How to get more free at-home COVID-19 tests

Beginning this week, you can now order up to two sets of four free at-home test kits from the federal government. The rapid tests are shipped through the United States Postal Service to households across the country.

Tests can be ordered online at covidtests.gov. No medical insurance, government identification, or credit card information is required. Just provide your name and residential address. Tests can also be submitted to a P.O. Box so long as it is a residential P.O. Box and ship within 7 – 10 days.

If you have not already ordered any tests from the government, you can’t order the total eight tests in bulk. You’ll need to submit two separate orders, which you can receive email updates about by providing your email address.

Residents of multi-unit buildings like apartments or college dorms can also order tests, an issue many complained of when the website first launched in January during the Omicron surge, receiving messages that an order was already submitted from their location.

President Joe Biden announced Americans could order more tests in his remarks at the State of the Union, where he also signaled officials will roll out a long-term pandemic strategy.

Officials plan to roll out “Test to Treat,” an initiative where people can get tested at a pharmacy and receive free anti-viral treatment pills if positive.

“​​ I cannot promise a new variant won’t come,” President Biden said, tending to concerns over the rapidly-evolving virus, “but I can promise you we’ll do everything within our power to be ready if it does.”

He also outlined hopes to advance vaccines to prepare for new variants and stockpiling masks, tests, and antiviral pills to get remote workers to return to offices and keep schools open — all of which takes more money.

“ I will soon send Congress a request. The vast majority of Americans have used these tools and may want to again, so I expect Congress to pass it quickly,” President Biden said.

Ahead of holiday travel, Americans coast to coast struggled to find testing sites, prompting local and state officials to ramp up testing options.

Sending at-home kits was not initially part of the federal pandemic response plan going into the fall months.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki even laughed when a member of the WH press corps mentioned European countries had already begun sending at-home test kits to citizens, which was heavily met with criticism. The White House shifted gears as cases climbed and complaints mounted over inadequate testing, including delayed test results and unregulated pop-up sites.

Over 68 million orders have been submitted, and mail carriers have delivered over 270 million total tests (four kits per order), according to recent data from the USPS.