How soon can I take an HIV test?

This question usually refers to how soon after exposure can someone test for HIV. 

This used to involve waiting 3 to 4 weeks before taking an HIV test (see Figure 6).

However, 2020 UK guidelines now recommend waiting 6 weeks.

This is because 4th generation HIV tests (antigen/antibody) will detect 99% of infections at 6 weeks – compared to 95% of infections 4 weeks after exposure.

A negative test after four weeks needs to be confirmed with a second test three months after the risk. This is to cover the small chance that you take longer than four weeks to generate an antibody response.

Extending this to 6 weeks means the confirmatory test is no longer needed.

In high risk exposures, especially if symptoms occur, viral load testing is sometimes used after one week. This includes after a sexual assault or after a needlestick injury to a healthcare worker.

In these cases a viral load test can exclude an infection when there are symptoms.

Viral load tests are not approved to diagnose HIV. A negative result still needs to be confirmed by an antibody test three months after the risk.

Figure 6: Recommended time from exposure to HIV test *

* This diagram needs to be updated to show the six-week window.

Last updated: 1 June 2021.