STI testing service
Page last reviewed 7.1.2026
Who is the service intended for?
The Checkpoint testing service is targeted for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, and migrants.
In addition, the service welcomes people living with HIV, gender minorities, and male travellers who have been at risk of contracting an STI while travelling.
Which STIs are tested at Checkpoint?
At Checkpoint STI testing service, it is possible to get tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV. Chlamydia and gonorrhea tests are taken as a urine sample or as rectal or throat swab according to what kind of sex you have had. Rectal swab can be taken as a selfsample. Syphilis and HIV are tested from the blood, either with a rapid test or as a venous blood sample.
How and when can you get tested for STIs at Checkpoint?
You can get tested for STIs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The service is free of charge. The testing service operates mainly by appointment.
The easiest way to book an appointment is to book it from our online booking calendar. When booking an appointment, we ask for your name and email address to which the booking confirmation will be sent.
If there are no free appointments showing in the booking system, we are fully booked. If you want to cancel or change your appointment, it’s done via link in the confirmation message sent to your email. Changing the appointment is only possible if the system has free appointment left.
You can also enter the service without appointment on Tuesdays between 14.00 – 17.30 and on Thursdays between 12.00 – 15.30.
You can also book an appointment via our counselling services.
- Where? The testing will be taking place at Hivpoint’s office in Kalasatama. The address is Hermannin rantatie 2 B, more detailed arrival instructions can be found here.
- Remember! Bring your ID card with you, please. Do not urinate for at least 1 hour before the STI samples are taken. When you come for testing for the first time, please read the detailed instructions on testing below this page.
- Note! You can also enter the testing service without an appointment on Tuesdays from 2 pm to 5.30 pm and on Thursdays from 12 pm to 3.30 pm. If you arrive without an appointment, be prepared to wait. If there is not enough time to take samples, we will book you an appointment for next testing.
How does Checkpoint work and what happens in the testing?
Before testing
- Book an appointment for testing from our appointment calendar or by contacting our counselling services.
- Remember not to urinate for 1 hour before the STI testing.
- Please bring your ID with you. We need to check your ID for the laboratory system. Your ID does not have to be permitted in Finland.
- If you are now taking or have been taking antibiotics within the last week, the STI tests cannot be taken. You can come to our testing a week after finishing the treatment.
- Please do not come to the testing service if you’re having flu-like symptoms. You can cancel or (if there are free times available) reschedule your appointment via the link in your verification email.
- You’re free to bring a support person with you. The support person can either wait for you at our lobby or when discussed with our employee, be with you through the testing process.
At the testing service
Arrival
- Arrive for your appointment at Hivpoint, located at Hermannin rantatie 2 B. Our arrival instructions and accessibility information can be found here.
- Our front door is locked after 17:00. If you arrive after five or need assistance with getting in or using the stairlift at any time, please ring the doorbell on the right side of the door.
- Our office is located on the first floor at the top of stairs. Ring our doorbell and our employee will let you in.
- First you will sign a consent form. On the form, you will fill your personal information and give us a consent to inform your health care provider if you test positive for chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis. All of your personal and health-related data is confidential and protected.
- Our employee will check your ID and guide you to tests. Your ID doesn’t need to be Finnish.
Interview and collecting samples
- At our testing service, you can get tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and if needed, HIV.
- First, our employee will discuss with you and assess which tests should be taken and in which ways based on how you have had sex.
- Our employee will take the tests that are tested from blood. Syphilis is tested with a rapid test from a blood drop from the top of your finger if you haven’t had syphilis before. In case you have had syphilis before, the test is taken from a blood sample from the crook of your arm. If needed and wanted, we can also take a HIV rapid test from a blood drop from the top of your finger. You can get the test results for the rapid tests already at our testing service.
- If you are also tested from the throat, our employee will collect a swap sample from your throat for chlamydia and gonorrhea tests.
- The samples from urine and, if necessary, anus you can take by yourself in the toilet. These tests are for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Our employee will give you the equipment and instructions for collecting the samples. The instructions can also be found on the toilet wall.
Lastly
- When you have taken the samples from urine and anus, place them in a paper bag you have been given. Leave the bag to a box dedicated to samples.
- Before leaving, we kindly ask you to fill our digital feedback form on your phone. You can also take free condoms, dental dams, glide and leaflets from our lobby.
After testing
Test results
- It usually takes a few days or a week at most for the results for the tests that are sent to the laboratory (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis) to come back.
- If any of these test results come back positive, we will call you in about a week’s time and guide you to treatment.
- If your test results come back negative, we will not inform you of your results.
- Test results from our testing service do not show up on Omakanta database (kanta.fi).
Guiding to treatment
- If you test positive for chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis, we will inform your health care provider about your test result to organise your treatment once we have contacted you first.
- If you test positive for chlamydia, your primary care provider is your own health station. Our employee will contact your health station about your treatment.
- If you test positive for gonorrhea or syphilis, our consulting doctor will refer you to a STI outpatient clinic for further tests and treatment. The doctor will also make a statutory communicable disease notification for the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
- If you get a positive test result for any sexually transmitted infection, it’s important to inform your partners of their potential exposure. This way we can prevent further transmissions and make sure that everyone gets the treatment they need. You can find more information about informing your potentially exposed partners here.
- Wonderful! By getting tested for STIs, you have acted responsibly and taken care of your and your partners’ sexual health.
Do you only want a rapid HIV test?
You can get a rapid HIV test every Thursday without an appointment. Rapid HIV testing is anonymous.
Where else can I get tested for STIs?
Do you live far from our office in Helsinki? Are you looking for a place where you can take STI tests? You can also get tested for STIs for free at
- your own health station (terveysasema)
- the outpatient clinic responsible for treatment of STIs in your area
- student health care
- occupational health care
Testing practices vary by well-being services county. You can get the most up-to-date information on STI testing in your area by calling your area’s public health care center or looking for information from your well-being services county’s own website. In many areas, STI tests can be accessed by booking an appointment online or filling the Omaolo form.
Chargeable STI tests are available via private health stations.
An HIV test can also be done in the privacy of your home with an HIV home test kit. You can buy HIV home test kits from our web store Pointshopping. The test result is available in 15 minutes. You can read more about HIV home testing here.