Help and support

Results are usually available 48-72 hours after our laboratory receives your samples. We will tell you when your results are ready, by SMS or email (depending on your preferences). You will get a text and email when your results are ready. Log in using the details sent through email to access your results. 

We also have an online tracking system, so you can track your samples and check for your results at any time. 

There is a range of results that you can receive. If you have a positive or reactive result, you will need to visit a sexual health clinic, but your GP might be able to treat some STIs. 

We will signpost you to local services where you can get any treatment, help, and advice that you need. 

A negative result for any STI means that you didn’t have that STI at the time of the test. If you tested before the end of the window period or you’ve been at risk again then another test is advised. 

If you get a reactive result for one of our blood tests, it means that the test has reacted to something in your blood. This means that there’s a possibility that you have an STI, but at least one further test is needed. This should be done by a sexual health clinic. 

If your result is reactive, we will signpost you to local sexual health services where you can get a test and receive full support and advice if your follow-up test is also positive. 

A positive result means that you do have an STI. This could make you feel upset, scared, or angry – but try not to worry. Most STIs are easy to cure and all of them can be treated. 

You’ll usually need treatment as soon as possible. It’s generally best to get this from a sexual health clinic, but your GP might be able to treat some STIs. 

We will signpost you to local services where you can get any treatment, help, and advice that you need. 

It is also important you tell any current or recent sexual partners (advice services may be able to offer this service anonymously if needed) so that they can be tested and treated if needed. 

To avoid passing the STI on, don’t have sex (even with a condom) until you’ve completed your treatment. The sexual health clinic will be able to advise how long to wait.

This means the result is not clear and further testing is advised. In this situation, you can contact test.me for a new kit or attend a sexual health clinic. 

• Inconclusive/Equivocal means the result is not clear cut and further testing is advised. In these situations, you can contact test.me for a new kit or attend a sexual health clinic. 
  
  
• Haemolysed means that the blood sample has clotted whilst in transit and was unable to be tested. In this situation, you can contact test.me for a new kit or attend a sexual health clinic. If you want another kit, please read the helpful tips on taking your blood sample before trying again. 

• Insufficient usually applies to the blood tests and means there was not enough of a sample provided. In this situation, you can contact test.me for a new kit or attend a sexual health clinic. If you want another kit, please read the helpful tips on taking your blood sample before trying again. 
  
  
• Out of protocol or Out of validation results refer to a number of problems that mean we cannot provide a result for you: samples lost or damaged or not collected properly; too much time had lapsed between the sample collection date and when they were received in the lab; or another problem. 

If you are worried about your test result, treatment, wish to seek additional testing, or have any symptoms, you should seek help and advice from: 

• Your GP or a doctor. 
• Your local NHS sexual health clinic. 
• The National Sexual Health Helpline on 0300 123 7123. 
• Terrence Higgins Trust, the HIV charity on 0808 802 1221. 

Our lab processes your tests quickly and your results are usually ready 1-3 working days after we get your sample.  

If you've not heard from us within a week or two after posting, it's possible your sample has been delayed or lost in the post – of the 1000s of tests we deal with, this does happen occasionally. 

If you believe your sample has been lost, let us know by email. Please include your full name and postcode in the email. We will give you a refund and you may then place a new order if you wish. 

Don’t worry. Send us an email including the 'PX' number from your results text message or email, along with you name, email address used to order, full address including postcode, DOB and mobile number.

This depends on which test you ordered, but in general, we process tests very quickly. Your results should usually be ready 1-3 days after we get your samples.

Our tests are highly accurate when done at the right time.  

Although no STI test is 100% accurate, we use the gold standard for testing. All tests are processed in-house, as we run the UK’s leading STI laboratory, which also deals with thousands of STI tests every day for the NHS and local sexual health services.  

You can help to make your test as accurate as possible by following the instructions carefully when taking your samples. 

Although our STI tests are highly accurate it is unlikely they will be suitable for use pre IVF treatment as identification of the individual providing the samples can not be verified.

Please visit your local sexual health clinic for in-person testing.

If you would like to speak to a clinician after receiving your results, please call us on 0333 344 4462

• Test me uses high quality, accredited tests that are extremely reliable, however, no test is 100% accurate all the time. This means regrettably there will be a small number of people with an infection who receive a negative result (false negative) and a small number of people without an infection that are given a positive/reactive result (false positive/reactive).

• When using online testing services, it is possible you may be marginally more likely to receive a false positive result compared to being tested in a clinic setting. This is because with bigger blood samples taken in clinic, after a reactive HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis result the clinic’s laboratory will usually perform immediate follow up tests to confirm the true outcome before giving you the result. These extra tests cannot be provided with the finger prick samples provided within online services, meaning you will be encouraged to attend clinic so a larger sample of blood can be taken and tested more extensively.

• We appreciate receiving false reactive/positive or false negative results can be distressing. The Test.me team can support you should you receive such results. For further advice or if you have any questions contact the team on 0333 344 4462 or email [email protected] and you will be able to speak with one of the clinical team members.

Sometimes an individual may receive a different test result when they get tested at another testing provider e.g. someone receives a positive gonorrhoea test at Test.me but then tests negative for gonorrhoea when they attend a sexual health clinic in person. These are called discordant results. Discordant results can be due to a number of reasons which are detailed below. If you are concerned about receiving a discordant result or are unsure whether you should receive treatment or not, please contact the customer service team who will put you through to the clinical team member 0333 344 4462

• Discordant results are when you get a test result through one testing service and then get a different result with another service. This can happen because these services using different types of tests, or different testing platforms.

• Sometimes people who become infected with an STI may naturally clear the infection or may receive treatment for another healthcare conditions (e.g. dental infection) which inadvertently treats the STI. Testing either side of this natural clearance or treatment clearance can generate different results.

• If you have been recently infected with an STI, it can take a period of time before your test becomes positive. These are called window periods. Window periods differ in length according to the STI in question but it can result in an initial test being negative and a second test a few days later becoming

• positive. The window period for gonorrhoea and chlamydia is approximately two weeks. The time it takes until the test becomes positive after infection can also vary according to what type of test is used. For example, some tests that are performed in a sexual health clinic and sent to a laboratory may turn positive a few days before the finger prick HIV tests do because they have a different window period before detecting infection.

• If you test very soon after condomless sex, a positive test result could theoretically be detecting infection in your partners' body fluids. If the STI is not transmitted from your partner to you, then your test result can become negative later.

• If someone does not follow the instructions when taking their samples, this can produce a negative result in an infected person. For example, if you pass urine 10 minutes before collecting your urine sample. Conversely if you drop or touch the swab tip whilst self- sampling, this can contaminate your sample leading to a positive result.

• Test me, as well as other remote testing services, requires you to post your samples back to a laboratory. This can increase the number of blood samples that haemolyse (clot) and, although we quality check all samples when they are received, sometimes this can cause an incorrect result. Haemolysis does affect samples taken in clinic too but to a slightly lesser degree.

• Test me laboratory processes are extremely stringent and overseen by experienced quality, medical and laboratory management teams in accordance with international accreditation. However, sometimes there are problems in the laboratory, and we may undertake an investigation for certain discordant cases.

• We are often asked to explain why one partner may test positive for an infection whilst the other partner tests negative. Some of the circumstances above can explain these differences. It is important to check there are no other partners where an STI could have come from. It is also important to ensure the tests you perform are nationally recommended and from an accredited organisation. Again, a discussion with the clinical team can often help identify why there is a difference between you and your partner's results and whether you should consider having treatment.