How to Get Free COVID Tests in Bulk for Your Community
The government recently ended a program that mailed four free COVID tests to anyone who requested them, but a lesser-known program for community groups is still running. If you have a free test distribution plan, you can request hundreds of them.
Individual COVID tests are no longer available free of charge by mail.
Just to bring everyone up to speed, the government program that was sending out free COVID tests through covidtest.gov is not currently accepting orders. A message on this page states: “Tests ordered before 8:00 pm EST on Sunday, March 9, 2025 will be shipped.” This is a program that will send a package of four tests to each family in each round of the program. There were several rounds, the last one began in September 2024.
There is no indication whether the program might resume at a later date. Some news articles have said or suggested that the government’s stockpile of COVID tests will be destroyed, but so far there has been no confirmation that any usable tests are being destroyed.
If you personally need a free test, you can try these locators to find places that provide government-funded COVID tests:
-
ICATT testing sites (free if you are uninsured and exposed to COVID)
Community groups can request bulk orders for COVID tests free of charge.
Although the program for individuals has closed, a lesser-known program for community groups is still running. There is no official government website that explains the program or provides an order form, but self-help groups have been distributing a spreadsheet and instructions for requesting tests from a government email address.
For example, this Instagram post from Clean Air KC includes several comments from groups that have placed successful orders and shares information about brands, expiration dates, and even the size of the boxes they come in. The minimum order is reportedly 300 tests. Clean Air KC successfully placed orders for 3,000 tests, and a person in this group also showed me a thank you letter from a person who used their program information to place an order and receive 360 tests.
How to Request Free COVID Tests in Bulk
Official information about this program can be obtained by email [email protected] . When I contacted this address, I did not receive a response, but I did receive a response from a media representative from the Office of Strategic Preparedness and Response, which maintains a supply of COVID tests. They confirmed today (March 14, 2025) that the program is still running and that any community group planning to distribute tests freely “can request a one-time or recurring supply of 400 over-the-counter tests for free distribution.”
It’s unclear whether 400 is the new minimum or just a recommended amount. My contact at Clean Air KC said they placed an order for 3,000 this week after the USPS custom testing program closed and received confirmation that the requested tests were on their way.
To order tests, send an email to [email protected] with the following information:
-
Number of tests you request
-
Address to which they should be sent
-
Contact information for the person taking the test
-
The name or purpose of your group
Food banks, libraries, religious organizations and others can request tests, but so can informal groups if they intend to distribute the tests for free. You may not resell tests obtained through this program.
The groups used this table as an ordering form, although it is unclear whether it is strictly necessary. Old web pages for nursing home organizations ( such as this one ) describe a similar program that required applicants to be CLIA-certified or CLIA-waiver long-term care facilities, but this appears to no longer be necessary. ASPR confirmed to me that they can be ordered by “any organization” that agrees to distribute the tests free of charge.