Getting a physical is straightforward: call your primary care doctor’s office (or find one through your insurance provider’s directory), ask to schedule an annual wellness visit, and show up prepared. If you don’t have a primary care doctor, urgent care clinics, community health centers, and retail clinics inside pharmacies also offer physicals. Most health insurance plans cover one preventive wellness visit per year at no cost to you, as long as you use an in-network provider.
The process looks a little different depending on why you need the physical, what your insurance covers, and how old you are. Here’s what to expect at every stage.
Choosing Where to Go
Your best option is a primary care doctor who keeps your records on file year after year. If you already have one, call and request an annual physical or wellness exam. If you don’t, start with your insurance company’s online provider directory to find in-network doctors accepting new patients. You can also call the number on the back of your insurance card for help finding someone.
If you’re uninsured, federally qualified health centers (searchable at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov) offer physicals on a sliding-fee scale based on income. Retail clinics inside CVS, Walgreens, and similar pharmacies can handle basic physicals too, though they’re better suited for one-time needs like a sports physical than ongoing preventive care.
What Insurance Covers
Under the Affordable Care Act, most health plans must cover a set of preventive services at no cost to you, including an annual wellness visit. You won’t pay a copay or coinsurance for covered screenings and immunizations, even if you haven’t met your deductible. This applies to Marketplace plans and most employer-sponsored insurance.
There’s an important catch. If your doctor discovers a new problem during your physical and orders diagnostic tests or treats a condition on the spot, those additional services can trigger a bill. The wellness visit itself is free, but anything that crosses into “diagnostic” territory may not be. Ask your doctor’s office when you schedule whether any expected labs or screenings will be billed separately, and confirm with your insurer if you’re unsure.
How to Prepare Before Your Visit
If your physical includes blood work (and most do), you’ll likely need to fast for 8 to 12 hours beforehand. That means no food, no coffee, no juice, and no soda. Plain water is fine and encouraged. You should also avoid chewing gum, smoking, and exercise during the fasting window. Bring a snack to eat right after, since it’s common to feel lightheaded.
Before your appointment, gather a few things:
- Your medication list: Include prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and supplements with dosages. Ask your provider ahead of time whether you should take your usual medications the morning of the visit.
- Family medical history: Note any major conditions in your parents, siblings, or grandparents, especially heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. This shapes which screenings your doctor recommends.
- Your own health timeline: Bring up any symptoms you’ve noticed, hospitalizations, surgeries, or changes since your last visit.
- Insurance card and ID: Have these ready at check-in.
What Happens During the Exam
A standard physical starts with vital signs. A nurse or medical assistant will measure your blood pressure (normal is between 90/60 and 120/80), pulse (60 to 100 beats per minute at rest), breathing rate (12 to 18 breaths per minute), and temperature (averaging around 98.6°F). They’ll also record your height and weight.
Your doctor will then do a head-to-toe assessment. This typically includes listening to your heart and lungs with a stethoscope, checking your ears, nose, and throat, feeling your abdomen for tenderness or organ enlargement, testing your reflexes, and examining your skin for any concerning spots. They’ll ask about your mental health, sleep, diet, alcohol use, and exercise habits. The whole visit usually takes 20 to 40 minutes.
Common Blood Tests and What They Check
Most physicals include a blood draw, either at the visit or at a lab beforehand. The standard panels give your doctor a broad snapshot of your health.
A complete blood count (CBC) breaks down your red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Abnormal levels can flag infections, immune system problems, or anemia. A comprehensive metabolic panel checks how your liver and kidneys are functioning and measures electrolytes, sodium, potassium, and calcium. It also includes a fasting blood glucose reading, which helps assess your diabetes risk.
A standard lipid panel measures your HDL (“good”) cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and triglycerides. Optimal numbers: total cholesterol under 200, triglycerides under 150, HDL between 39 and 60, and LDL at 130 or below. Your doctor should order a baseline lipid panel between ages 35 and 40, or earlier if you have a family history of heart disease or obesity.
A hemoglobin A1C test is one of the best tools for detecting blood sugar problems. It reflects your average blood sugar over the past two to three months, making it more reliable than a single glucose reading for spotting prediabetes or diabetes. Not every doctor orders this routinely, but it’s worth asking about if diabetes runs in your family.
Other tests are ordered based on your symptoms and risk factors. An anemia panel (checking iron, ferritin, folate, and B12) makes sense if you have chronic fatigue or heavy menstrual cycles. Thyroid testing may be appropriate if you’re dealing with unexplained tiredness, heart palpitations, or high blood pressure.
Screenings That Depend on Your Age
Your doctor will recommend specific screenings based on your age and risk profile. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force sets the guidelines most providers follow.
Colorectal cancer screening starts at age 45. From 50 to 75, it’s strongly recommended for everyone. The most common option is a colonoscopy every 10 years, though stool-based tests done more frequently are an alternative.
Mammograms for breast cancer screening are recommended every two years for women aged 40 to 74. Bone density scans for osteoporosis are recommended for all women 65 and older, and for younger postmenopausal women who have elevated risk based on factors like family history or low body weight.
Women should also get a Pap test every three years to screen for cervical cancer, starting at age 21. Prostate screening (a PSA blood test) is a conversation to have with your doctor if you’re a man over 50, or earlier if you’re at higher risk. An elevated PSA can indicate prostate cancer but also benign conditions, so the decision to test involves weighing the pros and cons with your provider.
Different Types of Physicals
Not every physical is the same. The annual wellness exam described above is the most comprehensive, covering your overall physical and mental health, updating immunizations, reviewing chronic conditions, and renewing prescriptions. This is the one your insurance covers yearly at no cost.
A sports physical is narrower. Its purpose is to determine whether someone (usually a student athlete) is healthy enough to safely play sports. The exam focuses on the heart, lungs, and musculoskeletal system, and families fill out a form about how the athlete responds to physical activity. Many states require one every one to three years for student athletes in middle and high school. A sports physical does not replace an annual wellness check because it skips immunization updates, mental health screening, and broader health reviews.
A DOT physical is required for commercial truck drivers and certain other transportation workers. It evaluates vision, hearing, blood pressure, and overall fitness to operate a vehicle safely, and must be performed by a certified medical examiner listed in the national registry. These are valid for up to two years.
How Often You Need One
For most adults, once a year is the standard recommendation. Annual visits let your doctor track changes over time, catch problems early, and keep your vaccinations current. If you’re younger than 30 and in good health, your doctor may be comfortable with every two to three years, but yearly visits become more valuable as you age and screenings become more relevant. The key is having a baseline so that when something shifts, your doctor can spot it.