Antigen tests lined up like dominos, about to topple over.
Illustration: PGN

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What you need to know

Frequent COVID-19 testing is crucial to limiting transmission of the virus during the holiday season. Starting on November 20, each U.S. household can order four additional free at-home tests. If you didn’t order your tests in the fall, after the federal program reopened on September 25, you can now place two orders, for a total of eight tests. According to USPS, the orders will begin shipping out the week of November 27.

Read on to find out more about getting your free COVID-19 tests.

How to order your free COVID-19 tests

  1. Head over to COVID.gov/tests.
  2. Click on the button that says “Order Free At-Home Tests,” which will take you to the USPS site.
  3. Fill out the form on the USPS site, including your name and shipping address.
  4. Click the “Check Out Now” button on the right side.
  5. Click the “Place My Order” button.

If you need help ordering your tests, you can call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to get help in English, Spanish, and over 150 other languages.

How to access additional free or low-cost tests

Besides getting free COVID tests by mail, you can also access free or low-cost tests by visiting a community health center or certain pharmacies. 

Find a community health center, a no-cost testing location, or a Test to Treat site near you to get your free or low-cost PCR or rapid tests.

How to check if an at-home COVID-19 test is expired

Expired at-home COVID-19 tests can lead to inaccurate or invalid test results. Before you take an at-home test, look for its expiration date, which will be printed in year-month-day format on the test kit box, sometimes next to a small hourglass symbol. You should also check the chart on this page to see if the FDA extended your test kit’s expiration date. When checking for updated expiration dates, you may have to identify the test kit’s batch number, a serial code that will be next to a rectangular symbol with “LOT” inside.