This page is general health information, not medical advice. It cannot tell you whether you have an infection. A clinician can, and the testing options on this site are a good place to start.

Austin has grown past a million residents across Travis, Williamson and Hays counties, according to the City of Austin Planning Department, and testing for sexually transmitted infections has grown along with it. Travis County recorded a chlamydia rate of 712.6 per 100,000 people and a gonorrhea rate of 351.4 per 100,000 in 2022, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Texas STD Surveillance Report. Those numbers are one reason routine testing matters for anyone who is sexually active in the area, regardless of symptoms.

This guide walks through the free and low-cost testing options available in Austin, step by step, so you can pick the one that fits your situation, your schedule and your budget.

What you'll need

A photo ID if you have one. Texas Family Code Sec. 32.003 lets a minor of any age consent to STI and HIV testing and treatment without a parent's permission, so an ID is not a requirement for getting care.
Your insurance card, if you have one. Kind Clinic asks patients with insurance to use it to cover lab work, per Kind Clinic.
A general sense of when you were last sexually active and whether you have any symptoms, so clinic staff can talk through which tests make sense for you.
A way to pay a small fee at some clinics. The Austin Public Health Sexual Health Clinic charges $30 for testing and treatment, according to Austin Public Health.
Some flexibility with timing. Several Austin clinics offer walk-in testing, but hours and walk-in availability differ by location.

Step-by-step: getting tested for free or low cost in Austin

Step 1: Decide whether an at-home kit or an in-person visit fits better

If you don't have symptoms and want privacy, Texas DSHS runs a program called Test for Texas that mails free self-testing kits for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, ordered at testfortexas.org, according to Texas DSHS. Vivent Health also stocks a free online depot of at-home HIV test kits, condoms and lubricant for Austin residents, limited to 25 items per order, per Vivent Health's Online Depot. Together TakeMeHome, a CDC-funded program, mails free HIV self-tests to anyone age 17 and older living in the United States, with a fingerstick option for adults 18 and older, according to Together TakeMeHome.

At-home kits work well for routine screening without symptoms. If you have symptoms, or want same-visit treatment available, an in-person clinic visit is generally the more direct route, since a clinician can examine you and choose tests on the spot.

Step 2: Match your situation to a clinic

Austin has several options depending on your age, insurance status and budget.

ASHwell Sexual Health + Wellness, at 3100 Red River St, Suite 3, offers testing and treatment at no cost to patients, though related medication may carry a cost, according to ASHwell. The clinic does not accept walk-ins, so call (512) 900-3116 ahead.
Vivent Health Austin, at 104 E. Highland Mall Blvd, Suite 100, offers free HIV testing at every location, per Vivent Health, and a CDC directory listing additionally notes free STI and Hepatitis C testing at this site.
The Austin Public Health Sexual Health Clinic, at the RBJ Health Center, 15 Waller Street, charges $30 for standard testing and treatment covering HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, with herpes testing available only if you have active symptoms, according to Austin Public Health. The same department also runs a Red Ribbon program offering free HIV counseling and testing for people without symptoms, plus a free 20-minute walk-in express HIV test; call 512-972-5430 to ask about scheduling.
CommUnityCare's IDEALhealth Program, at 1000 E. 41st St., Suite 700, uses a sliding fee scale set after meeting with a Financial Eligibility Specialist, and also offers doxy-PEP and HPV vaccination, according to CommUnityCare.
Kind Clinic's Austin Koenig location, at 101 W Koenig Lane, Suite 100, offers walk-in testing for gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, HIV and Hepatitis C, per Kind Clinic. Patients with insurance use it for lab costs; uninsured patients may qualify for the clinic's patient assistance program. Kind Clinic is closed on observed holidays and the first Friday of every month, according to Kind Clinic's locations page.
If you're a University of Texas at Austin student, University Health Services offers drop-in testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV and syphilis with no appointment needed, though people with symptoms need a provider appointment instead, according to UT Austin's Healthyhorns site.

For a fuller side-by-side look at costs and services across the city, see our breakdown of where to get tested and what it costs in Austin.

Step 3: Call ahead and confirm what's current

Clinic hours, fees and services can change, and Austin Public Health's own site carries a note that content updates may be delayed. Before you go anywhere, call to confirm current hours, whether an appointment is required, and which infections are tested at that visit. This single call saves a wasted trip.

Step 4: Go to your visit and complete your test

Depending on which tests make sense for you, a visit might involve a urine sample, a blood draw, or a swab. Staff will walk you through what each sample is for. None of this requires you to already know or guess what the results will show.

Step 5: Get your results from a clinician

A clinician or the test itself is what can tell you a result, not a checklist or an article. If a result calls for treatment, a clinician will prescribe it. Bacterial infections, including chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, along with trichomoniasis, can be cured with treatment from a clinician, according to the CDC's STI Treatment Guidelines. HIV, herpes and HPV are not curable, but they are treatable and manageable with ongoing care.

Step 6: Think about partners

Texas allows a form of expedited partner therapy. A physician can prescribe treatment for the partner of an established patient without examining that partner first, and a pharmacist can fill that prescription without the partner's name on the label, according to the CDC's page on the legal status of EPT in Texas, which cites Texas Administrative Code rules. This can make it easier for a partner to get treated even if they haven't been seen by a clinician yet.

Step 7: Plan your next test

Testing isn't a one-time task for most people. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends HIV screening at least once for everyone ages 15 to 65, and recommends regular chlamydia and gonorrhea screening for sexually active people at increased risk, including younger women. Ask the clinic you use how often they'd suggest you come back, since it depends on your own circumstances.

Tips and common mistakes to avoid

Don't wait for symptoms before testing. Many STIs, including chlamydia and gonorrhea, often cause no symptoms at all, per the CDC.
Don't assume every clinic tests for every infection. Austin Public Health's Sexual Health Clinic, for example, only tests for herpes if you have active symptoms.
Don't skip the phone call. Walk-in hours, holiday closures and fees differ by clinic and can change without much notice.
Don't assume a free program covers everything. Vivent Health's free guarantee applies specifically to HIV testing on its own page, while a CDC directory lists broader free STI and Hepatitis C testing at that same site, so it's worth asking what's included on the day you go.
If you're pregnant, don't skip prenatal screening. Texas law requires a syphilis test, among others, at the first prenatal visit and again in the third trimester, with additional testing at delivery if that record is missing, according to the Texas Health and Safety Code Sec. 81.090.

What to expect from your results

A test result may come back negative or positive, and a recent exposure can sometimes fall inside a window period where an infection doesn't yet show up on a test, according to the CDC's STI Treatment Guidelines. Turnaround time for results varies by clinic and by test type, so ask the clinic directly how and when you'll hear back. Whatever the result, a clinician at the clinic is the person who can walk you through what it means and what, if anything, comes next.

You can compare hours, services and costs across Austin's clinics on our local testing list before you decide where to go.

Free STI Testing in Austin: Every Free and Low-Cost Option