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NBCCEDP San Diego, CA

Where to get a free or low-cost pap smear or colposcopy in San Diego, California

Black women die from cervical cancer at roughly twice the rate of white women (CDC WONDER, 2020-2022 three-year average), a disease that is nearly fully preventable with screening and HPV vaccination.

See 71 local clinics Call the California program

How to get a Pap smear free or at low cost in San Diego

If you're uninsured or under-insured, start with Every Woman Counts (EWC). If you don't qualify, the 71 community health centers below charge by income.

  • Every Woman Counts (EWC)

    California's program for residents who qualify.

    Call 800-511-2300 Check eligibility

  • 71 community health centers in San Diego

    Federally qualified health centers, required to see you regardless of ability to pay, with fees on a sliding scale by income.

    See the list

When you call, ask

  • "Do you offer a Pap smear at this location?"
  • "What would it cost me without insurance, on your sliding scale?"

Family planning clinics near San Diego that do Pap tests

HHS lists these as Title X family planning clinics. For care under a clinic's Title X program, which can include Pap tests, federal rules say the clinic can't charge you if your family's income is at or below the federal poverty line, and must discount what you pay by income up to two and a half times that line (42 CFR 59.5).

When you call, ask:

  • Is this visit part of your Title X family planning program?
  • What would I pay at my income?

HHS Office of Population Affairs Title X clinic locator, updated October 20, 2026. Services and hours are as each clinic reports them to HHS.

Community health centers in San Diego

71 federally qualified community health centers in San Diego charge on a sliding scale by income and see patients regardless of insurance. Call ahead to confirm the site offers a Pap smear and to book.

See every community clinic in San Diego

Need a colposcopy in San Diego? Start with the same clinics

If your pap smear or HPV test comes back abnormal, the usual next step is a colposcopy: a 10 to 15 minute exam where a clinician looks at the cervix with a magnifying scope and, if needed, takes a small biopsy. It is how abnormal cells get diagnosed before they can become cancer.

The community health centers listed above provide pap smear screening, and many perform colposcopy on-site or refer you to a partner clinic that does. Call and ask two questions: whether they do colposcopy on-site, and whether you qualify for NBCCEDP coverage, which pays for diagnostic follow-up after an abnormal result, not just the screening itself.

California's free cervical cancer screening program

If you are uninsured or under-insured, California runs a NBCCEDP program that covers pap smear and follow-up at no cost for residents who qualify.

Every Woman Counts (EWC)

Call 800-511-2300 Program details and eligibility Full California eligibility guide

Other free screening in San Diego

Breast cancer Colorectal cancer Cardiovascular Diabetes prevention STD