How Much Does an STD Test Cost in Dubai? Prices by Panel (2026)

Most people searching for an STD test in Dubai want three specific things answered before they book anything: what it costs, which test actually covers their situation, and who is going to find out.

This guide answers all three plainly, using our real panel prices. No consultation fee to get the numbers, no "contact us for pricing."

Important: This article is for general education and does not replace medical or legal advice. Laboratory results should always be interpreted by a licensed physician in the context of your individual history and examination.

STD test prices in Dubai

Every price below includes home collection anywhere in Dubai and a physician review of your results. There are no add-on fees at the door.

Individual tests start at AED 55 if you only need one marker rather than a panel.

Browse every individual STD test, or see the full range on our STD testing page.

Which panel do you actually need?

Panel size is not a quality ranking. A bigger number is not a better test, it is a wider net. The right panel depends on what happened and what you are trying to rule out.

One recent exposure, and you mainly want the serious blood-borne infections ruled out

STD Essentials (AED 199) covers HIV types 1 and 2 plus hepatitis B surface antigen from a single blood draw.

STD Basic Screening (AED 299) is the more complete version of the same idea and the panel most people choose: HIV 1 and 2, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis. If you are going to do a blood screen at all, this is usually the one worth doing, because adding hepatitis C and syphilis for AED 100 closes two meaningful gaps.

Neither of these detects chlamydia or gonorrhoea. Those are bacterial infections of the genital tract and they do not show up in a blood serology panel. This is the single most common mistake people make when self-selecting a test.

You have symptoms, or you want the common bacterial infections covered

Discharge, burning on urination, pelvic pain, itching or an unusual odour points toward the bacterial and protozoal group rather than the blood-borne group. These need a PCR panel on urine.

STD Core Screening, STD-7 (AED 399) covers chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomonas, plus mycoplasma and ureaplasma species.

STD Extended 14 (AED 499) widens that to 14 targets across the most common sexually transmitted and genital-tract infections.

You want one test that answers everything

STD Advanced 20 (AED 699) is the combined work-up: blood serology for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis, paired with the 14-target genital PCR panel and a urinalysis. For most people asking "can I just do the whole thing once," this is the honest answer at a sensible price.

STD Master 28 (AED 999) goes further on the PCR side, adding candida species, bacterial-vaginosis organisms and additional viruses. Worth it if you have persistent symptoms that earlier testing has not explained.

Ultimate Sexual Wellness (AED 1,499) is the widest urogenital profile we run, at 46 organisms, combining the full STI panel with comprehensive urinary-tract coverage.

Specific situations

HPV 32 (AED 999) genotypes 32 HPV strains and tells you which high-risk (cancer-associated) and low-risk types are present, rather than just returning a yes or no. Relevant for cervical screening and for anyone who has had an abnormal smear.

UTI Master 31 (AED 999) is not an STD panel. It identifies the exact organism behind a urinary tract infection and screens 12 antibiotic-resistance genes, which matters when a UTI has not responded to a first course of antibiotics.

Not sure? Message the lab before you book. A clinician answers, and nothing is recorded against your name until you confirm an appointment.

Window periods: the thing that ruins most STD tests

This section matters more than the price list.

The window period is the gap between exposure and the point at which a test can reliably detect an infection. Test inside the window and a negative result means very little, because there was nothing yet for the test to find. People test three days after a worrying night, get a clean result, feel relieved, and never repeat it. That is the worst outcome this guide can help you avoid.

Two practical rules follow from this table.

If you are inside the window and cannot wait, test now for peace of mind, but plan the repeat. Our physician will tell you exactly which markers need re-testing and on what date. Repeat confirmation tests are discounted 50%.

If the exposure was very recent and you are specifically worried about HIV, the HIV PCR (AED 549) detects the virus itself rather than your antibody response, which is why it becomes reliable at 10 to 14 days instead of 18 to 45. It costs more than the antibody test for a reason.

A note on urgency that has nothing to do with testing: if a possible HIV exposure happened within the last 72 hours, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is time-critical and needs a doctor now, not a test in two weeks. Go to a hospital emergency department. The sooner it starts, the better it works.

Blood, urine or swab: what each sample can and cannot detect

A recurring source of confusion, worth one short section.

Blood detects the systemic, blood-borne infections through your immune response or viral antigens: HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis. It cannot detect chlamydia or gonorrhoea.

Urine is used for PCR detection of organisms living in the genital tract: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomonas, mycoplasma, ureaplasma and the wider flora panels. It cannot detect HIV or hepatitis.

Swab or liquid-based cytology is used for HPV genotyping and for site-specific sampling.

This is why the combined panels exist. A "full STD test" that only draws blood is not a full STD test, whoever is selling it.

How accurate is the testing?

Samples are analysed in our own DHA-licensed, EIAC-accredited laboratory in Dubai, operating to ISO 15189:2022.⁶ We use PCR and 4th-generation serology platforms, not rapid point-of-care kits, and every reactive result is automatically re-run and confirmed by a second method before it reaches your report.

Because the laboratory is ours, there is no courier leg to another facility and no third-party processing, which is why most results are released within 24 hours of collection.

• DHA licence: 0046381
• EIAC accredited, ISO 15189:2022
• Samples analysed in Dubai, never shipped abroad

Confidentiality: exactly who can and cannot see your results

"100% confidential" is a phrase every lab in the city uses, and it is not much help when you are actually anxious. Here is the specific position, including the part most pages leave out.

Who does not receive your results

• Your employer. Never, under any circumstance. A private test you book yourself creates no record with any company.
• Your family, spouse or partner. Results go to you and are yours to share or not.
• Your landlord, bank, school or any other third party.
• Your insurer, unless you specifically choose to claim, which requires your explicit consent.

Results are delivered to you by encrypted link, not open email. Billing appears as a generic laboratory service with no test names on the receipt unless you ask for them.

This is separate from the government visa medical

The medical examination required for a UAE residence visa is a completely different process, conducted at government screening centres under a separate legal framework. Booking a private screen with us has no connection to it, does not feed into it, and does not appear in it.

What the law requires of every licensed facility in Dubai

This is the part you should know before you test rather than after.

Under Federal Law No. 14 of 2014 on Combatting Communicable Diseases¹ and its executive regulations in Cabinet Resolution No. 33 of 2016,² a defined schedule of infections is notifiable to the health authorities. That schedule includes HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Private health facilities in Dubai submit these notifications to the Dubai Health Authority, within 24 hours for the most serious group and within 7 days for the rest.³

This is a legal duty binding every DHA-licensed laboratory, clinic and hospital in the emirate. No private provider can waive it, and any provider who tells you they can is either mistaken or offering to break the law on your behalf.

Separately, Dubai operates a health information exchange called NABIDH, which links licensed facilities so that clinicians treating you can see your history.⁴ Laboratory results flow into it. Residents are enrolled by default and have the right to opt out by submitting a request to the DHA. Opting out does not affect your ability to receive care.⁵

What this means in practice

For the large majority of what these panels cover, including chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomonas, mycoplasma, ureaplasma, HPV, candida and bacterial-vaginosis organisms, the privacy picture is straightforward: your result is a private medical matter between you and your physician.

For HIV and viral hepatitis the position is different, and for expatriate residents the stakes attached to an HIV diagnosis in the UAE are serious. You are entitled to understand exactly what applies to you before you give a sample, not after a result lands.

So ask first. Call or message and speak to our physician before you book. The conversation is free, it commits you to nothing, and it is a far better basis for a decision than any marketing promise, including ours.

The thing worth saying plainly

None of the above is a reason to skip testing. An untreated infection does not become less real because it went unmeasured, and it does not stop being transmissible to people you care about. Most bacterial STDs are cured by a single course of antibiotics. Early detection is what keeps a small problem small.

If confidentiality is the specific thing holding you back, have the conversation. Do not let uncertainty about the rules turn into a decision to never find out.

If a result comes back positive

A positive result is a starting point, not a verdict.

Our physician calls you privately the same day, explains what the marker means, arranges confirmatory testing where it is needed, and sets out treatment. Most bacterial STDs clear with one course of antibiotics. Where specialist care is appropriate, we refer you discreetly, and your results are handed over only with your consent.

The same conversation covers partner testing and when to re-test, so you are not left assembling next steps on your own at midnight.

Home collection across Dubai

Home collection is included in every package price rather than sold as an extra.

A licensed nurse comes to your apartment, villa, office or hotel room anywhere in Dubai, seven days a week from 6am to 10pm. The kit is unmarked and the uniform is plain. The visit takes about ten minutes and nothing about it announces what it is for.

Samples travel back to the laboratory under temperature control, so accuracy is identical to walking in.

For anyone who prefers a lab visit, we are at Al Hawai Building, Al Rigga Road, Al Muraqqabat, Deira.

Get tested

Book your STD test online or message the lab. Walk in to our Deira laboratory or have a nurse come to you, anywhere in Dubai. If you are unsure which panel fits, ask a clinician first - it is free and it commits you to nothing.

This article is for general information and is not a substitute for medical or legal advice. Test results should be interpreted by a licensed physician. For questions about how UAE residency regulations apply to your individual circumstances, consult a qualified legal professional. Intel Lab Diagnostics is licensed by the Dubai Health Authority (licence 0046381) and accredited by EIAC to ISO 15189:2022. Prices, window periods and turnaround times were verified on 7 September 2026.