The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has updated its guidelines to include self-collection testing for cervical cancer screening for women aged 30-65 with average risk.
Cervical cancer can be detected through a variety of tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The most common tests are the Pap smear, which looks for abnormal cells, and the human papillomavirus (HPV) test, which detects high-risk strains of HPV.
Tests for high-risk HPV strains are the preferred screening mechanism for cervical cancer and are recommended every five years. HPV causes most cervical cancers.
The HRSA will now allow patients aged 30-65 to perform self-collection of the high-risk HPV (hrHPV) test in lieu of collection by a healthcare provider. The self-collection test can be done in an office or at home.
Companies such as Teal Health offer at-home cervical cancer screening collection tests that are mailed into a testing site along with telehealth consultations to help women understand their results.
Though women 30-65 now have the option to do self-collection testing, they retain the ability to have an HPV test or Pap smear done in-office.
For women aged 21-29, the guidelines still recommend in-office cervical cancer screening using the Pap smear.
The HRSA endorsed the guideline “to reflect the new evidence and developments supporting the expansion of options for cervical cancer screening through patient-collected hrHPV testing,” a notice in the Federal Register says.
The FDA approved self-collection tests in 2024 and 2025, and the American Cancer Society also updated its cervical cancer screening guidelines in December to include self collection as a screening option.
The updated guidelines come from an HRSA-funded group, the Women's Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI). The WPSI convenes clinicians, academics and consumer-focused health professional organizations to conduct rigorous reviews of the evidence and recommend new clinical guidelines for women.
Most payers must start covering the cost of at-home testing for cervical cancer with no cost sharing, like co-pays, starting in January 2027. Under the Affordable Care Act, preventive care and screenings in the guidelines are required to be covered by insurance.
The update also adds language to ensure payers will cover the cost of additional testing to rule out cancer, including cytology, biopsy colposcopy, extended genotyping and dual stain.