HIV testing in District of Columbia — where to get tested, free options, what to expect
The number
230 new HIV diagnoses in District of Columbia in 2022, 73% among Black residents — all preventable with timely testing and linkage to PrEP.
Ryan White Part B
DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA)
State ADAP
DC AIDS Drug Assistance Program (DC ADAP)
Income cap 500% FPL
State PrEP-DAP
DC PrEP Drug Assistance Program
Where to get tested in District of Columbia
12,300 people are living with HIV in District of Columbia, and 73% of new diagnoses in 2022 were among Black residents. Getting tested is the first step — the CDC recommends at least one HIV test for every adult 13-64, and annual testing for anyone sexually active with more than one partner or injecting drugs. Rapid tests return results in about 20 minutes from a fingerstick; laboratory tests take a few days but catch infections sooner after exposure (as early as 10 days with a nucleic-acid test).
Where to test for free in District of Columbia: every county health department runs an STI / HIV testing clinic, and DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA) contracts with community-based organizations to operate walk-in rapid testing with evening and Saturday hours. No ID or insurance is required at these sites. Confidentiality is protected — state law requires public-health HIV testing results to stay out of your medical record unless you authorize release, and anonymous testing (no name collected) is available at most community sites.
What to expect: a pre-test conversation about risk and what a positive result would mean, the test itself (either fingerstick or blood draw), and post-test counseling. If the rapid test is reactive, the counselor draws blood for a confirmatory Western blot or antigen/antibody test. If you're positive, you'll be linked to a Ryan White Part C clinic for same-week HIV primary care and ADAP enrollment if you qualify by income.
The District of Columbia HIV info line is 1-202-671-4900; staff can point you to the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, and help you navigate insurance or no-insurance options. Long-time Black residents name Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc. and Whitman-Walker Health as the local institutions that show up consistently — both are listed below.
Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc.. Us Helping Us on Georgia Avenue NW is the oldest Black-gay-men's HIV organization in the United States, founded in 1985, operating rapid testing, peer navigation, clinical trials recruitment, and the annual US Helping Us Black Same Gender Loving Men's Leadership Conference.
Whitman-Walker Health. Whitman-Walker Health operates three FQHC sites across DC and is the backbone of DC's Ryan White Part A program, serving more than 7,000 people living with HIV — the majority Black — with the Max Robinson Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE anchoring Ward 8 services.
For Black families in District of Columbia
The South carries the heaviest HIV burden in the country: Black Southern residents make up roughly 14% of the U.S. population but account for more than half of new Black HIV diagnoses nationally. In District of Columbia, 73% of new 2022 HIV diagnoses were among Black residents. That figure reflects unequal access to testing more than underlying risk: a Black person in District of Columbia waits longer for an HIV diagnosis on average than a white peer, and late diagnoses translate directly into later treatment starts and worse outcomes. The community organizations listed below — particularly those flagged as Black-community anchors on the directory — operate rapid-testing sites specifically designed to close that wait-time gap.
Named HIV testing + PrEP sites in District of Columbia
Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc.
Washington, DC • 1-202-446-1100
Whitman-Walker Health — 1525 14th St
Washington, DC • 1-202-745-7000
Whitman-Walker Health — Max Robinson Center
Washington, DC • 1-202-797-3500
La Clinica del Pueblo — Columbia Heights
Washington, DC • 1-202-462-4788
Family and Medical Counseling Service (FMCS)
Washington, DC • 1-202-889-7900
Unity Health Care — East of the River Health Center
Washington, DC • 1-202-232-3636
Howard University Hospital Infectious Diseases Clinic
Washington, DC • 1-202-865-1186
Where to get help in District of Columbia
- District of Columbia HIV info line: 1-202-671-4900 — staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
- DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA) landing page: https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/hivaids-hepatitis-std-and-tb-administration-hahsta.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in District of Columbia: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/dc/.
- State health data for District of Columbia: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/district-of-columbia/.
- District of Columbia Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/district-of-columbia/ for eligibility + enrollment.
- CDC NPIN testing-site finder: gettested.cdc.gov accepts a zip code and returns every free + low-cost HIV testing site within 50 miles.
References & primary sources
- DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration (HAHSTA): https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/hivaids-hepatitis-std-and-tb-administration-hahsta.
- CDC HIV Surveillance Report 2022: cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html. Source for state-level new diagnoses and race-stratified counts.
- HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantee list: ryanwhite.hrsa.gov/grants/part-b.
- NASTAD ADAP Monitoring Project 2024 Annual Report: nastad.org/adap-monitoring-project. Source for ADAP income cap + enrollment + PrEP-DAP data.
- AIDSVu state profile: aidsvu.org/state/district-of-columbia/.
Data refreshed: