This page is general health information, not medical advice. It cannot tell you whether you have an infection. A clinician can, and the testing options on this site are a good place to start.

Getting tested for sexually transmitted infections is a routine part of health care, and Denver has more ways to do it than most people expect. Some are free. Some are sliding scale. Some need an appointment and some take walk-ins. This guide walks through every route, what a visit involves, what is usually tested, and what the published costs look like.

Whether you are looking for STD testing in Denver because of a new partner, a symptom, a routine check or a worry that will not go away, you are in the right place. Testing is how a clinician can find out what is going on, and most bacterial infections can be cured once they are found.

Key takeaways

Denver Public Health runs the Denver Sexual Health Clinic at 660 N. Bannock St. It requires appointments, and the Public Health Institute at Denver Health says uninsured or out-of-network patients pay on a sliding scale of $0 to $70.
Free walk-in testing for STIs, HIV and hepatitis C is offered through Denver Health community outreach at rotating locations. Call or text 720-415-7075 for where it is this week.
HeyDenver (Colorado Health Network), Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Clinica Tepeyac and STRIDE Community Health Center also offer testing. Confirm hours and walk-in days by phone first.
Free mail-in chlamydia and gonorrhea testing and an at-home HIV test are available once a year to Colorado residents 18 or older through a program provided by Denver Public Health.
Colorado law lets minors get STI exams and treatment without a parent's consent.
Only a clinician or a lab test can tell you about your own results. Symptoms, a recent exposure or pregnancy are all good reasons to call a clinic and ask what kind of visit fits.

Denver testing options at a glance

There is no single best place for an STD test in Denver. The right choice depends on whether you have symptoms, whether you can book ahead, what you can pay and how private you want the process to be.

The table below summarizes what the Public Health Institute at Denver Health, HeyDenver and the CDC's GetTested directory publish for each site. Details follow in the next sections. If you want a short local list, the Denver testing list collects these in one place.

Where	How you get in	Published cost	Good to know
Denver Sexual Health Clinic	Appointment required	Sliding scale, $0 to $70 for uninsured or out-of-network patients	Provides treatment, PrEP and PEP
Denver Health community outreach	Walk-in at rotating locations	Free	Testing only, no exams or treatment
HeyDenver (Colorado Health Network)	Walk-in on set days, otherwise appointment	Free, per the program	Rapid HIV testing and PrEP navigation
Planned Parenthood, Park Hill	Walk-in listed by the CDC directory	Not published; call	Insurance and Medicaid accepted
Clinica Tepeyac	Appointment required	Sliding scale	Insurance and Medicaid accepted
STRIDE Community Health Center, Oneida	Call to confirm	Not published	Lists STI testing and treatment
Mail-in and at-home testing	Online, for Colorado residents 18 or older	Free once a year	Not for people who are pregnant or have symptoms

The CDC also runs a national directory at gettested.cdc.gov. You can enter a ZIP code and see testing sites for STIs, HIV and hepatitis, which is a useful way to find an STD clinic in Denver that is close to your home or work.

Public health and nonprofit clinics in Denver

Denver Sexual Health Clinic

The Denver Sexual Health Clinic is operated by the Public Health Institute at Denver Health, also known as Denver Public Health. It is the city's main public STD clinic.

Address: 660 N. Bannock St., Pavilion L, 2nd Floor, Denver, CO 80204
Phone: 303-602-3540 (listed as the "Call to Get Tested" line)
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The clinic is closed from 8 to 9 a.m. on the second Monday of each month.
Appointments: Required for all clinic visits.

The clinic's page explains that there are two kinds of visits. A testing-only visit, with no provider exam, is limited to gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and hepatitis C. People who have symptoms need a provider visit instead. When you call, say whether you have symptoms so the scheduler can book the right one.

The clinic also offers treatment, PrEP and PEP. For PEP, the clinic says to call as soon as possible if you may have been exposed to HIV in the past 72 hours. The clinic's page does not state whether it offers doxy-PEP or the HPV vaccine, so ask when you call.

Denver Health community outreach testing

The same public health institute runs free, confidential walk-in testing at rotating community locations around the Denver metro area. It covers STIs, HIV and hepatitis C, in English and Spanish.

There is no single street address, and the page does not list hours. Call or text 720-415-7075 to find out where testing is happening. Outreach testing does not include physical exams or treatment. If you have symptoms or a known exposure, the program directs you to the Denver Sexual Health Clinic.

HeyDenver (Colorado Health Network)

HeyDenver is a nonprofit HIV and STI program at 822 E 19th Ave, Denver, CO 80218. The phone number is 303-962-2880. Its page lists three-site chlamydia and gonorrhea testing, rapid HIV testing, rapid syphilis testing, hepatitis C testing in some cases, and PrEP navigation.

Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Walk-in testing happens on set days, and other times are by appointment through an online booking link. Colorado Health Network's own get-tested page lists this site as testing by appointment, so confirm the current walk-in days before you go. The English text on the HeyDenver page does not state a price, though the Spanish heading describes the testing as free.

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Park Hill Health Center

This health center is at 7155 E 38th Ave, Denver, CO 80207, phone (303) 321-2458. The CDC's GetTested directory lists STI testing, HIV testing including rapid HIV, hepatitis C testing, HPV vaccine and PrEP. The listing says insurance and Medicaid are accepted, that no appointment is needed, and to contact the organization about eligibility.

The listing does not publish hours or prices. Call before you go, and ask what a visit costs without insurance.

Clinica Tepeyac

Tepeyac Community Health Center's clinic is at 2101 E 48th Ave, Denver, CO 80216, phone (303) 458-5302. According to the CDC directory, it offers STI testing, HIV testing, hepatitis C testing, HPV vaccine and PrEP, accepts insurance and Medicaid, and uses a sliding scale. Appointments are required. Hours are not published there, so ask when you call.

STRIDE Community Health Center, Oneida

STRIDE is a federally qualified health center with a location at 2255 S Oneida St, Denver, CO 80224, phone 303-778-7433. The Oneida location is open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. STRIDE's women's health page lists STI testing and treatment at some locations, but the Oneida page itself does not mention it. Call to confirm that STI testing is available there, and ask about cost and whether walk-ins are accepted. STRIDE's PrEP and HIV care are described at a clinic outside Denver, so ask about referrals if that is what you need.

Other routes: urgent care, primary care and at-home testing

Your primary care provider

A regular doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant can order STI tests, and many people prefer the continuity. Visits are usually billed to insurance like any other appointment. If you are worried about an explanation of benefits arriving at a shared address, ask the office about confidential billing options before the visit.

Say plainly that you would like STI testing, and name which sites you want swabbed or tested if you know. Providers do not always add STI tests to a routine checkup unless asked.

Urgent care

Urgent care centers can evaluate symptoms such as discharge, burning with urination, sores or pelvic pain, and many can send tests to a lab. Which tests each center runs, and what it charges, varies. This guide cannot list prices for them because they are not published in one place, so call ahead and ask what is included and what it costs without insurance.

Urgent care is a reasonable choice when you have symptoms and cannot get a clinic appointment soon. For follow-up care, such as a repeat test or PrEP, a public health clinic or primary care provider is usually a better fit.

Mail-in and at-home testing through Denver Public Health

TestYourselfColorado.com is provided by Denver Public Health. It offers free mail-in chlamydia and gonorrhea testing, plus an at-home HIV test once a year, for Colorado residents 18 or older. The site says it is not for people who are pregnant or who have symptoms. More frequent testing every three months is available at low cost, and the site states that treatment is free.

This is a public health program, not a commercial kit. This guide does not recommend or link to any commercial test product. If you want an at-home option, the public program above is the one the health department's own partner provides.

Telehealth

Some clinics offer virtual visits for follow-up, PrEP check-ins or discussing results. Ask the clinic whether it does, since the sites above do not publish telehealth details.

What gets tested and what to ask for

Common tests and the infections they look for

"STD panel" does not mean the same thing everywhere. Ask what is included. The CDC STI Treatment Guidelines (2021) describe the main tests this way:

Chlamydia and gonorrhea: usually a urine sample or a swab. Swabs may be taken from the genitals, throat or rectum, depending on the sex you have, because an infection at one site can be missed by a test at another.
Syphilis: a blood test, sometimes a rapid finger-stick test.
HIV: a blood draw or finger-stick. Rapid and lab-based tests are both used.
Hepatitis C: a blood test.
Trichomoniasis: a swab or urine sample, most often for people with a vagina.
Herpes: a swab of a sore when one is present. The CDC does not recommend routine herpes blood testing for people without symptoms, so talk with a clinician before asking for it.
HPV: for people with a cervix, HPV is checked as part of cervical cancer screening. There is no routine HPV test for other people.

Who is advised to test, and how often

The CDC and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) publish screening advice. In short:

The CDC recommends everyone aged 13 to 64 get tested for HIV at least once. The USPSTF recommends screening for adolescents and adults aged 15 to 65.
The CDC recommends adults get tested for hepatitis C at least once.
The CDC recommends yearly chlamydia and gonorrhea screening for sexually active women under 25, and for older women with risk factors such as a new partner.
The CDC recommends gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men get tested at least yearly for syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV, and more often, every 3 to 6 months, if they or a partner have multiple partners.
The CDC recommends pregnant people be tested for syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B, and screened for chlamydia and gonorrhea when risk factors apply.

These are general recommendations. A clinician can tell you which ones fit your situation, and a testing-only visit may not cover every test on this list.

Window periods

A window period is the time between an exposure and when a test can reliably detect an infection. A test taken too early can come back negative even if an infection is present.

For HIV, the CDC says:

A nucleic acid test can usually detect HIV 10 to 33 days after exposure.
An antigen/antibody test done on blood from a vein usually detects it 18 to 45 days after exposure.
An antigen/antibody finger-stick test usually detects it 18 to 90 days after exposure.
An antibody-only test can take 23 to 90 days.

Window periods for other infections differ by test. Ask the clinician about timing, and whether to retest later. If you may have been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, do not wait for a test window. Call a clinic about PEP right away, as the Denver Sexual Health Clinic advises.

Questions worth asking

Which infections does this visit test for?
Do you swab the throat or rectum, or only use urine?
When will results be ready, and how will I get them?
What happens if a result is positive? Can treatment start here?
Do you offer PrEP, PEP, doxy-PEP or vaccines?
What will this cost without insurance?

What a testing visit involves

Before you go

For clinics that require appointments, call first. Tell the scheduler if you have symptoms, since that changes the type of visit. Bring a photo ID if you have one, your insurance card if you have insurance, and a list of any medicines you take. Most places will still see you if you lack some of these. Ask when you call.

If you can, avoid urinating for an hour or so before a visit, since urine tests work best with a first-catch sample. The clinic can tell you if that matters for your test.

At the visit

A typical visit has four parts:

Check-in and questions. Staff ask about symptoms, partners, protection use and health history. These questions help the clinician choose tests. They are not a judgment.
Sample collection. This may be a urine cup, a swab you collect yourself, a swab collected by a clinician, a finger-stick or a blood draw. Self-collected swabs are common and are accepted for several tests.
Exam, if needed. A provider visit may include a physical exam, especially if you have symptoms. Testing-only and outreach visits do not.
Next steps. You will be told how results are delivered, and whether anything should be started or repeated.

A visit can be short. Many are under an hour, though the clinics above do not publish wait times.

Getting results

Rapid HIV and rapid syphilis tests can give a result during the visit at sites that offer them, as HeyDenver's page lists. Lab results may take days. Ask how the clinic contacts you, such as phone, patient portal or secure message, and confirm the contact details they have are ones you are comfortable with.

What STD testing costs in Denver

Cost is one of the biggest reasons people delay testing. In Denver, there are several free or low-cost routes. The numbers below are what each organization publishes. Prices can change, so confirm when you call.

Denver Sexual Health Clinic: The Public Health Institute at Denver Health says uninsured and out-of-network patients pay on a sliding fee scale of $0 to $70, and that no one is denied care because of ability to pay. If you have in-network insurance, ask the clinic how your plan is billed.
Denver Health community outreach testing: Free and confidential for STIs, HIV and hepatitis C.
HeyDenver: Described as free testing. The English page does not state a price, so confirm when you book.
TestYourselfColorado.com: Free mail-in chlamydia and gonorrhea testing and an at-home HIV test once a year for eligible Colorado residents. The site says more frequent testing is low cost and treatment is free.
Clinica Tepeyac: Sliding scale, with insurance and Medicaid accepted, per the CDC directory. Exact fees are not published there.
Planned Parenthood, Park Hill: Insurance and Medicaid accepted. No price is published in the CDC listing, so call.
STRIDE Oneida: The page does not list a price.
Urgent care and primary care: Prices vary and are not published in one place. Ask for the cost of the specific tests before you agree.

A few practical tips can lower what you pay. Ask for a testing-only visit if you have no symptoms. Ask whether the clinic uses a sliding scale. Ask if there is a separate charge for the visit and for each lab test. If the cost is a barrier, say so. Clinics that use sliding scales expect that question.

Colorado rules on privacy, minors, reporting and pregnancy

Minors can get STI care without a parent's consent

Under Colorado law, C.R.S. 25-4-409, a health-care provider consulted by a minor must, at the minor's request, perform an exam for a sexually transmitted infection, treat if needed, and discuss or prescribe preventive measures. Parental consent is not a prerequisite, and the information is confidential except for child protection reporting. The statute sets no minimum age. For a minor 13 or younger, the provider may involve a parent or legal guardian. Anyone under 18 who is unsure can call a clinic and ask how it handles privacy before booking.

Note that the free mail-in program above is for adults 18 or older, so minors should use a clinic.

What gets reported to the health department

Colorado requires labs and providers to report certain infections to public health, according to 6 CCR 1009-1, Appendix A, from the Colorado Secretary of State. Chlamydia and gonorrhea are reportable within 4 days. Positive syphilis results are reportable within 1 working day. HIV and AIDS lab values such as viral load and CD4 counts are reportable within 4 days. This reporting is how public health tracks trends and helps connect people to care and partner services.

Partner treatment

Expedited partner therapy lets a clinician treat a patient's partner without a separate visit. The CDC's page on the legal status of EPT in Colorado says Colorado has no EPT-specific statute, though it notes supportive policies from the state Board of Medical Examiners and the State Board of Pharmacy. If you have a partner who may need care, ask your clinician what options are available.

Pregnancy and syphilis testing

Colorado's Regulation 12 (6 CCR 1009-1) requires providers and facilities treating anyone who is pregnant to offer syphilis testing at the first trimester or first prenatal visit, in the third trimester at 28 to 32 weeks, and at delivery. It also covers testing after a fetal death after 20 weeks. This applies unless a documented test already met the requirement or the patient declines. A 2024 law, HB24-1456, directs the State Board of Health to set prenatal syphilis testing standards by rule. CDC's 2023 state tables list 51 congenital syphilis cases in Colorado that year.

HIV and the law

Colorado reformed its HIV-specific criminal laws in 2016 with SB 16-146, according to HIV Law and Policy. One HIV-specific provision remains within the sexual offense statute, C.R.S. 18-3-415.5. If you have questions about how a law applies to you, a legal aid organization can help. A clinician cannot give legal advice.

After your test: results, treatment and prevention

If a result is positive

A positive result is information, and it can be acted on. Bacterial infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, and trichomoniasis, are curable with treatment prescribed by a clinician. HIV, herpes and HPV are not curable, but they are treatable or manageable with clinical care. Many people with HIV who get care live long, healthy lives, according to the CDC.

Only a clinician can prescribe treatment, and what is right depends on the infection and your health history. Avoid using leftover or borrowed medicine. Ask your clinician when it is safe to have sex again, and whether partners should be tested.

If a result is negative

A negative result means the test did not detect an infection at that time. Depending on timing, a clinician may suggest repeat testing. Ask about the window period for the tests you took.

Prevention options to ask about

PrEP: Medicine a clinician prescribes to lower the chance of getting HIV. The Denver Sexual Health Clinic says it will meet with anyone who wants to start PrEP. Ongoing clinic PrEP depends on insurance status and the option chosen, and people who are not eligible get navigator referrals. HeyDenver offers PrEP navigation at 303-962-2880.
PEP: Medicine started within 72 hours after a possible HIV exposure. Call the clinic as soon as you can.
Doxy-PEP: In 2024 the CDC issued guidance that clinicians may offer doxycycline after sex to some groups, specifically men who have sex with men and transgender women who have had a bacterial STI in the past year. Whether it fits you is a conversation for a clinician.
Vaccines: Vaccines exist for HPV, hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Ask which are offered where you are being seen.
Condoms and other barriers: These lower the chance of many infections. Using them does not replace testing.

How common are STIs in Colorado?

The CDC's 2023 STI surveillance state tables list Colorado at 435.1 chlamydia cases per 100,000 people (25,571 cases), 128.7 gonorrhea cases per 100,000 (7,563 cases), and 16.0 primary and secondary syphilis cases per 100,000 (938 cases). Those numbers show that testing is common and routine. For Denver itself, the Public Health Institute at Denver Health reported preliminary 2018 estimates of about 7,317 chlamydia cases, 2,703 gonorrhea cases and 405 syphilis cases, all rising over the prior four years. Those city figures are old and are not directly comparable to the 2023 state numbers. Current Denver figures were not available in the sources used for this guide, so check with Denver Public Health for the latest.

Your next step

If you want testing soon and do not have symptoms, the simplest first steps are to call or text 720-415-7075 for the next free outreach testing location, or to call 303-602-3540 to book at the Denver Sexual Health Clinic. If you have symptoms or a recent exposure, say so on the call. You can also search the CDC's GetTested directory at gettested.cdc.gov for other sites.

Testing is a normal, adult part of looking after your health. You do not need a reason to ask for it.

STD Testing in Denver: Where to Get Tested, What It Costs and What to Expect