Guides

What does a number on my negative HIV test result mean?

Some tests (not usually in the UK) include a number (ie 0.31 or 0.64).

  • If the number is less than 1.0 the result is negative.
  • If the result is above 1.0 the result is positive
  • If the result is very close to 1.0 (higher than 0.90) the doctor may repeat the test. The word equivocal means that the interpretation of the results is not clear, so it is best to take the test again.

A higher number below 1.0 does NOT indicate a higher chance of having HIV.

The graphic below is an example of how these results can be given.

test result nummber v2

Last updated: 1 June 2021.