HIV testing in Montana, where to get tested, free options, what to expect
The number
20 new HIV diagnoses in Montana in 2022, 8% among Black residents, all preventable with timely testing and linkage to PrEP.
Ryan White Part B
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Communicable Disease Epidemiology Program
State ADAP
Montana AIDS Drug Assistance Program
Income cap 330% FPL
State PrEP-DAP
Not operated; federal Ready Set PrEP applies
Where to get tested in Montana
700 people are living with HIV in Montana, and 8% 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 Montana: every county health department runs an STI / HIV testing clinic, and Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Communicable Disease Epidemiology Program 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 Montana HIV info line is 1-406-444-0273; 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 Yellowstone AIDS Project and Open AID Alliance as the local institutions that show up consistently, both are listed below.
Yellowstone AIDS Project. Yellowstone AIDS Project in Billings is Montana's largest HIV community-based organization, operating Ryan White Part B case management across all 56 counties through a satellite office network in Missoula, Great Falls, and Helena.
Open AID Alliance. Open AID Alliance in Missoula is the state's only syringe services program and operates the Western Montana rapid-testing and PrEP navigation clinic on East Pine Street, the highest-volume HIV program west of the Continental Divide in Montana.
For Black families in Montana
In Montana, 8% of new 2022 HIV diagnoses were among Black residents. That figure reflects unequal access to testing more than underlying risk: a Black person in Montana 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 Montana
Where to get help in Montana
- Montana HIV info line: 1-406-444-0273, staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
- Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Communicable Disease Epidemiology Program landing page: https://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/hivstd.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in Montana: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/mt/.
- State health data for Montana: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/montana/.
- Montana Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/montana/ 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
- Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Communicable Disease Epidemiology Program: https://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/hivstd.
- 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/montana/.
Data refreshed: