There is no FDA-approved HPV test for men. Unlike the well-established cervical HPV test available for women, no equivalent screening tool exists for the penis, anus, or throat. This means you can’t walk into a clinic and request a standard HPV test the way you would for chlamydia or gonorrhea. But that doesn’t mean HPV goes completely undetected in men. Depending on your situation, there are specific things a doctor can check for and steps worth taking.
Why There’s No Routine HPV Test for Men
The HPV tests currently available were designed to work with cervical cell samples. The anatomy of the cervix makes it relatively straightforward to collect cells where the virus tends to concentrate. Male genitalia don’t offer an equivalent collection site, and researchers haven’t been able to develop a swab method for the penis that matches the accuracy of cervical testing. Alternative samples like urine, oral swabs, and anal swabs have been explored, but their reliability falls short of what’s needed for a clinical screening tool.
Beyond the sampling problem, there are biological reasons routine screening hasn’t taken hold. Most HPV infections in men clear on their own without ever causing symptoms. The virus also tends to survive for shorter periods on male genital skin compared to the cervix. These factors, combined with the lack of standardized detection methods and limited medical guidelines, mean that no major health organization currently recommends routine HPV screening for the general male population.
What Doctors Can Actually Check For
While there’s no blood test or swab you can request, doctors can diagnose HPV when it causes visible changes. Genital warts, caused by low-risk HPV strains, are typically identified through a straightforward physical exam. A doctor or nurse visually inspects the skin of the penis, scrotum, and surrounding area. In some cases, a small tissue sample (biopsy) is taken and sent to a lab for confirmation. This is the most common way HPV gets diagnosed in men.
For this type of exam, you can visit:
- Your primary care doctor, who can perform a visual inspection during a regular visit
- A urologist, who specializes in male reproductive and urinary health
- Sexual health or STI clinics, including local health departments
- Planned Parenthood health centers, which offer STI-related exams
Be direct with your provider about your sexual history and any changes you’ve noticed on your skin. Warts can appear on the shaft, head of the penis, scrotum, groin, thighs, or around the anus. They sometimes look like small cauliflower-shaped bumps, but they can also be flat or barely raised. If you’ve noticed anything unusual, that’s your reason to schedule an appointment.
Anal Screening for Higher-Risk Groups
Anal Pap tests, which collect cells from the anal canal, do exist and are used in certain clinical settings. These are not part of routine screening for the general population, but some medical societies recommend them for men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly those living with HIV. The HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America is currently the only professional society that recommends routine anal screening for all MSM.
If you fall into a higher-risk group, it’s worth having a conversation with your doctor about whether anal cancer screening makes sense for you. Clinicians often make these decisions on a case-by-case basis, factoring in sexual history and other risk factors. An infectious disease specialist, a gastroenterologist, or a provider at an LGBTQ-focused health clinic may be most familiar with this type of screening.
What About At-Home HPV Tests?
You may come across companies marketing at-home HPV test kits. No at-home HPV test for men has been validated or approved for clinical use. The self-collection research that does exist has focused on cervical and vaginal specimens, not penile or anal samples in cisgender men. Without validated accuracy data, a negative result from an unregulated kit could give you false reassurance, and a positive result wouldn’t tell you much a doctor could act on. Save your money.
When a Partner Tests Positive
Many men start searching for HPV testing after a female partner gets a positive result from a cervical screening. This is an understandably stressful situation, but here’s the reality: even if you could get tested, the result wouldn’t change the medical plan for either of you. HPV is extremely common (the World Health Organization estimates one in three men worldwide carry genital HPV at any given time), and in most cases the immune system clears the infection without treatment.
There’s no way to determine which partner transmitted the virus or when exposure happened. HPV can remain dormant for months or years. If your partner has been diagnosed, the most helpful things you can do are learn about the virus, be supportive, and consider attending her follow-up appointments so you can both ask questions together. The American Sexual Health Association specifically encourages male partners to get informed rather than spiral into anxiety about a test that doesn’t exist for them.
HPV-Related Cancers in Men
The reason HPV matters for men, beyond warts, is cancer. HPV type 16 is linked to cancers of the throat (oropharyngeal), anus, and penis. The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimated roughly 69,400 cancer cases in men were caused by HPV in 2018. Oropharyngeal cancer, which affects the base of the tongue and tonsils, is now the most common HPV-related cancer in men in many countries.
Because there’s no screening test to catch these early through HPV detection, awareness of symptoms matters. Persistent sore throat, difficulty swallowing, a lump in the neck, unexplained anal bleeding, or any non-healing lesion on the penis should prompt a visit to a doctor. These cancers are treatable when caught early, but they require you to notice something is wrong and act on it.
Vaccination Is the Best Available Protection
Without a screening test, prevention becomes even more important. The HPV vaccine is FDA-approved for males ages 9 through 45. It protects against the HPV strains responsible for most genital warts and HPV-related cancers. The vaccine works best when given before exposure to the virus, which is why it’s routinely recommended for boys at age 11 or 12, but older men who haven’t been vaccinated can still benefit.
If you’re under 45 and haven’t been vaccinated, or aren’t sure whether you were, talk to your doctor about getting the vaccine. It’s available at primary care offices, pharmacies, and community health clinics. Even if you’ve already been exposed to some HPV strains, the vaccine covers multiple types, so it may still offer protection against strains you haven’t encountered.