--- title: How to Order Your Free COVID-19 Tests description: Americans will be able to order free COVID-19 tests by the end of September canonical: https://time.com/7023433/covid-19-tests-free-orders/ author: Solcyré Burga article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-09-23T15:28:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T12:51:19.000Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Order Your Free COVID-19 Tests og:description: Households will be able to obtain four free antigen COVID-19 tests. og:url: https://time.com/7023433/covid-19-tests-free-orders/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt391dfc3cb30a08ca/698a5b1a457a528491d6ac62/GettyImages-1353115523.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Positive Antigen rapid test for Covid-19 on a blue background og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Order Your Free COVID-19 Tests twitter:description: Households will be able to obtain four free antigen COVID-19 tests. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt391dfc3cb30a08ca/698a5b1a457a528491d6ac62/GettyImages-1353115523.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Order Your Free COVID-19 Tests  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 12:51 PM UTCPublished: Sep 23, 2024 3:28 PM UTC  Positive rapid SARS COV 2 (Covid-19) antigen test on a blue background Positive rapid SARS COV 2 (Covid-19) antigen test on a blue backgroundBrais Seara—Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 12:51 PM UTCPublished: Sep 23, 2024 3:28 PM UTC Following a summer[ uptick of COVID-19 infections](https://time.com/6996203/covid-19-symptoms-flirt-variants/), Americans are now able to order free COVID-19 tests starting Thursday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rolled out the initiative ahead of the holiday season, when colds, flus and other illnesses[ become more common](https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/winter-illness-guide#:~:text=Colds%2C%20flus%20and%20other%20respiratory,dry%20air%20may%20weaken%20resistance.). Households will be able to obtain four free antigen COVID-19 tests by visiting[ COVIDtests.gov](http://covidtests.gov/), and filling out their name and shipping address, a repeat of the 2023 program. And the department says that these tests will be able to "detect current COVID-19 variants and can be used through the end of the year," according to its website. The rapid at-home tests will start to be shipped the week of Sept. 30\. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that test positivity for COVID-19 stood at 14.9%, a decrease from the[ 17.8% high reached](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends%5Fweeklydeaths%5Ftestpositivity%5F00) in August, though that number is still elevated. By comparison, in May, positivity[ hovered around 3-4%](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends%5Fweeklydeaths%5Ftestpositivity%5F00). In 2023, 900 million COVID-10 tests went out to Americans through the program, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Last month, U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that seeks to combat the KP variant strain,the[predominant variant](https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/whats-new/kp-3-1-1-is-the-predominant-variant.html)that has been circulating. Individuals as young as 6 months will be eligible to receive the shot. “Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said in a[ press release](https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-and-authorizes-updated-mrna-covid-19-vaccines-better-protect-against-currently#:~:text=Today%2C%20the%20U.S.%20Food%20and,of%20SARS%2DCoV%2D2.). “Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7023433/covid-19-tests-free-orders/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7023433/covid-19-tests-free-orders/"},"headline":"How to Order Your Free COVID-19 Tests","datePublished":"2024-09-23T15:28:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T12:51:19.000Z","description":"Households will be able to obtain four free antigen COVID-19 tests.","url":"https://time.com/7023433/covid-19-tests-free-orders/","keywords":["COVID-19","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt391dfc3cb30a08ca/698a5b1a457a528491d6ac62/GettyImages-1353115523.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Solcyré Burga","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt391dfc3cb30a08ca/698a5b1a457a528491d6ac62/GettyImages-1353115523.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Positive Antigen rapid test for Covid-19 on a blue background","caption":"Positive Antigen rapid test for Covid-19 on a blue background","creditText":"Brais Seara—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7023433/covid-19-tests-free-orders/","name":"How to Order Your Free COVID-19 Tests"}}]}] ```