The lateral flow device (LFD) service supports eligible patients to access LFD tests to enable testing at home for COVID-19. Wherever possible, eligible patients should obtain LFD tests in advance of developing symptoms.

From 29 May 2024, the NHS service finder: Find a pharmacy that offers free COVID-19 rapid lateral flow tests was launched to enable patients to quickly and easily locate a pharmacy participating in the advanced service to provide free COVID-19 NHS LFD tests to eligible patients or their representative.

For an interactive map showing the nearest pharmacy that provides this service, or a list of community pharmacies that provide this service, see the Community pharmacy services page.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusions

To be eligible to access this service a person must:

• aged 12 years and over
• at risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 and therefore potentially eligible for COVID-19 treatments, as defined by NICE in the Supporting information on risk factors for progression to severe COVID-19 guidance.

Exclusions

• A person will not be eligible for this service if they do not meet the above inclusion criteria (and can purchase lateral flow tests).

The LFD tests service specification has been updated with additional patient cohorts to make the eligibility clearer as set out in NICE guidance and to emphasise that eligible patients do not need to be symptomatic of COVID-19 to obtain a free box of tests. 

See downloads for the revised service specification (where changes have been highlighted in yellow).