Here's How to Get Your Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests

Photo credit: Images By Tang Ming Tung - Getty Images
Photo credit: Images By Tang Ming Tung - Getty Images

On January 14, the White House released a statement indicating the Biden Administration’s intention to buy one billion at-home COVID-19 antigen rapid tests and send them—totally free of cost—to American households as cases of the Omicron variant continue to surge.

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The White House said it planned to let people begin ordering the tests on January 19, but some people were able to access the online order form a day early as part of a soft launch. That beta testing was meant to indicate if there were any issues with the website (www.covidtests.gov) that required troubleshooting, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Here's what you need to know about the free tests.

How Many Tests Can I Order?

Currently, each residential address is allotted four at-home antigen rapid tests, regardless of how many people live there.

Where Do I Order My Tests?

You can order your free tests at www.special.usps.com/testkits or click the button below. To get more info on the free tests, as well as additional COVID-19 testing resources, you can visit www.covidtests.gov. It only takes about one minute to fill out the form, and if you use autofill settings on your browser, you can get the job done in mere seconds.

🦠 Order your free at-home COVID-19 tests here

How Long Will It Take to Receive My At-Home COVID-19 Tests?

The tests are expected to ship within seven to 12 days of ordering, according to the government website.

The White House also plans to launch a free call line so that those who don’t have internet access or simply need extra help can order their tests, too. The White House has stated that it has enough tests for every residential address in the country, but imposed the four-test-per-home limit to make the dissemination more equitable. And to make sure vulnerable populations were taken into account and could access the order form for their free tests, the White House partnered with the nonprofit National Association of Community Health Workers to allow for priority access.

On social media, some people who live in apartments have mentioned having a hard time ordering their free tests. One possibility? The order form might be registering shared apartment building addresses as a single home address. One twitter user seems to have found a workaround for this issue, though.

For some households, four tests may not be enough. If you find yourself short on at-home tests, you can purchase more at your local pharmacy or online. Supply has been short, though, so you might need to shop around. And if you have a health insurance plan, you might be eligible for reimbursement of a portion or the total amount you spent on the at-home COVID-19 tests—up to eight tests per month (just remember to save your receipts).

What Kind of Tests Are These?

The free COVID-19 tests are rapid antigen tests, which can help you determine if you are currently infected. According to a fact sheet from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for BinaxNOW—a popular brand of rapid antigen tests—these tests detect antigens, or proteins from SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19).

That’s in contrast to molecular PCR tests which detect genetic material from the virus itself. For that reason, rapid antigen tests may be less sensitive. “This means that a positive result is highly accurate, but a negative result does not rule out infection,” per the fact sheet. For that reason, you may want to test yourself more than once.

You cannot choose the brand of tests you receive, but the FDA has approved all of the units that are being delivered to U.S. homes.

When Should I Use My Free COVID-19 Tests?

According to the White House’s website for the tests, there are a few scenarios in which you should use them:

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