How to Read Your STI Test Results: What Negative, Positive and Inconclusive Mean

A result shows up in a portal with one word on it, and you are expected to know what to do next. Most of the time the word is clear. Sometimes it is not, and that is where people end up guessing.

Here is a plain-language guide to the three outcomes you are most likely to see, what each one usually means, and what follow-up to expect. It is general information, not a substitute for the provider who ordered your test.

Negative

Negative means the test did not find the infection it looks for. That is good news, with one caveat: it applies to the day the sample was taken. HIV.gov puts it plainly, saying a negative result does not guarantee that you do not have HIV, it just means the test could not detect the virus, and that you should get tested again after the window period. We cover the timing in the date on the result.

For chlamydia and gonorrhea, the CDC describes nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) as the most sensitive tests for detecting chlamydia and the recommended test for it.

Positive

Positive means the test found something, but it is often the start of a short sequence rather than the end of one. For HIV, HIV.gov says a positive result must always be confirmed by additional testing in a health care setting, and that a positive on a screening test needs a follow-up blood test.

Syphilis works the same way. CDC laboratory recommendations explain that relying on a single reactive test can misclassify a patient’s status, which is why two different types of tests are used together. The CDC also notes that one of those types can occasionally react to things other than syphilis, such as other infections, vaccinations or autoimmune conditions, which is exactly why the second test exists.

After a confirmed chlamydia or gonorrhea result and treatment, CDC guidance recommends retesting about three months later to catch any repeat infection.

Inconclusive

Inconclusive means the lab could not give a clear answer. It is not a negative and it is not a positive, and it is not a verdict on you. In the CDC’s HIV laboratory algorithm, for example, an inconclusive outcome is handled by requesting an additional specimen and repeating the algorithm. Other tests have their own rules, so the next step is usually a repeat test or a different test, as your provider directs.

The most useful thing to do with an inconclusive result is ask for a date for the repeat, and ask whether anything should change in the meantime.

Questions worth asking your provider

What exactly was tested? Panels differ from clinic to clinic, so confirm which infections were included. Is this result final, or is a confirmation test coming? When should I test again, given the date of my last exposure? Is there anything I should do before the repeat result is back?

Before you share a result

A result is easiest to share once you understand it. Lead with the date and what it covered, and say what you are waiting on if anything is pending. That one-line version, “tested on [date], negative, retesting on [date],” gives the other person what they need without a screenshot’s guesswork.

Sources

• Understanding Your HIV Test Results, HIV.gov (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
• CDC Laboratory Recommendations for Syphilis Testing, United States, 2024, CDC (MMWR Recommendations and Reports, 2024)
• CDC Guidance for Reporting Results from the HIV Laboratory Diagnostic Testing Algorithm, CDC
• Chlamydial Infections, STI Treatment Guidelines, CDC
• Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021, CDC