Testing
HIV Testing in San Francisco
There are nineteen agencies in San Francisco that are part of the HIV Counseling, Testing, and Linkage Network, organized under the HIV Prevention Section of the AIDS Office. These providers range from medical clinics like St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic to community-based organizations like Glide and Magnet, to alternative test sites like the UCSF AIDS Health Project.
Each of these agencies provide HIV counseling and testing services free of charge to people throughout the city—people such as gay men, youth, people who inject drugs, people in jail, women, transgender people, African-Americans, Native Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, 
Latinos, and many more. All services funded or supported by the AIDS Office include written informed consent, pre-test counseling, and disclosure in person.
Currently, most providers in the city offer rapid HIV testing services, with results available in twenty minutes. These tests can be done with either an oral swab of the gums, or a simple fingerstick.
All sites also offer the more conventional HIV test, either
with an OraSure™ (oral swab left in the mouth for four minutes) or
blood draw, with the specimen being sent to an off-site lab for testing.
Results of those tests are usually available in one week. These tests are
all looking for antibodies 
to HIV (not the virus itself). For more information
about HIV antibody testing, see the Terms & Definitions part
of this website section.
RNA testing, which looks for the virus, is a test that requires a blood draw and takes about two weeks for results. This test is currently availableat City Clinic and is due to expand to some other providers in the city soon.
For more information on testing locations, including the neighborhoods, times of operation, and types of test offered, visit the Testing Locations section of this website.
For more information about HIV Counseling, Testing, and Linkage (CTL) services in San Francisco, please contact the individuals below:
| Topic | Contact |
| Requests for San Francisco CTL Network counseling, testing, and linkage summary-level testing data or reports | Shelley Facente (415) 554-9136 |
| Questions regarding HIV testing and other prevention services within San Francisco drug and alcohol programs | Emalie Huriaux (415) 437-4694 |
| Overall questions regarding San Francisco's HIV Counseling, Testing and Linkage network, or questions about topics not listed above | Teri Dowling (415) 554-9167 |