COVID-19 self-testing
Rapid self-tests, also called at-home tests or antigen tests, tell you if you have COVID‑19 in 15‑30 minutes. They may miss early infection. If you have COVID‑19 symptoms and test negative, repeat your test in 12 to 24 hours.
Guidance
- If you have symptoms or a close contact or someone in your household is exposed or has COVID‑19 symptoms
- For work or schools (check with your employer/school to see what type of tests they accept)
- Before or after family gatherings, parties, or holiday functions
- After large events such as a sports games or faith-based services and after travel
Do not use a COVID 19 self-test in these situations:
- To meet travel requirements
- If you have already been tested at a testing site or health care provider and are waiting for results. Wait for your results and follow guidance.
You can purchase rapid tests in stores, pharmacies and online. You can also request free tests from the following resources:
- Department of Health – www.sayyescovidhometest.org (multiple languages) or 1-800-525-0127
If you have insurance, you can request to be reimbursed:
- Insurance providers will reimburse families for up to eight tests per month.
- Learn more about insurance reimbursement (available in English only).
If your test is positive:
- You most likely have COVID-19, even if you don’t have symptoms
- You don’t have to confirm the result by going to a lab, clinic, or testing site
- You do not need another test to seek treatment
What to do:
- Isolate for 5 days. Continue to wear a mask around others for five additional days after leaving isolation.
- If you are at higher risk from the disease, ask your healthcare provider or visit a Test to Treat clinic (available in English, Spanish, and Chinese) to ask about early treatment options.
- Tell your close contacts and household members you have tested positive.
- Notify your employer or school. See more on our Support for workers page.
- Report rapid test results to Washington State Department of Health using one of the following two options:
- Report online. Go to safercovid.org/mytest, select your state, then complete the online form with your test results.
- Report by phone. Call 1-800-525-0127 and press # (press #7 for Spanish, or speak the language you need when the call is connected).
- If you need food or other assistance while isolating or quarantining, visit Care Connect Washington or call or text the program hotline, 1-833-453-0336.
- Answer the call or text from contact tracing. Your phone will identify the caller as "WA Health."
For accurate results and for your test to be valid, follow all the instructions inside the self-test box and check the expiration date on the box to make sure your test has not expired.
For more information on expiration dates of rapid test kids see "Can you use a COVID-19 home (antigen) test after the expiration date?" in Rapid self-testing, question #6.
There are many different brands of COVID-19 home test kits. Be sure you use an FDA-authorized test.
Here you will find a list of FDA-authorized tests and how-to videos by test manufacturer for the following brands (English only):
- BD Veritor
- BinaxNOW
- Carestart
- Celltrion DiaTrust
- Clinitest
- FlowFlex
- iHealth
- InBios
- InteliSwab
- QuickVue
- Standard Q
Different brands of tests have different expiration dates. Do not use expired tests unless the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the date printed on the box.
The FDA has extended the expiration dates for some brands, including iHealth and FlowFlex:
- For iHealth, add 6 MONTHS to the "use by" date
- For FlowFlex, add 4 MONTHS to the "use by" date
08 (August) becomes 02 (February)
08 (August) becomes 12 (December)
To look up other brands of tests, go to: bit.ly/FDAselftest.
Resources
- Q&A video with Dr. James Lewis: Can I have COVID and still test negative?
- Translated videos:
Select a language below to view available how‑to self-test videos
How to do a COVID‑19 self-test
BinaxNOW: https://youtu.be/Eou6P5YaC4s external link
How to do a COVID‑19 self-test
የ COVID‑19 ምልክቶች ካለብዎ ወይም ምናልባት ተጋልጠው ከነበር፣ ወዲያውኑ ምርመራ ማድረግ አስፈላጊ ነው። ቀደም ብሎ የ COVID‑19ን ምርመራ ማድረግ፤ በሽታውን ወደ ጓደኞችዎ ፣ ቤተሰብዎ እና ማህበረሰብዎ እንዳይዛመት ለመከላከል ይረዳል።
إذا كانت لديك أعراض كوفيد-19 أو يُحتمل أنك تعرضت للفيروس،من المهم إجراء الاختبار على الفور. يمكنك القيام بذلك في المنزل باستخدام مجموعة أدوات اختبار ذاتي بسيطة وسهلة الاستخدام وتحصل على النتائج خلال 15 إلى 30 دقيقة فقط.
如果您有新冠肺炎症状或曾接触过患者，请必须立即接受检测。 您可以使用简单易用的自我检测工具在家中完成检测，并在短短15至30分钟内获得结果。
如果您有新冠肺炎症狀或曾接觸過患者，請必須立即接受檢測。 您可以使用簡單易用的自我檢測工具在家中完成檢測，並在短短15至30分鐘內獲得結果。
COVID-19 के लिए घर पर रैपिड टेस्ट करना त्वरित और आसान है।
Yog koj yuav kuaj covid 19 koj tus kheej tos tsev, ua tau yoojyim thiab sai heev.
Longc yiem biauv zaah ganh weic COVID‑19 nyei baengc se siepv caux hungh-heic nyei.
新型コロナウイルスのホームテストは素早く簡単にできます。
ការធ្វើតេស្តរកមេរោគ COVID-19 នៅផ្ទះលឿន និងងាយស្រួល។
코로나19 증상이 있거나 노출되었을 가능성이 있는 경우 즉시 검사를 받는 것이 중요합니다. 간단하고 쉬운 자가 진단 키트를 사용하여 집에서 이 작업을 수행할 수 있으며 단 15~30분 만에 결과.
ຂອງການກວດດ້ວຍຕົນເອງຢູ່ບ້ານແບບໄວແລະງ່າຍດາຍ.
Если у вас возникли симптомы COVID‑19 или вы могли подвергнуться заражению, очень важно сразу же пройти тестирование. Вы можете сделать это дома, используя простой и удобный набор для самодиагностики, и получить результаты всего через 15-30 минут.
O le faia o lau su’ega fa’atope o le COVID‑19 i le fale,e vave toe faigofie.
Hadaad leedahay calaamadaha COVID‑19 ama uu kusoo gaaray, waa muhiim inaad si dhaqsaa isku soo baartid. Tan waxaad ku sameyn kartaa guriga adigoo isticmaalaya qalab fudud, iskaa isku baar, jawaabahana ku hel 15-30 daqiiqo gudahooda.
Si usted tiene síntomas de COVID‑19 o pudo haber sido expuesto, es importante hacerse una prueba cuanto antes. Usted puede hacer esto en casa utilizando un kit de autopruebas simple y fácil de usar, y obtener el resultado en solo 15 a 30 minutos.
Kung mayroon kang mga sintomas ng COVID‑19 o maaaring nahantad, mahalagang magpasuri kaagad. Ang maagang pagsusuri ay nakakatulong na maiwasan ang pagkalat ng COVID‑19 sa mga kaibigan, pamilya, at komunidad.
கோவிட்-19-க்கு வீட்டிலேயே ரேபிட் டெஸ்ட் செய்வது மிகவும் எளிமையானது.
ఇంటి వద్ద కోవిడ్-19 రాపిడ్ పరీక్ష చేయడం వేగవంతం అలాగే సులభం.
การตรวจหาเชื้อโควิด-19 ด้วยตัวเองที่บ้านแบบเร่งด่วน ทำได้ง่ายสะดวกและรวดเร็ว
Якщо у вас є симптоми COVID‑19 або ви були в контакті із хворою людиною, важливо негайно пройти тестування. Раннє тестування допомагає запобігти поширенню COVID‑19 серед друзів, родини та громади.
Nếu quý vị có các triệu chứng của COVID‑19 hoặc có thể đã bị phơi nhiễm, điều quan trọng là cần được xét nghiệm ngay. Xét nghiệm sớm giúp ngăn ngừa COVID‑19 lây lan cho bạn bè, gia đình, và cộng đồng. Quý vị có thể thực hiện điều này tại nhà, sử dụng bộ dụng cụ tự xét nghiệm đơn giản và dễ sử dụng, và nhận kết quả chỉ sau 15-30 phút.
BinaxNOW: https://youtu.be/TU7dJReUIjY external link
FlowFlex : https://youtu.be/yzAqnkcMwQ8 external link
Link/share our site at kingcounty.gov/selftest