Emergency contraception is available at most pharmacies without a prescription, at family planning clinics, through telehealth services, and in some cases at hospital emergency rooms. The most common option, a one-dose pill containing levonorgestrel (sold as Plan B One-Step and 11 generic versions), sits on store shelves with no age restriction and no ID requirement. You can walk into a pharmacy today and buy it.
Where you go depends on which type of emergency contraception you need, how much time has passed since unprotected sex, and what you can access quickly. Here’s a breakdown of every route.
Pharmacies and Retail Stores
The fastest option for most people is buying a levonorgestrel pill over the counter. Since 2013, the FDA has allowed these pills to be sold without a prescription to anyone, regardless of age. You’ll find them at chain pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid, as well as grocery store pharmacies, Target, Walmart, and many independent drugstores. They’re typically stocked in the family planning aisle near condoms and pregnancy tests, though some stores keep them behind the pharmacy counter or in a locked case. If you don’t see them on the shelf, ask the pharmacist.
Plan B One-Step is the most recognized brand name, but generic versions contain the same active ingredient at the same dose and work identically. Generics are often $10 to $30 cheaper. Without insurance, expect to pay roughly $25 to $50 depending on the brand and retailer.
Family Planning Clinics
Planned Parenthood health centers and local family planning clinics stock both over-the-counter pills and the prescription-only option. They can also insert an IUD for emergency contraception, which is the most effective method available. If cost is a concern, clinics often offer sliding-scale fees based on income, and some provide emergency contraception at reduced cost or free.
Clinics are especially useful if you weigh more than 165 pounds, since there’s evidence that levonorgestrel pills become less effective at higher body weights. A clinic provider can discuss whether the prescription pill or an IUD would be a better fit. You can find a nearby Planned Parenthood location at plannedparenthood.org or call their national hotline.
The Prescription-Only Pill
A second type of emergency contraceptive pill, sold under the brand name ella, requires a prescription. It contains a different active ingredient that works better than levonorgestrel during the 3-to-5-day window after unprotected sex. Within the first 3 days, the two pill types perform similarly, but ella maintains its effectiveness longer.
You can get a prescription from your regular doctor, a nurse practitioner, a physician assistant, an urgent care center, a campus health center, or a pharmacist in select states. If you can’t get to a provider in person, several telehealth platforms write prescriptions for ella after a virtual or email consultation. These include Wisp (licensed providers in all 50 states), Lemonaid Health, NuRx, and Amazon One Medical. Once prescribed, the medication can be sent to a local pharmacy for pickup or delivered to your home.
Planned Parenthood Direct also offers ella through its app starting at $80, which includes overnight shipping. Orders placed before 1 PM ET on weekdays ship the same day, but there’s no weekend delivery. If you need something immediately, a local pharmacy or clinic is faster.
IUDs: The Most Effective Option
A copper IUD inserted within 5 days of unprotected sex is the most effective form of emergency contraception, preventing pregnancy more than 99% of the time. A 2021 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine also found that the hormonal IUD (the type that releases a small amount of hormone over time) worked just as well when placed within that same window. Both types then continue working as long-term birth control for years afterward.
Getting an IUD requires an appointment with a healthcare provider, so this option works best if you can be seen within the 5-day timeframe. Planned Parenthood health centers, OB-GYN offices, and some urgent care clinics can place one. When the day of ovulation can be estimated, a copper IUD may be placed even beyond 5 days after sex, as long as no more than 5 days have passed since ovulation.
An IUD is a particularly strong choice if you’re in a higher weight range. Unlike the pills, its effectiveness doesn’t change based on body weight.
Online Ordering
If you want to have emergency contraception on hand before you need it, or if you don’t have a pharmacy nearby, you can order levonorgestrel pills online from major retailers like Amazon, as well as pharmacy websites. These ship like any other product, typically arriving in 1 to 3 days depending on your shipping selection. Planned Parenthood Direct ships emergency contraception overnight on weekdays in discreet packaging.
Online ordering is practical for advance planning but not ideal in an urgent situation. Every hour matters with emergency contraceptive pills: they work best when taken as soon as possible and must be used within 5 days.
Hospital Emergency Rooms
Emergency rooms can provide emergency contraception, and multiple states require hospitals to offer it specifically to survivors of sexual assault. Washington state law, for example, mandates that every hospital with an ER provide unbiased information about emergency contraception and immediately dispense it to sexual assault survivors who request it. Similar laws exist in other states including California, New York, and Illinois. Even in states without such mandates, ER physicians can prescribe or provide it.
An ER visit is significantly more expensive than a pharmacy purchase, so this route makes the most sense if you’re already there for medical care or if no other option is available.
Cost and Insurance Coverage
Under the Affordable Care Act, most private insurance plans must cover FDA-approved contraceptive methods without cost sharing, but there’s a catch for over-the-counter pills: currently, many insurers only reimburse the cost if you have a prescription. You can ask your doctor or pharmacist for a prescription for levonorgestrel even though it’s available without one, then submit the receipt to your insurance for reimbursement.
A proposed federal rule would require insurance plans to cover over-the-counter contraceptive products, including emergency contraception, without a prescription and without cost sharing, starting with plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Until that takes effect, the prescription workaround remains the most reliable way to avoid paying out of pocket.
Without insurance, levonorgestrel generics range from roughly $20 to $40 at most retailers. Ella typically costs $40 to $80 depending on the pharmacy, plus any consultation fee if you use telehealth. Copper IUD insertion can cost several hundred dollars without coverage, though clinics with sliding-scale pricing can reduce that significantly.
Body Weight and Choosing the Right Method
Levonorgestrel pills may become less effective in people who weigh more than 165 pounds or have a BMI over 25. Some regulatory agencies have flagged reduced effectiveness above 165 pounds and potentially minimal effectiveness above 176 pounds, though experts note the data isn’t precise enough to set hard cutoffs. Medical organizations generally recommend that people at higher weights not be discouraged from using levonorgestrel if it’s their only accessible option, since some protection is better than none.
Ella appears to work better than levonorgestrel for people with a BMI over 30. The copper or hormonal IUD remains the most reliable choice regardless of weight. If you’re over 165 pounds and have access to a clinic or telehealth provider, it’s worth exploring ella or an IUD rather than relying solely on an over-the-counter pill.