Opinions! Who should pay for testing?

Personally, if the state/law/venue requires it: guests are on their own for paying it themselves. If the couple requires it: it should come out of the couple’s pocket.

View Quoted Comment I agree with this!

View Quoted Comment 100% agree with this

View Quoted Comment I agree with Maureen.

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I agree with this as well!

I agree with others. If the couple is requiring testing, but the state is not, then the expense should fall on the couple. Also, when it is state mandated, there are usually free testing centers available.

I think if the couple is the one doing it and my insurance doesn't cover it, then yes the couple I feel should be required to pay for my test. But if it is a state mandate then no the couple does not have to pay, plus most states that have mandatory test have some free testing available but they might not be the rapid one.

View Quoted Comment Agreed with this

I think if it's a host request or venue requirement, the couple's should pay. If it's a state requirement or requirement of travel, the guest should pay. I know its a bummer because it's yet another expense for the hosts, but I don't think guests should be asked to shoulder the cost.

I personally think the state or venue should be required to pay for all testing seeing as how the state is forcing people to do it. If a state is not forcing people to do it then if the couple is demanding everyone gets tested then the couple should pay for it.

I thought all COVID tests were free, thought it was part of the initial COVID protection stuff.

View Quoted Comment Definitely not all free. Some states have free testing sites, but not all states have them. Even then, the free testing sites don’t usually give results for 24-48 hours so if you need immediate results, rapid tests cost money. The place closest to my house charges $160 for a rapid test.


As others have said, if the venue or state is requiring it, they should be offering free testing in the state. If the couple is requiring it, the couple should also be covering the cost.

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Agree! Also I've noticed states requiring tests offer free testing. For example we're in NY and our state requires testing but it's free. So our few out of state guests I told them to get a rapid test here the day of.

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Same--I can get a free test that comes back within a business week (5 days), but the rapid tests in my area cost around $150 and also require lots of advanced planning/booking. If you want a rapid test quickly, it's closer to $200 from an online provider in the mail.

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Agree with this. Not all tests are accurate and you can become infected anytime after taking the test and render it moot.

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I'm not sure about specific events, but testing in general definitely isn't free in my state (CA). I had a minor surgery last week and ended up having to get tested twice because it was postponed by the surgery center on the day it was supposed to happen originally. Insurance helped, but I'm still stuck footing the majority of the bill for both tests. And this was a test that I was required to have done in order to have the surgery. (Yes, I'm salty about it.)

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This, though I would hope the state/law/venue would pay for the testing if they require it. Sadly, that generally isn't the case.

If it's yours or your venues requirement but not state or city requirement, it should be paid for by the couple.