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.

Free STD testing in Pittsburgh is real, and you have more than one way to get it. The Allegheny County Health Department runs two free clinics. A community nonprofit offers free walk-in testing several days a week. Other clinics charge on a sliding scale, which means the price depends on your income.

This guide walks you through the process in order. You will see who offers what, who qualifies, what to bring and how to check hours before you leave home. Everything here is written for people in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, whatever your gender, orientation, insurance or immigration status.

If you want the full list in one place, the local testing list has it.

Why testing is worth the trip

Many STIs cause no symptoms, so a test is often the only way to find out your status. The CDC STI Treatment Guidelines (2021) recommend screening based on your age, body parts, sexual practices and number of partners, and not only on symptoms. A clinician can tell you which tests fit your situation.

Testing is common in Allegheny County. The Allegheny County Health Department reports 5,190 chlamydia cases (421.3 per 100,000 people) and 2,574 gonorrhea cases (209.0 per 100,000) for 2024. It also reports 191 early syphilis cases and 78 new HIV diagnoses that year. Its preliminary 2025 counts are lower across the board, at 4,744 chlamydia cases, 1,850 gonorrhea cases, 109 early syphilis cases and 53 new HIV diagnoses.

These numbers show that STIs are a normal part of public health, and that people who test get answers and, when needed, treatment. Bacterial STIs and trichomoniasis are curable with treatment from a clinician. HIV, herpes and HPV are not curable, but they are treatable or manageable with a clinician's care.

What you need before you go

You do not need much. Here is a short checklist.

A photo ID. The Allegheny County Health Department Sexual Health Clinic says photo ID is not required to be seen, but it is required to receive results. Bring one so you can get your results.
Insurance information, if you have it. Free clinics do not need it. Sliding-scale clinics may ask for it.
A phone you can answer. Clinics may use it for results or follow-up.
A short list of notes. Include any symptoms, the date of your last exposure if you know it, and any medicines you take.
Questions. Write down anything you want to ask about PrEP, vaccines, partners or privacy.

You do not need to bring proof of income to a free clinic, and you do not need to explain your relationships or your reasons for testing. If the clinic's page does not state a requirement, ask when you call.

Step 1: Pick the option that fits your week

Start by choosing among the options below. Each one is described with what the source says about cost, walk-in access and hours.

Allegheny County Health Department Sexual Health Clinic (free)

The health department's Sexual Health Clinic is free. Services listed on its page include STI testing, HIV testing, PrEP, PEP, doxy-PEP, treatment and hepatitis C testing. It has two locations.

Downtown: Hartley Rose Building, 425 First Avenue, Fourth Floor (entrance on Cherry Way), Pittsburgh, PA 15219. The health department lists hours of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9:00 am to 3:45 pm, and Thursday 11:30 am to 6:15 pm. It closes 12 to 1 pm for lunch, and on Thursday it closes 2:30 to 3:30 pm instead.
McKeesport: Wander Building, 339 Fifth Avenue (entrance at Lysle Boulevard and Locust Street), McKeesport, PA 15132. Hours are Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 3:45 pm, closed 12 to 1 pm. The McKeesport site also lists HPV vaccine.

Phone for both sites: 412-578-8081. The health department's main line is 412-687-2243. Walk-ins are welcome and are seen first come, first served, but appointments get priority. Hours may vary on holidays.

The clinic says anyone 13 and older can be seen without parental consent. It also says patients are seen regardless of immigration status.

One caution: another health department page, the Allies free-testing page, shows different Downtown hours for Wednesday (noon to 6:45 pm). Call before you go to confirm which is current.

Free at-home kits from the health department

The health department also lists free at-home test kits for gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV. The Sexual Health Clinic page says to order them at lumba.health/achd. A county flyer reportedly limits kits to Allegheny County residents age 16 or older, but that flyer could not be confirmed, so check the clinic page or call 412-578-8081 for current eligibility.

Pennsylvania also announced a mailed HIV self-test program in 2021 for residents outside Philadelphia County, according to the Penn State Office of Rural Health. Whether that program is still running was not confirmed, so ask the health department before counting on it.

Allies for Health + Wellbeing (free walk-in testing)

Allies for Health + Wellbeing is a nonprofit that provides HIV, STI and hepatitis C services. Its free-testing page lists several weekly walk-in sites in Pittsburgh.

Allies office: 211 North Whitfield Street, Suite 500 (5th floor), 15206. Sundays 9 to 11:15 am and 1 to 4:15 pm.
Unity Recovery: 801 Bingham Street, 15203. Tuesdays 5 to 7:15 pm.
Pittsburgh Action Against Rape: 81 S. 19th Street, 15203. Wednesdays 9:30 to 11 am and noon to 4 pm.
Bethany Baptist Church: 7745 Tioga Street, 15208. Fridays 11 am to 2:15 pm.

Allies lists rapid HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis results in about 20 minutes. Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing uses urine, oral and rectal swabs. The organization also lists PrEP and PEP. For clinic appointments, call 412-345-7456.

The page carried a notice that walk-in testing was canceled on one Sunday in October, so confirm before you travel. That is a good habit for every walk-in site. The CDC GetTested listing says appointments are required for clinic visits, so ask which one applies to you.

Central Outreach Wellness Center (sliding scale)

Central Outreach Wellness Center is an LGBTQ-focused community health center at 127 Anderson Street, Suite 101 (Timber Court Building), Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Its website says it serves patients with or without insurance and offers sliding-scale options. Services listed include STI testing, HIV testing with rapid results, PrEP, HPV vaccine and hepatitis C testing.

The center's site lists the phone number (412) 322-4151, while the CDC GetTested directory lists (412) 515-0000. Try the first, and use the second if you cannot reach anyone.

Hours on the center's website are Monday and Thursday 9 am to 7 pm, Tuesday and Wednesday 9 am to 5 pm, and Friday 10 am to 5 pm, closed weekends. CDC GetTested lists Friday 9 to 5, so confirm. GetTested also says no appointment is required, but the center's own Pittsburgh page does not say which site does walk-in STI testing. Ask when you call. The company page also lists a Club Pittsburgh site at 1139 Penn Avenue, but it does not say whether testing is offered there.

Prices are not published. The center says to ask about sliding-scale options.

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (sliding scale)

The Pittsburgh Family Planning Health Center is at 933 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, phone (412) 434-8971. The CDC GetTested directory lists HIV testing with rapid results, and herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis tests. It also lists HPV vaccine and PrEP navigation.

GetTested says an appointment is required. It says the clinic accepts insurance, Medicaid and Medicare, and offers a sliding scale, with PrEP for people without insurance. Hours are not listed, so confirm them with the organization.

University Family Medicine UPMC, Squirrel Hill (insurance based)

This UPMC primary care office is at 5608 Wilkin Avenue, Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15217, phone (412) 422-8762. It is not a free option. The CDC GetTested directory lists it as accepting insurance and Medicaid, and says to contact the office about eligibility. It lists tests for HIV (blood draw), hepatitis A, B and C, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. An appointment is required, and cost and hours are not published.

It can be a good fit if you want testing from your regular primary care team and have coverage.

Step 2: Confirm hours and what to expect

Clinic hours change. Before you go, do these three things.

Call the clinic. For the health department clinics, call 412-578-8081. For Allies, call 412-345-7456.
Ask four questions. Are walk-ins seen today? What is the last time I can arrive? Is there a cost, and what do you need from me? What is the wait likely to be?
Check the CDC directory. The CDC's GetTested tool at gettested.cdc.gov lets you look up sites by ZIP code and filter by service.

If you are using the health department, plan around the lunch closure. If you are going Downtown on a Thursday, remember it closes 2:30 to 3:30 pm and then reopens until 6:15 pm.

Step 3: Know your rights and your privacy

Pennsylvania law lets any minor consent to testing and treatment for venereal disease. The statute is Section 3 of the Act of Feb. 13, 1970, P.L. 19, No. 10 (35 P.S. 10103). It sets no minimum age, and the section text does not mention parental notification. The Guttmacher Institute's summary agrees that Pennsylvania lets minors consent to STI testing and treatment. The health department clinic also states that it sees anyone 13 and older without parental consent.

Some results are reported to the state. Under 28 Pa. Code 27.21a, laboratory-confirmed chlamydia, gonococcal infections, syphilis and HIV are reportable within five work days after identification. This is a standard public health practice used to track and respond to infections. If you have questions about what that means for you, ask the clinician at your visit.

Pennsylvania also allows clinicians to prescribe antibiotics for a partner's STI without examining the partner. This is called expedited partner therapy, and it is described in 35 P.S. 603 and 604 on the CDC's page for Pennsylvania. Which infections it covers was not confirmed, so ask your clinician if it could apply to you.

Step 4: Go to the visit

At the clinic, a staff member or clinician will usually ask about your symptoms, your sexual practices and your recent exposures. They ask these questions to choose the right tests, not to judge you. You can answer in your own words.

Testing may involve a urine sample, a swab of the throat, rectum or genitals, a blood draw or a finger stick, depending on what you report. For people with a cervix, the CDC recommends different screening at different ages, so ask what applies to you.

Window periods matter for some tests. A window period is the time after an exposure before a test can reliably detect an infection. The CDC publishes these windows by infection and test type, and they differ. A clinician can tell you whether a repeat test makes sense for you. Do not guess from a number you read elsewhere.

Step 5: Understand your results

Some tests give quick results. Allies lists rapid HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis results in about 20 minutes. Other results, such as many swab and urine tests, may take longer, and the clinic will tell you how it shares them. Remember that photo ID is required at the health department clinic to receive results.

A negative result usually means the test did not detect that infection at the time of testing. A clinician can explain how recent exposures may affect that. A positive result is a reason to talk with a clinician about next steps. For bacterial STIs and trichomoniasis, a clinician can prescribe treatment that cures the infection. For HIV, herpes and HPV, a clinician can discuss treatment and management.

If a result is positive, the clinician may also talk with you about telling partners. The health department and many clinics can help you think this through. No test is perfect, so ask the clinician whether you should retest.

Prevention services you can ask about

While you are at a clinic, you can ask about prevention. These services were listed by the sources above.

PrEP is medicine a clinician prescribes to lower the chance of getting HIV. The health department clinic, Allies, Central Outreach and Planned Parenthood list PrEP or PrEP navigation. For people with insurance, the Pennsylvania Department of Health says the Affordable Care Act requires HIV PrEP coverage with no cost sharing. The department's Special Pharmaceutical Benefits Program also helps residents with medication costs.
PEP is medicine a clinician prescribes after a possible HIV exposure. It is time sensitive. The health department clinic offers non-occupational PEP, and says to call the clinic for urgent PEP guidance at 412-578-8081. Allies also lists PEP.
Doxy-PEP is an antibiotic strategy the CDC addressed in its 2024 guidance for certain people after sex. The health department lists doxy-PEP among its services, and a clinician decides whether it fits you.
Vaccines. The McKeesport site lists hepatitis A and B, HPV and mpox vaccines. Check with the clinic about current availability.

Tips for a smoother visit

Go early in the open window. Walk-in lines can be longer later in the day, and walk-in clinics may stop seeing people before they close.
If you can, make an appointment. The health department says appointments get priority over walk-ins.
Tell the clinician about every kind of sex you have had, including oral and anal. Swab sites depend on this.
Ask what the clinic's results process is and how long it takes.
Ask about the other services you might want, such as vaccines or PrEP, so you only need one trip.
If you cannot get to a clinic, ask the health department about its free at-home kits.

Common mistakes to avoid

Not confirming hours. Allies posted a walk-in cancellation notice, and the health department notes hours may change on holidays. A call saves a trip.
Forgetting ID. At the health department clinic, you may be seen without it, but you will need it to get your results.
Assuming one test covers everything. Different infections need different tests, and not all sites are tested in every visit. Tell the clinician about your exposures.
Treating symptoms as the only reason to test. Many STIs have no symptoms, so a clinician may recommend testing based on your situation.
Waiting out of worry. Staff at these clinics see people for STI testing every day. Nobody there needs to know your reasons.
Relying on an old phone number. Central Outreach has two listed numbers. If one does not work, try the other.
Skipping follow-up. If a clinician suggests retesting after a window period, put it on your calendar.

What to expect after you test

Most people leave a testing visit with a clearer picture and a plan. A negative result may be reassuring, and a clinician can tell you whether retesting makes sense. A positive result may feel hard to hear, but many infections can be treated or managed, and clinicians can explain your options.

You may also leave with a prescription, a vaccine or a PrEP plan. All of those come from a clinician who knows your history, not from this article.

Quick comparison of local options

Option	Cost as published	Walk-in	Notes
Allegheny County Health Department Sexual Health Clinic (Downtown and McKeesport)	Free	Yes, appointments get priority	Ages 13 and older without parental consent; ID needed for results
Allies for Health + Wellbeing	Free walk-in testing	Yes, at weekly sites	Confirm before going; clinic visits may need appointments
Central Outreach Wellness Center	Sliding scale; prices not published	Per CDC GetTested, yes	Confirm which site does STI testing
Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania	Sliding scale; insurance accepted	No, appointment required	Hours not listed; confirm
University Family Medicine UPMC	Insurance based; cost not published	No, appointment required	Contact the office about eligibility

Your next step

Pick one option from the list, call to confirm the day and hours, and go. If you want to compare more sites, the CDC's GetTested directory at gettested.cdc.gov lets you search by ZIP code. The health department's Sexual Health Clinic page also has current details.

Free and low-cost testing is available in Pittsburgh. Using it is a routine, practical way to take care of your health.

Free STD Testing in Pittsburgh: Every Free and Sliding-Scale Option