Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing: urine, swab and home tests

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are tested with a NAAT, a lab test that finds the bacteria's genetic material in urine or a swab, and one sample usually checks for both. Men usually give urine. Women usually give a vaginal swab, which they can collect themselves. After oral or anal sex, a throat or rectal swab tests those sites. For prices from every provider we track, see our chlamydia test page and gonorrhea test page.

Key points

• CDC names first-catch urine for men and a vaginal swab for women as the best samples. You can take the swab yourself.
• Urine and vaginal swabs test the genitals only. Throat and rectal infections need their own swabs.
• Test 2 weeks or more after sex. With symptoms, see a clinician now.
• Rapid tests give results in about 30 minutes at some clinics and, for women, at home.
• Retest about 3 months after treatment. A chlamydia test within 4 weeks of treatment can be falsely positive.

How do they test for chlamydia and gonorrhea?

The test is a nucleic acid amplification test, or NAAT, which detects the bacteria's genetic material. CDC calls NAATs the most sensitive tests for chlamydia, and says they find gonorrhea better than culture, the older method. The samples CDC lists are urine, a vaginal or cervical swab, a urethral swab for men, and throat or rectal swabs. Blood isn't one of them.

Certain NAATs detect both bacteria in one sample, CDC notes, and each FDA-authorized test in this guide does. Some online lab services sell each test on its own, so check what your order includes.

Urine or swab: which is more accurate?

For genital infections, CDC names first-catch urine as the best sample for men and a vaginal swab for women. A vaginal swab you collect yourself is as sensitive and specific as one a clinician takes, CDC says.

So how accurate is a urine test for chlamydia and gonorrhea? For men, it's the sample CDC prefers. For women, CDC accepts urine, but LetsGetChecked says vaginal swabs are more sensitive for vaginal infections.

Testing for men and women

CDC recommends a yearly test for sexually active women under 25 and for older women with risk factors, such as a new partner. Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men should test at least once a year at every site used for sex. CDC says about 70% of their infections might be missed with genital-only testing, because most throat and rectal infections cause no symptoms. For women, CDC says rectal chlamydia and throat and rectal gonorrhea tests can be considered, depending on the sex you have.

How to give a urine sample

1. Don't urinate for at least an hour before. Quest, STDcheck and LetsGetChecked all ask for this, and LetsGetChecked says a shorter wait may give incorrect results.
2. Collect the first part of the stream, which CDC calls first-catch urine.
3. Follow your kit's or lab's instructions, including when to mail a home sample.

When to test after sex

CDC doesn't publish an exact window period for chlamydia or gonorrhea. Its guidance after a sexual assault is to repeat tests 1 to 2 weeks later if the first ones were negative, because an infection may not show up at first. Testing 2 weeks or more after sex matches that timing. A test sooner can still find an older infection.

Don't wait if you have symptoms or a partner tells you they have chlamydia or gonorrhea. See a clinician now. Our window periods guide covers other infections.

Rapid chlamydia and gonorrhea tests

A rapid test gives a result in about 30 minutes, while you wait.

At a clinic. In 2021 the FDA allowed the Binx Health IO CT/NG Assay to be used in doctors' offices, community clinics and urgent care. It uses a vaginal swab for women or urine for men, and the FDA says it performed comparably to tests in a certified lab. Not every clinic has a rapid test, so call ahead. Our same-day testing guide and urgent care guide cover where to look.

At home, for women. In 2025 the FDA authorized the Visby Medical Women's Sexual Health Test, the first chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis test done entirely at home without a prescription. A small device runs your vaginal swab. In the FDA's data, it correctly identified 97.2% of positive and 98.8% of negative chlamydia samples, and 100% of positive and 99.1% of negative gonorrhea samples. After a positive result, the FDA says to seek care. After a negative one, call a clinician if you have symptoms or a recent exposure.

We found no FDA-authorized rapid self-test for men.

At-home chlamydia and gonorrhea test kits

Most home kits go back to a lab by mail, for the same kind of NAAT a clinic uses.

• LetsGetChecked Simple 2. The FDA authorized it in 2023 as the first chlamydia and gonorrhea test with home sample collection. It's for adults 18 and older and tests the genitals only.
• CVS Common STI Test Kit. A urine kit for chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis. CVS doesn't ship it to New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island or Puerto Rico.
• Wisp's 3-site kit. It tests urine, throat and rectal samples.

Each row shows one provider's cheapest kit and what it covers. Everlywell also sells the Visby self-test. Our at-home STD tests guide compares more kits.

Lab tests and cost

For a lab test, you order online, walk into a Quest or Labcorp patient service center, and give a urine sample or a vaginal swab. Current prices across the providers we track:

Some providers sell the two tests separately, so compare their total with a combined test or panel. The chlamydia and gonorrhea test pages list every offer, and our STD test cost guide covers insurance and free clinics.

Free option: public clinics

Free and low-cost testing is available at health department clinics and Title X family planning clinics. CDC's GetTested site finds confidential, free or low-cost testing near you by ZIP code.

What to expect

• Clinics usually test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV, and often hepatitis B and C, following CDC screening advice for your age, anatomy and the kind of sex you have.
• A clinician can examine you, swab sores and often treat you in the same visit.
• Some tests sold in private panels are usually not offered without symptoms, such as herpes blood tests and HPV tests for men, because CDC doesn't recommend them as screening tests.
• Hours can be limited, and you may wait for an appointment or a walk-in slot.
• Free testing usually isn't anonymous either (some publicly funded sites offer anonymous HIV testing). Positive results for reportable infections are reported to the health department, confidentially.

Find free testing near you (opens in a new tab)More about free testingFree clinics we checked, by city

After treatment: retest at 3 months

CDC recommends a new test about 3 months after treatment for chlamydia or gonorrhea, even if you think your partners were treated. It says most infections found after treatment are reinfections from an untreated or new partner, not treatment failures.

Most people don't need a test of cure, which checks that the treatment worked. CDC advises one:

• during pregnancy, about 4 weeks after chlamydia treatment
• 7 to 14 days after treatment for gonorrhea in the throat
• after chlamydia treatment, if you missed doses, symptoms continue or reinfection is possible

How long will you test positive for chlamydia after treatment?

CDC doesn't give a set number of days. A NAAT can pick up bacteria that are no longer alive, so CDC advises against a chlamydia NAAT less than 4 weeks after you finish treatment. It says "the continued presence of nonviable organisms" can lead to false-positive results. For gonorrhea in the throat, it says a test of cure at 7 days might be more likely to be falsely positive.

So a positive result soon after treatment doesn't always mean the treatment failed. Ask the clinician who treated you. If symptoms last more than a few days after gonorrhea treatment, CDC says to go back.

Partner treatment

CDC says partners from the 60 days before your symptoms or diagnosis should be tested and treated. With expedited partner therapy, or EPT, your clinician gives you medicine or a prescription to pass to a partner without examining them first. CDC's guidelines say to consider it where the law allows, and CDC lists EPT as permissible in 49 states. Our positive result guide covers talking with partners.

Reporting: confidential, not anonymous

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are reportable in every state, so the lab or clinician reports positive results to the health department, including tests you order online. CDC says these reports are kept confidential. The health department may contact you about treatment and partners. Our privacy guide explains what ends up in your records.