Where to get tested in Wisconsin
8,100 people are living with HIV in Wisconsin, and 44% 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 Wisconsin: every county health department runs an STI / HIV testing clinic, and Wisconsin Department of Health Services, AIDS/HIV 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 Wisconsin HIV info line is 1-800-334-2437; staff can point you to the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, and help you navigate insurance or no-insurance options. Two places to start are Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Infectious Disease Clinic and Diverse & Resilient, both listed below.
Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Infectious Disease Clinic. The Froedtert & MCW ID Clinic in Milwaukee is Wisconsin's largest Ryan White Part C grantee, serving about 1,900 people living with HIV in southeastern Wisconsin; Froedtert hosts the Medical College of Wisconsin's CFAR-affiliated Black-community HIV implementation science program.
Diverse & Resilient. Diverse & Resilient in Milwaukee is Wisconsin's LGBTQ+-led HIV service organization, operating the Ryan White Part B contract for Milwaukee County and the Room For Improvement program, the state's Black-men-focused HIV-prevention peer-navigation initiative on North Avenue.
For Black families in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, 44% of new 2022 HIV diagnoses were among Black residents. That figure reflects unequal access to testing more than underlying risk: a Black person in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin
Froedtert & MCW Infectious Disease Clinic
Milwaukee, WI • 1-414-805-3666
Diverse & Resilient — Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI • 1-414-390-0444
Vivent Health — Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI • 1-414-225-1581
Vivent Health — Madison
Madison, WI • 1-608-252-6540
Milwaukee Health Department — Keenan Health Center STD/HIV Clinic
Milwaukee, WI • 1-414-286-3624
Where to get help in Wisconsin
- Wisconsin HIV info line: 1-800-334-2437, staff can find the nearest free testing site, schedule PrEP, or help enroll you in ADAP.
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services, AIDS/HIV Program landing page: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/aids-hiv/index.htm.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in Wisconsin: every FQHC offers sliding-scale HIV testing and has certified application counselors on staff. See our FQHC directory for the state at /clinics/wi/.
- State health data for Wisconsin: for state-level HIV mortality, maternal health, and life-expectancy context by race, see /health/wisconsin/.
- Wisconsin Medicaid: Medicaid is the largest single payer of HIV care in most states. See /medicaid/wisconsin/ 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
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services, AIDS/HIV Program: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/aids-hiv/index.htm.
- 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/wisconsin/.
Data refreshed:
Every program above tests free or at low cost. If you would rather test at home, a self-pay kit is a private option:
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