HIV testing in South Carolina, where to get tested, free options, what to expect
The number
790 new HIV diagnoses in South Carolina in 2022, 71% among Black residents, all preventable with timely testing and linkage to PrEP.
Ryan White Part B
South Carolina Department of Public Health, Bureau of HIV/STD Services
State ADAP
South Carolina AIDS Drug Assistance Program
Income cap 550% FPL
State PrEP-DAP
Not operated; federal Ready Set PrEP applies
Where to get tested in South Carolina
20,100 people are living with HIV in South Carolina, and 71% 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 South Carolina: every county health department runs an STI / HIV testing clinic, and South Carolina Department of Public Health, Bureau of HIV/STD Services 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 South Carolina HIV info line is 1-803-898-0749; 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 MUSC Ryan White Clinic and Palmetto Community Care as the local institutions that show up consistently, both are listed below.
MUSC Ryan White Clinic. The MUSC Ryan White Clinic in Charleston is South Carolina's largest Ryan White Part C grantee, serving about 2,400 people living with HIV across the Lowcountry; MUSC co-runs the Palmetto State's EHE Charleston plan with Roper St. Francis Healthcare.
Palmetto Community Care. Palmetto Community Care in North Charleston (formerly Lowcountry AIDS Services) is the Ryan White Part B case-management contractor for the Lowcountry region, with a dedicated Black-women-focused prevention program and the state's highest-volume community rapid-testing van.
For Black families in South Carolina
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 South Carolina, 71% of new 2022 HIV diagnoses were among Black residents. That figure reflects unequal access to testing more than underlying risk: a Black person in South Carolina 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 South Carolina
MUSC Ryan White Clinic — Charleston
Charleston, SC • 1-843-792-3484
Palmetto Community Care — North Charleston
North Charleston, SC • 1-843-747-2273
SC Department of Health and Environmental Control — Richland County Health Department
Columbia, SC • 1-803-576-2997
Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services (PALSS) — Columbia
Columbia, SC • 1-803-779-7257
AIDS Upstate — Greenville
Greenville, SC • 1-864-250-0607
Where to get help in South Carolina
- South Carolina HIV info line: 1-803-898-0749, staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
- South Carolina Department of Public Health, Bureau of HIV/STD Services landing page: https://dph.sc.gov/diseases-conditions/hiv-aids.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in South Carolina: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/sc/.
- State health data for South Carolina: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/south-carolina/.
- South Carolina Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/south-carolina/ 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
- South Carolina Department of Public Health, Bureau of HIV/STD Services: https://dph.sc.gov/diseases-conditions/hiv-aids.
- 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/south-carolina/.
Data refreshed: