HIV testing in Mississippi, where to get tested, free options, what to expect
The number
520 new HIV diagnoses in Mississippi in 2022, 82% among Black residents, all preventable with timely testing and linkage to PrEP.
Ryan White Part B
Mississippi State Department of Health, STD/HIV Office
State ADAP
Mississippi AIDS Drug Assistance Program
Income cap 400% FPL
State PrEP-DAP
Not operated; federal Ready Set PrEP applies
Where to get tested in Mississippi
10,400 people are living with HIV in Mississippi, and 82% 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 Mississippi: every county health department runs an STI / HIV testing clinic, and Mississippi State Department of Health, STD/HIV Office 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 Mississippi HIV info line is 1-601-576-7723; 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 My Brother's Keeper Inc. and University of Mississippi Medical Center Adult Special Care Clinic as the local institutions that show up consistently, both are listed below.
My Brother's Keeper Inc.. My Brother's Keeper in Ridgeland, Mississippi, is the state's largest Black-led HIV service organization, operating community-based testing across the Mississippi Delta and the Community Health PEARL program, a rapid-PrEP-initiation partnership with Delta Health Center.
University of Mississippi Medical Center Adult Special Care Clinic. The UMMC Adult Special Care Clinic in Jackson is Mississippi's largest Ryan White Part C grantee, serving more than 2,800 people living with HIV, nearly 85% Black, and hosting the MS CEAL community engagement program with Jackson State University.
For Black families in Mississippi
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 Mississippi, 82% of new 2022 HIV diagnoses were among Black residents. That figure reflects unequal access to testing more than underlying risk: a Black person in Mississippi 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 Mississippi
My Brother's Keeper Inc. — Ridgeland
Ridgeland, MS • 1-601-898-0000
UMMC Adult Special Care Clinic
Jackson, MS • 1-601-984-1000
Open Arms Healthcare Center — Jackson
Jackson, MS • 1-601-500-7700
Delta Health Center — Mound Bayou
Mound Bayou, MS • 1-662-741-2151
Building Bridges Inc. — Jackson
Jackson, MS • 1-601-500-0730
Grace House — Jackson
Jackson, MS • 1-601-353-1038
Where to get help in Mississippi
- Mississippi HIV info line: 1-601-576-7723, staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
- Mississippi State Department of Health, STD/HIV Office landing page: https://msdh.ms.gov/page/14,0,150.html.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in Mississippi: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/ms/.
- State health data for Mississippi: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/mississippi/.
- Mississippi Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/mississippi/ 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
- Mississippi State Department of Health, STD/HIV Office: https://msdh.ms.gov/page/14,0,150.html.
- 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/mississippi/.
Data refreshed: