As of September 26, 2024, Americans can once again order free COVID-19 tests through the U.S. government. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has reopened COVIDTests. gov, where each U.S. household can request four complimentary COVID-19 tests.

This initiative comes as the agency announced earlier this week that free tests would be available at the end of September. In addition to COVIDTests. gov, individuals can also order tests via the U.S. Postal Service’s website.

Since the program began in January 2022, it has distributed over 900 million tests nationwide. The free tests are designed to detect all current COVID-19 variants and are valid through the end of 2024, providing a crucial resource as the virus continues to circulate widely across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This announcement arrives amid the emergence of a new COVID variant known as XEC, which is spreading in Europe and has already been identified in the U.S. Although this variant has not yet appeared in CDC surveillance data, experts believe it may spread more easily and could become predominant in the U.S. in the coming months.

To order the free tests, households must provide a first name, last name, email address, and shipping address on the COVIDTests. gov website. Free shipping for these orders will begin on September 30. Additionally, households can visit the USPS website to order “standard and more accessible COVID-19 tests” while supplies last.

For further assistance, individuals can contact HRSA health centers, Test to Treat sites, or ICATT locations to see if they qualify for additional low- or no-cost COVID tests beyond those available through the government program.

The at-home tests provided by the U.S. government are FDA-authorized diagnostic tests, delivering results in 30 minutes or less. These rapid antigen tests generally require swabbing one or both nostrils. The CDC advises users to carefully read the package instructions and follow them closely.

While some test kits may have expired dates, the FDA has extended these dates. For details on extended expiration dates, please visit the FDA’s website. It’s important to note that while positive results from at-home tests are accurate and reliable, a negative result does not completely rule out the possibility of infection. The CDC recommends taking two to three negative antigen tests to confidently exclude COVID-19.

The ASPR encourages individuals to report their test results—whether positive or negative—to public health agencies through MakeMyTestCount.org, as this information is vital for tracking the virus’s spread throughout the U.S.