This page is general health information, not medical advice. It cannot tell you whether you have an infection. A clinician can, and the testing options on this site are a good place to start.

Telling someone about an STD is hard for almost everyone. It is also one of the most caring things you can do for a partner and for yourself.

This guide walks through how to tell someone about an STD, step by step, with a calm script you can adapt. It also explains expedited partner therapy and what Georgia law says about it. Everything here applies whatever your gender, orientation or relationship type.

Why partners need to know and be treated too

The CDC STI Treatment Guidelines (2021) explain a simple problem. If one person is treated and a partner is not, the infection can pass back and forth. Clinicians call this reinfection.

For chlamydia and gonorrhea, the CDC guidelines advise that sex partners from the 60 days before a diagnosis be evaluated and treated. For syphilis, the look-back time depends on the stage, so a clinician will tell you how far back to go.

Many STIs cause no symptoms at all, according to the CDC. A partner may have no idea anything is going on. Hearing it from you gives them the chance to get tested and, if needed, treated.

Bacterial STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are curable with treatment from a clinician. Trichomoniasis is curable too. HIV and herpes are not curable, but both are treatable and manageable with care from a clinician.

Atlanta is a place where this conversation comes up often. The Georgia Department of Public Health's OASIS data tool reports 10,599 chlamydia cases in Fulton County in 2023, a rate of 978.7 per 100,000 people. These infections are common, and they are a health matter, not a character flaw.

What you need before you start

Your own information. Know the name of the infection, what your clinician said about treatment, and when you can expect to feel better. If you are unsure, call the clinic and ask.
A trustworthy source to share. The CDC's STI pages at cdc.gov/sti are written for the public and are easy to hand to a partner.
A private, unhurried time and place. Choose somewhere you both can talk without an audience or a clock.
A list of next steps. Know where your partner can get tested, ideally with a clinic name and phone number ready.
A support person. A friend, a counselor or a clinic staff member can help you rehearse.

Step-by-step: how to tell your partner about an STD

Step 1: Get your facts straight first

Ask your clinician what you were tested for, what your result means and what comes next. Ask how far back your partners should be contacted. Having these answers makes the talk calmer, because you can answer the first questions your partner is likely to ask.

Step 2: Decide who needs to hear from you

Make a list of recent partners, going back as far as your clinician advised. Include partners from casual encounters too. You do not need to rank them or explain your history. You only need to let each person know they may want to get tested.

Step 3: Choose the right moment and setting

In person is often best for a current partner. A phone call, a video call or a careful text can work well for someone you no longer see. Avoid telling someone in a public place, during an argument or right before sex.

If you feel unsafe telling a particular person, you do not have to do it alone. Ask a clinic about other ways to reach that partner.

Step 4: Open with care, then say it plainly

Start with why you are telling them. Then say the main point in one or two sentences. Avoid long build-ups. Here is a script you can adapt:

“I want to talk to you about something because I care about you. I recently got tested and found out I have [name of infection]. I'm telling you so you can get tested too. A lot of people have no symptoms, so it's easy to miss. I'm getting care from a clinician, and I can share what I've learned.”

For a bacterial infection you can add: “It's curable with treatment from a clinician.” For HIV or herpes you can add: “It's not curable, but it is treatable and manageable, and I'm working with a clinician on it.”

Step 5: Let them react

Your partner may be quiet, upset, relieved or full of questions. Any of these is normal. Try not to defend yourself or guess where the infection came from. Many infections can go unnoticed for a long time, so the source is often impossible to pin down.

You can say: “Take whatever time you need. I'm happy to answer what I can.”

Step 6: Share the practical next steps

Offer your partner a way to act. Tell them they can see their own clinician or go to a local clinic, and that testing options in Atlanta include free and sliding-scale care. The CDC also runs a testing locator at gettested.cdc.gov that lists sites by ZIP code.

Suggest avoiding sex until a clinician says it is safe. For many infections, that means until both people have finished treatment. Ask your clinician what applies to you.

Step 7: Follow up kindly

A day or two later, send a short check-in. Do not press for details about their results. Ask only if they need help finding a clinic or want to talk. If your clinician recommended retesting for you, mark it on your calendar.

Partner notification options beyond doing it yourself

Partner notification for STDs does not always have to be a solo task. Clinicians and health departments can help.

The Georgia Department of Public Health says that all Georgia physicians, laboratories and other health care providers must report notifiable conditions. According to its disease reporting pages, syphilis is reported immediately, and chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV are reported within 7 days. Georgia law at O.C.G.A. § 31-17-2 also requires anyone diagnosing or treating a venereal disease to report it.

The Fulton County Board of Health's sexual health pages do not describe an anonymous partner notification service, so check directly. When you call a Fulton County health center, ask whether the staff can help notify partners without using your name. The same question is worth asking at DeKalb Public Health if you live in the DeKalb part of Atlanta.

Expedited partner therapy (EPT) in Georgia

Expedited partner therapy, often shortened to EPT, means a clinician gives a patient treatment or a prescription to pass to a partner without seeing that partner first. The CDC STI Treatment Guidelines (2021) describe it as an option for partners of people with chlamydia or gonorrhea who cannot get to a clinic themselves.

The CDC also notes limits. It is not a replacement for a partner getting examined and tested, and the guidelines do not recommend routine EPT for syphilis. For men who have sex with men, the CDC guidelines say EPT is not routinely recommended because other infections, including HIV, can go unnoticed.

What Georgia law says

The CDC's page on the legal status of EPT in Georgia lists these provisions: Ga. Code Ann. § 31-17-7.1, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-2-8-.01 (effective September 21, 2022) and Ga. Code Ann. § 26-4-80, which covers exemptions from putting a name and address on a prescription. Read the CDC's Georgia EPT legal status page for the exact current wording.

The Georgia Department of Public Health says EPT services can be located through local public health departments. Whether EPT fits your situation is a decision for your clinician. If you want to ask about it, bring it up at your visit.

Treatment is always something a clinician prescribes. Never take medicine that was prescribed for someone else, and never pass yours along.

Tips that help the conversation go well

Practice out loud. Saying the first two sentences once or twice makes them easier to say for real.
Use neutral language. “I tested positive for chlamydia” is clearer and kinder than blame or apology.
Bring information, not a lecture. A CDC link gives your partner something to read at their own pace.
Tell people before they hear it elsewhere. If you can, contact partners yourself before news travels.
Be gentle with yourself. Having an STI says nothing about your worth.

Common mistakes to avoid

Waiting too long. Delays give an infection more time to pass between people or cause problems.
Guessing about who gave it to whom. Many infections have no symptoms, so the timing is often unknowable.
Promising things you do not know. Do not tell a partner they are fine. Only a clinician or a test can tell them anything about their own health.
Skipping partners who feel awkward to contact. They need the information too.
Sharing treatment between people. Only a clinician decides who gets what.
Sharing someone else's news. If a partner tells you their result, keep it private.

A note on HIV and disclosure in Georgia

If your diagnosis is HIV, you may have questions about disclosure. FindLaw's summary of O.C.G.A. § 16-5-60 says the law applies to a person living with HIV who knowingly has a sexual act with intent to transmit HIV, without disclosing first, where the act carries a significant risk of transmission. The CDC lists Georgia among states that have modernized or repealed HIV criminal laws since 2014. For questions about how this applies to you, a clinician or legal aid organization can help.

Where to get tested in Atlanta, free or low cost

Testing your partner can use, and you may need as well, is available around the city. For a fuller comparison, see this guide to where to get tested in Atlanta and what it costs. A few options:

AID Atlanta Wellness Center, 1438 W Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30309. AID Atlanta says free HIV tests and STI screenings for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are offered onsite, with free treatment for reactive screening results. Testing runs Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and walk-ins are welcome. Call (404) 870-7741 for STI testing. See the AID Atlanta testing page.
10 Park Place Health Center (Fulton County Board of Health), 10 Park Place S.E., 5th floor, Atlanta, GA 30303. STI screening and treatment, HIV testing and PrEP are listed, with fees on a sliding scale. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the last walk-in appointment is 3:00 p.m. Call (770) 520-7500.
Adamsville Regional Health Center (Fulton County Board of Health), 3700 MLK Jr. Drive S.W., Atlanta, GA 30331. Call (770) 520-7323. The Board of Health says services may be walk-in or by appointment, and appointments are recommended.
Planned Parenthood East Atlanta Health Center, 440 Moreland Avenue SE, Atlanta, GA 30316. Call 404-688-9300. The center lists STD testing and treatment and says insurance is not required. It does not state a sliding scale, so ask about cost when you call.

Under age 22? The Fulton County Board of Health's Teen Health Clinic serves ages 12 to 21, with fees based on income and family size, and says no teen is turned away for inability to pay. Georgia law at O.C.G.A. § 31-17-7 lets a minor consent to care for a venereal disease, which the statute defines as syphilis, gonorrhea and chancroid. The Guttmacher Institute summarizes Georgia as allowing minors to consent to STI testing and treatment more broadly. Providers may inform a parent, so ask the clinic about its practice.

Hours and services can change, so check with the clinic or the Fulton County Board of Health sexual health page before you go.

What to expect afterward

Results vary, and every conversation is different. Many people find the talk easier than they feared. Some partners respond with thanks. Others need time, and that is fine too.

After a partner gets tested, a clinician can explain what the results show. If treatment is needed for a bacterial infection, it is curable with treatment from a clinician. Following the clinician's advice about waiting to have sex and about retesting may lower the chance of passing an infection back and forth.

For HIV or herpes, care from a clinician can help manage the condition. Your clinician can explain what that care looks like.

How to Tell a Partner You Have an STD (and Expedited Partner Therapy in Georgia)