Free Radon Test Kits: Where to Get Them

By Steve Crews · Last updated June 21, 2026

State radon programs: your first stop

Every US state has some form of radon program, typically run by the state health department or department of environmental quality. Many offer free or heavily discounted test kits to residents, and some provide them year-round rather than just during awareness campaigns.

The EPA maintains a list of state radon contacts on its website where you can find your state’s program, contact information, and any current kit offers. What you actually get varies. Some states mail a complete kit with a prepaid return mailer and absorb the lab fee entirely; the total cost to you is zero. Others sell kits for three to ten dollars to offset part of the lab work. A handful only provide a referral to a discounted certified lab, so you handle the transaction directly. Check your state’s radon office first because offerings change year to year, and some programs limit kits to one per address.

States with historically active programs include Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, among others. Iowa in particular is frequently cited for providing especially low-cost kits because the state sits in a high-radon region and the program is well-funded. That said, radon is a concern across all fifty states. States with lower average radon levels still often maintain outreach programs, so it is worth checking even if you live somewhere radon is less commonly discussed.

County health departments and utility partnerships

State programs are the most visible option, but they are not the only one. Some county health departments distribute kits independently, especially in areas a state has identified as higher risk. A quick call to your county’s environmental health or public health office can reveal options that do not appear in a basic web search.

Utilities, particularly rural electric cooperatives and community development organizations in higher-radon states, sometimes partner with state programs to provide subsidized kits to customers. These arrangements tend to appear, run for a season, and then quietly disappear when funding cycles change. They are worth asking about even if nothing turns up online.

National Radon Action Month in January

January is National Radon Action Month, designated by both the EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General to push more Americans to test. Every January, state radon offices tend to run their most active promotions: free kit giveaways, deep discounts, or partnerships with hardware retailers on low-cost offerings. Organizations such as the American Lung Association often run their own campaigns in parallel.

If you want the best odds of finding a free kit, start checking state program websites and local health department pages in late December. Many offers run out within a few weeks, and some are first-come, first-served with a hard cap on quantity.

What a “free” kit actually contains

This is worth understanding before you commit. Most free and heavily discounted kits are short-term charcoal canisters. You leave the open canister in the lowest level of your home you regularly occupy, typically a basement or ground floor, for between two and seven days. Then you seal it and mail it back in the provided envelope. Results arrive within one to two weeks, reported as a number in picocuries per liter (pCi/L).

The EPA action level is 4 pCi/L: at or above that, the agency recommends taking steps to reduce radon. Between 2 and 4 pCi/L, the EPA suggests considering action as well, since risk is a gradient with no hard cutoff below which exposure is considered without risk. The WHO reference level is 100 Bq/m3 (roughly 2.7 pCi/L); Health Canada’s guideline is 200 Bq/m3 (roughly 5.4 pCi/L). For a US home, 4 pCi/L is the benchmark to watch.

Short-term kits are a reasonable first step. Their limitation is that radon levels shift with weather, season, ventilation habits, and how airtight the house is on any given week. A single short-term test is a snapshot, not a definitive annual average. For decisions that carry more weight, like buying a home or committing to a mitigation system, a long-term test over 90 days gives a more reliable picture. See our guide on short-term vs long-term radon tests for when each approach makes sense.

What to do if no free option is available

State programs run out of kits. Budgets tighten, demand spikes in January, and some programs operate only in certain counties. If you cannot find a free option, the next move is a low-cost kit rather than skipping the test entirely.

AccuStar, Air Chek, and a few other NRPP-certified labs sell short-term charcoal kits online, often for fifteen to twenty-five dollars with lab analysis included. These kits use the same technology and go to the same class of certified labs as state-program kits. The accuracy of the result depends on how carefully you place and handle the kit, not on whether you paid twelve dollars or nothing. A full walkthrough of the process is in our DIY radon testing guide.

If you prefer shopping on Amazon: Check price on Amazon. Look for kits that specify NRPP-certified laboratory analysis, which tells you the result will meet the same quality standard as professionally measured tests.

How to use the kit correctly

A free kit placed poorly is no better than no kit at all. A few rules apply regardless of where the kit comes from.

Put the canister in the lowest level you regularly use. A finished basement with a bedroom or office is the right spot. An unfinished storage room you visit twice a year tells you less than you need to know about the air your family breathes daily. Place the canister at least twenty inches above the floor, away from exterior walls, away from drafts, and away from high-humidity spots like near a sump pump or laundry area.

Keep windows and exterior doors closed (except for normal entry and exit) for at least twelve hours before starting the test and throughout its duration. This closed-home condition is required for the result to be comparable to the EPA guidelines. Follow the time window printed on the package exactly, seal the canister immediately when the window closes, and mail it the same day or the next morning. Charcoal begins releasing captured radon once sealed, so a kit that sits on a counter for a week before mailing will return a falsely low result.

FAQ

Why does my state offer free radon test kits? State radon programs are funded through a mix of EPA grants and state public-health budgets. The goal is to raise testing rates because the U.S. Surgeon General and EPA have both issued advisories urging Americans to test their homes. In states with widespread radon geology, getting more homes tested is treated as a public-health priority, and removing the cost barrier is one of the most direct ways to do that.

Does a free kit always include the lab fee? Not always. Some state programs cover the full cost: kit, return postage, and lab analysis. Others supply the kit and charge a small lab fee of five to fifteen dollars. Read the details from your state program before ordering. If the kit arrives with a return mailer but no information about lab fees, contact the program before you assume everything is covered.

Can I trust results from a free state-program kit? Yes, provided the kit is sent to a certified lab. State radon programs use NRPP-certified or state-certified labs, which follow documented quality-assurance standards. The accuracy of your result depends more on proper kit placement and handling than on the price you paid. If the program specifies that results come from a certified lab, the number is reliable.

What if my result is at or above 4 pCi/L? That is the EPA’s action level, and it means taking steps to lower radon in your home. The most common and effective fix is a sub-slab depressurization system, installed by a certified mitigator credentialed through AARST-NRPP. C-NRPP holds the same role in Canada. For a sense of what a system involves and what it costs, see our guide on radon mitigation cost.