You can get chlamydia treatment at a primary care doctor’s office, an urgent care clinic, a Planned Parenthood health center, your local health department, or a retail pharmacy clinic like MinuteClinic. Most visits are straightforward: a provider confirms the infection (or treats based on exposure), writes a prescription, and you’re done in under an hour. The standard treatment is a week-long course of antibiotics taken twice daily.
Your Main Options for Treatment
Several types of clinics treat chlamydia, and the best choice depends on what you have access to, how quickly you need care, and what you can afford.
Primary care provider: If you have a regular doctor, this is often the simplest route. They can order a test (usually a urine sample or swab), call in results, and prescribe treatment, sometimes all in one visit if they suspect chlamydia based on your symptoms or a partner’s diagnosis.
Urgent care clinics: Walk-in urgent care centers handle STI testing and treatment routinely. No appointment needed, and most accept insurance. This is a good option on evenings or weekends when your regular doctor isn’t available.
Planned Parenthood: Planned Parenthood health centers across the country offer STI testing and treatment with a focus on nonjudgmental care. Many locations use sliding-scale fees based on income, which can make visits affordable even without insurance.
Local health departments: County and city health departments frequently provide free or low-cost STI testing and treatment. You can search for one near you through your state’s department of health website. These clinics exist specifically to make STI care accessible regardless of ability to pay.
Retail pharmacy clinics: MinuteClinic locations inside CVS pharmacies offer STI testing and treatment from board-certified providers. Once results come back positive, the provider walks you through treatment options and can fill the prescription on-site, which saves an extra trip. Some of these clinics also offer partner treatment.
What Treatment Looks Like
The CDC-recommended treatment for chlamydia is doxycycline, an antibiotic taken twice a day for seven days. It’s a simple oral medication, not a shot or injection. Most people tolerate it well, though it can cause mild stomach upset or sun sensitivity while you’re taking it.
You should avoid sexual contact for the full seven days of treatment to prevent passing the infection to a partner. If your partner is also being treated, both of you need to finish the entire course before resuming sexual activity. Chlamydia clears reliably with antibiotics when you complete the full course as prescribed.
Getting Treated Without Insurance
Cost shouldn’t stop you from getting treated. Local health departments are the most reliable source of free or low-cost STI care. Planned Parenthood centers adjust fees based on your income, and some visits may be fully covered. Many states also have dedicated programs that cover STI testing and treatment for uninsured residents.
If you do have insurance, chlamydia testing and treatment are typically covered as preventive care. The antibiotic itself is inexpensive, often under $20 even without insurance at most pharmacies.
Treatment for Your Partner
Treating your sexual partner is essential. If your partner isn’t treated, they can reinfect you after you’ve finished your own antibiotics. In many states, your provider can write a prescription for your partner without requiring them to come in for their own appointment. This approach, called expedited partner therapy, exists because public health authorities recognize that the risk of leaving an infection untreated outweighs the downsides of prescribing without an in-person exam.
Not every state permits this, so ask your provider whether it’s an option where you live. If it isn’t, your partner will need their own clinic visit. Many of the same low-cost options available to you are available to them.
If You’re Under 18
Minors can independently consent to STI testing and treatment in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. You do not need a parent’s permission to be tested or treated for chlamydia, regardless of your age. However, confidentiality protections vary. Only about half of states have explicit laws preventing your medical records from being shared with a parent or guardian. In states without those protections, federal privacy rules may allow a guardian to access your records, particularly if you’re on a parent’s insurance plan.
If privacy is a concern, a local health department or Planned Parenthood clinic may be your best option. These facilities are experienced in providing confidential care to younger patients and can often do so without generating insurance claims that would appear on a parent’s statement.
Follow-Up After Treatment
After finishing your antibiotics, you should get retested three months later. This isn’t because treatment commonly fails. It’s because reinfection is common, often from an untreated partner or a new exposure. The three-month retest catches repeat infections early, before they cause complications or get passed along to someone else.
If chlamydia goes untreated, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease in women (which can cause chronic pain and fertility problems) and epididymitis in men (painful swelling near the testicles). These complications are preventable with prompt treatment, which is why getting tested and treated quickly matters even when you feel fine. About 70% of chlamydia infections in women and 50% in men cause no symptoms at all, so don’t wait for symptoms to appear before seeking care.