A new updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine is now available at pharmacies, health care providers and clinics across the state in anticipation of this predicted winter surge. Learn more about how to find your 2024 COVID-19 vaccine.

All of this means it may be a good idea to conduct additional COVID-19 antigen testing in your household in the coming months so you can quickly identify an infection and know when to isolate from others. But if you’re finding it increasingly difficult to find a cheap antigen test in year 5 of COVID-19, you’re not alone. Use the links below to find a free or low-cost COVID-19 test near you, or read on to learn more about these latest USPS testing kits.

Order free at-home COVID tests from the US government through USPS

Starting September 26, you can again order four free at-home COVID-19 antigen tests at covidtests.gov. No payment or credit card information is required to place an order. You also don’t need to provide ID or health insurance information.

(This program is separate from the program that allows people with private health insurance to be reimbursed for the costs of home testing for COVID-19. Read more about reimbursement for home testing from your health insurer.)

You can place your order for these four free COVID-19 tests online at USPS.com (the direct link from covidtests.gov) or order by phone from USPS at 800-232-0233.

On covidtests.gov, after placing an order, you will also see a message that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the expiration dates of these tests. So don’t worry if you see “expired” on a box of tests you receive. You can still use them, but check the FDA’s full list of expiration date extensions first to be sure.

Each residential address (and PO Box) in the United States is eligible for one order of four at-home COVID-19 tests – not each person or family. This means that multiple orders to the same address under different names will not be processed.

For example, if you live with several roommates or in a large household with multiple generations, only one person can place an order for that address. Realistically, this could mean that the tests you receive are not enough for everyone in your household.

Find a COVID test through your health insurance provider

If you have insurance with major providers in the Bay Area, such as Kaiser Permanente or Sutter Health, making an appointment through that specific provider may be the easiest option for arranging a COVID-19 test. Most providers offer registrations online via a member login, and appointments can also be made by telephone.

Please note that people with private insurance may face new out-of-pocket costs for PCR tests after the end of emergency orders last year, depending on the provider.

Medicare will continue to cover PCR test costs. And under the American Rescue Plan, people on Medicaid can continue to get free at-home testing until September 30, 2024.

Most people, regardless of insurance coverage, will have to pay for at-home, over-the-counter rapid COVID-19 tests after the federal emergency order ends. Thanks to a bill passed in October 2021, Californians can still claim reimbursement from their health insurer for rapid antigen tests, although since last year those tests must be obtained “in network.”

Find a COVID test through California’s statewide testing map

On the California COVID-19 Testing and Treatment Locations map you will still see a list of testing locations, where you can also find locations offering testing for flu and RSV.

Because so many vaccination sites have closed in 2023 with the end of COVID-19 federal emergency orders, call ahead before traveling for a visit, in case a site closure is not shown on this map.

Find a COVID test through the CDC’s No-Cost Testing Locator

The CDC continues to maintain a nationwide map of COVID-19 testing sites at testlocator.cdc.gov, and all testing facilities listed on the site “are available for free to those without health insurance” through the Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) . program.

In the Bay Area, you’ll find that the locations you get back when you search for a free COVID-19 test through testlocator.cdc.gov are mainly pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, and Quest Patient Service Centers.

Find a COVID test in your Bay Area county

The majority of the testing sites in your province that you saw at the height of the pandemic are now closed – but several locations may still be operating in your province, often in partnership with community groups.

Updated testing site locations can be found on each county’s testing page below, although some of these pages may direct you to the state or U.S. testing site locators instead.

The San Mateo COVID-19 testing page now says that “state-sponsored COVID-19 testing has ended in San Mateo County” and that PCR and antigen tests “remain widely available through health care providers and pharmacies.” Sonoma County’s COVID-19 testing page does not offer county residents free or low-cost testing locations or resources without insurance and instead says you should “request a test from your healthcare provider or use an over-the-counter antigen test. at a local pharmacy.”

Find a COVID test through private providers

Always Before your visit, check how much you may have to pay for a COVID-19 test at these private testing facilities. Below are some private providers still offering COVID-19 testing in the Bay Area: