Which STD Test Do I Need?

It applies the CDC's published STI screening recommendations to your answers. For example: the CDC advises everyone 13–64 get an HIV test at least once; every adult 18+ get screened once for hepatitis B and hepatitis C; sexually active people with a cervix under 25 get yearly chlamydia and gonorrhea tests; and men who have sex with men get tested at every site of exposure at least yearly. It's a transparent rules engine, not a black box, every recommendation shows its reason.

Because chlamydia and gonorrhea infect the throat and rectum, and a standard urine test misses those infections. The CDC recommends testing at every site of exposure: a throat swab if you have oral sex, a rectal swab if you have receptive anal sex. Many people are told they're 'negative' on a urine test while carrying an untreated throat or rectal infection, so this is one of the most important questions.

Probably not, if you have no symptoms. The CDC does not recommend routine herpes (HSV) blood testing for people without symptoms: the antibody test can't tell where the infection is and produces frequent false positives, causing needless anxiety. If you have a sore or blister, the right test is a swab of that lesion, not a blood test. Talk to a provider about testing if a partner has genital herpes.

For most sexually active people, once a year is the baseline. If you have multiple or anonymous partners, are a man who has sex with men at higher risk, or are on HIV PrEP, the CDC recommends every 3–6 months. Test again about 3 months after any treatment, and get tested promptly, don't wait for your annual visit, if you develop symptoms or learn a partner has an STI.

It's completely private: every answer stays in your browser and is never sent, saved, or shared. And no, it can't diagnose you: it's an educational tool that turns CDC screening guidance into a personalized checklist. Only a clinician and an actual test can diagnose an infection. Bring your panel to a provider or an at-home testing service.

Which test you need is only half of it, timing is the other half. Every infection has a window period, the gap between exposure and when a test can reliably detect it, and testing inside that window can hand you a falsely reassuring negative. For chlamydia and gonorrhea, a NAAT is generally reliable about two weeks after exposure. HIV depends on the test: a nucleic-acid test detects it roughly 10–33 days out, a lab antigen/antibody test about 18–45 days, and a rapid antibody test about 23–90 days. Syphilis antibodies also take time to rise. If you test early and it's negative, repeat it once the window has fully passed.