Can My Partner Get Treated Without a Visit?

EPT is when the clinician who diagnoses you with chlamydia or gonorrhea treats your recent sex partner(s) by giving you the medication — or a prescription in your partner's name — to pass along, without your partner needing to come in for their own exam first. The point is speed and follow-through: partners who would otherwise put off a visit get treated quickly, which lowers the chance you get reinfected when you're back together. Your partner still gets written information about the medicine, allergies, and warning signs, and is encouraged to see a clinician and get fully tested. EPT is an added option for partner treatment, not a replacement for a partner getting their own care when they can.

EPT is established for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the two most common bacterial STIs, and mainly for heterosexual partners. A clinician may sometimes consider it for trichomoniasis. It is NOT used for syphilis or HIV — those require the partner to be examined, tested, and evaluated in person, because staging syphilis and managing HIV can't be done with a handed-over pill. So EPT solves one specific problem (getting a partner treated fast for chlamydia or gonorrhea) and is deliberately narrow. If there's any chance of syphilis, HIV, or another infection, the partner needs a visit, not just medication.

In almost every state, yes. The CDC tracks EPT's legal status in three buckets: permissible (legally allowed), potentially allowable (not expressly permitted and not clearly prohibited — it may need certain conditions or a clinician's interpretation), and prohibited (expressly not allowed). EPT is permissible in the large majority of states and DC; only a couple of states sit in the 'potentially allowable' zone, and this tool treats those as 'ask your clinician,' never as a hard no. Because these laws and clinic practices change and expand, use the state selector above as a starting point, then confirm with your own clinician or pharmacy whether they can provide EPT.

It's a simple ask. When you're diagnosed with chlamydia or gonorrhea, tell the clinician you'd like expedited partner therapy for your recent partner(s) and roughly how many partners need it. If EPT is available where you are, they can either hand you the medication to pass along or write a prescription you can fill for your partner, plus written information for them about the medicine, allergies, pregnancy, and warning signs. If your clinic can't do EPT, ask whether a pharmacy can help, or whether your partner can get a quick appointment — many clinics and health departments treat partners fast and at low or no cost.

Yes — EPT treats, but it doesn't test. The medication your partner takes clears chlamydia or gonorrhea, but it doesn't check for other infections they might have, like syphilis or HIV, and it doesn't confirm they were infected in the first place. So your partner should still get fully tested and, ideally, see a clinician — especially if they have any symptoms, are pregnant, have a medication allergy, or if a man's partner is a man, since those situations really do call for an in-person visit. Think of EPT as a fast head start on treatment, with proper testing as the important follow-up.

Yes. This tool runs entirely in your browser. When you pick a state, the answer is worked out on your own device and is never sent to a server, saved, or shared — close the tab and it's gone. It's general legal and health information based on the CDC's published EPT guidance and legal-status map; it isn't medical advice, legal advice, a prescription, or a diagnosis, and it doesn't create a doctor-patient relationship. For treatment for you and your partner, and to confirm what's available where you live, talk with a clinician or pharmacy.