Gonorrhea testing is quick, painless, and usually involves either a urine sample or a swab, depending on where the infection might be. Most results come back within two to five days. You can get tested at a doctor’s office, sexual health clinic, or even at home with an FDA-authorized kit.
What the Test Involves
The standard gonorrhea test is called a nucleic acid amplification test, or NAAT. It detects the bacteria’s genetic material and is far more accurate than older culture-based methods. For throat infections, the NAAT catches about 84% of cases compared to just 41% with a culture. For rectal infections, it picks up 93% versus 43%. Specificity across all body sites is above 99%, meaning false positives are extremely rare.
In most clinics, gonorrhea and chlamydia are tested together from the same sample since the two infections frequently overlap.
Sample Types for Males vs. Females
For males, the preferred sample is a first-void urine specimen, meaning the first part of the urine stream rather than a midstream catch. You should avoid urinating for at least one hour before providing the sample so there’s enough bacterial material to detect.
For females, a vaginal swab is the most accurate option and can be self-collected. Urine testing works too, but vaginal swabs have slightly better detection rates. If you’re collecting a urine sample, don’t clean the labial area beforehand, as this can remove the bacteria the test is looking for. Lubricants and vaginal moisturizers can also interfere with results and may cause your sample to be rejected by the lab.
Throat and Rectal Testing
Gonorrhea can infect the throat and rectum without causing any noticeable symptoms, so testing only at the genital site can miss infections entirely. The CDC recommends that providers ask about oral and anal sexual contact and test each site where exposure occurred. For men who have sex with men, screening at all three sites (urethra, rectum, and throat) is recommended at least once a year, regardless of condom use.
Throat and rectal samples are collected with a swab. In many clinics, you can collect these swabs yourself after receiving instructions. Self-collected specimens perform comparably to provider-collected ones when processed by NAAT.
Where to Get Tested
You have several options. Primary care doctors, urgent care clinics, and OB-GYN offices all offer gonorrhea testing. Sexual health or STI clinics often provide testing on a walk-in basis, sometimes at low or no cost. Planned Parenthood locations and local health departments are common choices for people without insurance.
At-home testing is also now available. In 2023, the FDA authorized the first at-home sample collection kit for chlamydia and gonorrhea, where you collect your own sample and mail it to a lab. More recently, the FDA cleared the first fully at-home test for women that doesn’t require mailing anything. The Visby Medical test uses a self-collected vaginal swab and a small powered device that communicates results through a phone app.
How Long Results Take
Standard lab-processed urine and swab tests typically return results in two to five days. Some clinics offer rapid point-of-care tests that deliver results in under 30 minutes, though these aren’t available everywhere. If you’re tested through a mail-in kit, factor in shipping time on top of the lab processing window. Most people hear back within a week.
Who Should Get Screened Routinely
Gonorrhea often causes no symptoms, especially in women and at extragenital sites. The CDC recommends routine screening for several groups, even without symptoms:
- Women under 25: Annual screening if sexually active.
- Women 25 and older: Annual screening if at increased risk (new partner, multiple partners, a partner with an STI, inconsistent condom use, or a previous STI).
- Pregnant women: Screening at the first prenatal visit if under 25 or at increased risk, with retesting in the third trimester. Those who test positive should be retested within three months.
- Men who have sex with men: At least annual screening at all sites of contact. Every three to six months if at higher risk, such as those with multiple partners or those at risk for HIV.
- Transgender and gender diverse people: Screening based on anatomy and sexual practices. Anyone with a cervix follows the same guidelines as cisgender women.
- People with HIV: Screening at the first HIV evaluation and at least annually after that.
For heterosexual men at low risk, there isn’t enough evidence to support routine screening. Testing is typically done only when symptoms appear or a partner has been diagnosed.
What Happens After a Positive Result
Gonorrhea is curable with antibiotics. Treatment is straightforward and usually involves a single clinic visit. Because reinfection is common, the CDC recommends retesting about three months after treatment to make sure you haven’t been reinfected. Any recent sexual partners need to be notified so they can get tested and treated too, which prevents the infection from passing back and forth.
If you tested positive at one body site, it’s worth confirming you were also tested at other relevant sites. A genital-only test won’t catch a throat or rectal infection, and those require their own swabs.