Testing for STIs and HIV if you have no symptoms
Testing for STIs and HIV is free and confidential and is offered at all of our clinics, through our home test service and our vending machines.
There are also lots of other places you can get an HIV test in Brighton & Hove, including both free and paid for options. If you are not in Brighton & Hove, you can access STI and HIV testing from your local sexual health clinic.
Order a home test kit
If you have no symptoms, are aged 16 or over, and have a BN1/BN2/BN3 or BN41 postcode, you can order a free home test kit. For other postcodes please see our advice for testing if you live out of our area.
Visit a vending machine
If you have no symptoms and are aged 16 or over, you can visit one of our eight vending machine sites across the city.
Book an appointment or attend a walk in clinic
You can call us on 01273 523 388 to book an appointment at SHAC East.
Or you can attend one of our walk in appointments at SHAC Central. These run on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (10.15am to 5pm) and are filled on a “first come, first served” basis. You may be given a time slot later in the day when you will be asked to return to the clinic.
Other ways to get tested
As well as being able to attend all of our general clinics, our specialist clinics offer more ways for specific groups of people to get tested.
Under 25s
If you are under 25, you can go to our Young Persons Clinic on Wednesday afternoon (1.30pm to 6pm) at SHAC Central.
For an appointment at SHAC West (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons, 3pm to 5.30pm) text 07909453505 and a member of staff will reply as soon as possible to tell you what day and time to attend.
C-Card sites also offer free home Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea test kits for people under the age of 25.
Clinic M (for men who have sex with men)
Appointments at Clinic M are on Wednesday evenings (5pm to 8pm) at SHAC East. Call us on 01273 523 388 to book.
Clinic T (for trans and non binary)
You can attend an appointment at Clinic T on the second Wednesday of every month (5.30pm to 8pm) at SHAC East. To book an appointment call us on 01273 523 388 or use the contact us form.
When should I get tested for STIs and HIV?
We recommend that everyone who is sexually active has an annual STI check and for some people it is a good idea to test every three months. To be absolutely sure that you don’t have an STI you need to consider the time it takes for an infection to show up on a test. This is referred to as the ‘window period’.
Testing for STIs and HIV within the window period
We understand it’s not always possible or practical to abstain from sex completely for the full length of time needed to cover all of the test window periods. If this is the case, we would recommend taking a further test at a later date to cover a specific risk, or testing every three months.