilton County (2023)
People living with HIV
364 / 100k
New diagnoses (2023)
46cases countywide
On PrEP (coverage)
29.9%
Hamilton County HIV care continuum (2023)
Hamilton County recorded 14.3 new HIV diagnoses per 100,000 (2023), against 14.8 statewide and 13.7 nationally. Among Hamilton County residents living with HIV, 85.5% are in care · 55.7% are virally suppressed. Early, routine testing is what moves these numbers: it is the entry point to PrEP, treatment, and viral suppression.
Sources: AIDSVu (Emory/Gilead) · CDC AHEAD · CDC AtlasPlus · CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus (county care continuum). The CDC recommends everyone aged 13–64 test for HIV at least once: every lab and clinic listed above offers HIV testing, and free rapid HIV testing is available at a local health department.
Pregnant or planning to be?Congenital syphilis is the fastest-rising STI: what to test, and when
Congenital syphilis, passed from parent to baby in pregnancy, is the fastest-rising STI in the country. U.S. cases climbed from 2,163 in 2020 to 3,882 in 2023. It is almost entirely preventable: the CDC recommends a syphilis test at the first prenatal visit, and every clinic and lab listed for Hamilton County tests for syphilis.
Source: CDC NCHHSTP AtlasPlus, 2023 (county-level congenital syphilis is not published).
Compiled and checked by EasySTD's editorial team against CDC and public-health sources. This is educational information, not a substitute for advice from a licensed clinician. Our editorial guidelines →
Highland Park sits close enough to downtown that rent checks clear fast, and the relatively modest typical rent does not leave much cushion for discretionary spending once utilities and groceries are factored in. With nearly half of Chattanooga residents renting rather than owning, household budgets here run lean for a broad slice of the city, and that cost pressure shapes how people weigh any appointment that is not free or sliding-scale. Chattanooga's population skews meaningfully toward young adults, the late-teens-and-twenties crowd who are statistically at peak risk for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
Across North Chattanooga and along the Amnicola Highway corridor, that age group is mobile, often hourly-employed, and working within a labor force where unemployment runs higher than many Tennessee metros. Clinic hours that extend past five o'clock or offer walk-ins remove the need to choose between a shift and a test. Hamilton County's STI rates reflect the same patterns visible in the city itself, so the relevant question for most residents is not whether to get tested but which listed option fits a schedule that is already stretched.
Getting there
How residents reach STD testing in Chattanooga, TN
Walkability7.32 / 20 · Below average
At 7.32/20 on the EPA walkability index, day-to-day errands in Chattanooga generally mean driving: plan on a car or rideshare to reach a clinic, and check each listing's hours and phone before you go.
Source: EPA National Walkability Index 2021.
Chattanooga sits in Hamilton County. Local context that shapes where residents test:
Local landmarks
Tennessee Aquarium
Booker T Washington State Park
Orchard Knob Reservation
Lincoln Park
Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
Coolidge Park
Neighborhoods & communities
Highland Park
North Chattanooga
East Ridge
Major routes
East Chattanooga Rec Center
Riverside Drive
SR 319 (Amnicola Highway)
Nearby cities & towns
STD testing near Chattanooga, TN
Just outside Chattanooga? These nearby communities have their own testing guides: clinics, at-home kits, and free screening close to home.
STD testing in Chattanooga, TN: screening, costs & privacy
Everything to know before you test in Hamilton County: the CDC's screening guidelines, each infection's detection window, per-test reference prices, and your privacy rights under Tennessee law. If you have symptoms right now, our confidential symptom checker maps them to the tests worth considering.
Who should test, and whenCDC screening schedule + each infection's detection window
Who should get tested, and how often
Based on current CDC screening recommendations.
Group
Tests
How often
Everyone aged 13–64
HIV
At least once
Sexually active women under 25
Chlamydia, gonorrhea
Every year
Women 25+ with new or multiple partners
Chlamydia, gonorrhea
Every year
Pregnant people
HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B & C, chlamydia
Early in pregnancy
Gay & bisexual men (MSM)
Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV
Every 3–6 months
Anyone who shares injection equipment
HIV, hepatitis B & C
At least yearly
All adults at least once
Hepatitis C
At least once
When to test: STD detection windows
Testing too early can return a false negative, confirm timing with a Chattanooga-area provider.
What each STD test costsMedicare reference prices per lab test, a benchmark before you pay out of pocket
These are the federal Medicare reference prices for processing each lab test. Public clinics and the community health centers serving Chattanooga often test free or on a sliding scale; private labs and at-home kits bundle several tests into one fee. Use this as a per-test benchmark before you pay out of pocket, or see the full guide to STD test costs for insurance, free, and at-home options.
Test
Reference price
CPT / HCPCS
Chlamydia (NAAT)
$47.80
87491
Gonorrhea (NAAT)
$47.80
87591
Trichomoniasis (NAAT)
$47.76
87661
HIV-1/2 antigen/antibody
$26.87
87389
HIV-1/2 antibody
$22.44
86703
Syphilis (RPR/VDRL)
$5.61
86592
Syphilis (treponemal antibody)
$17.49
86780
Herpes (HSV NAAT)
$47.76
87529
Hepatitis B surface antigen
$15.33
87340
Hepatitis C antibody
$29.16
86803
Source: Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, CMS, 2025 rates (data.cms.gov). Reference rate for the lab assay only: a clinic visit, sample collection, or a bundled multi-test panel may cost more. Medicaid and most insurers cover STD screening at no out-of-pocket cost.
Confidentiality & consent in TennesseeMinor consent and partner treatment (EPT) under state law, plus how to test privately
Two things that actually depend on Tennessee law: who can consent, and whether partners can be treated without their own visit. Everything else about testing privately is the same nationwide (see below).
Can a minor consent on their own?
In Tennessee, a minor of any age can consent to confidential STI testing and treatment on their own, no parental permission is required.
Can my partner be treated too? (EPT)
Tennessee permits Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT): if you test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhea, your provider can give you medication (or a prescription) to pass to your partner, no separate exam or appointment needed for them.
Keeping a test private works the same in every state. Whether an STD test shows on insurance (the EOB), how to test anonymously, and self-pay options that leave no insurance trail don’t change by location.
