You can check your A1C at home using an FDA-cleared test kit that requires a small finger-prick blood sample and gives you a result in about five minutes. These kits cost between $44 and $100 at most pharmacies and don’t require a prescription. While they’re slightly less precise than a lab draw, they’re accurate enough to help you track trends between doctor visits.
Home A1C Test Kits Available Now
Several FDA-cleared home A1C kits are sold over the counter. The most widely available options include the A1C Now Self Check (also sold under the TRUE+ brand), the ReliOn Fast A1C Test (sold at Walmart), and the Walgreens At Home A1C Test Kit. All three are based on the same core technology cleared by the FDA and work in a similar way: you prick your finger, apply blood to a test cartridge, and insert it into a small handheld analyzer.
If you’d rather not do the finger stick yourself, mail-in A1C tests are another option. You collect a small blood sample at home, send it to a lab, and get results back digitally. These typically cost $30 to $90, and some companies offer subscription plans that include multiple tests per year.
How to Use a Home A1C Kit
The entire process takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish. While each brand’s instructions differ slightly, the general steps are the same:
- Prepare the kit. Open the shaker pouch (which contains the reagent chemicals) and set up the analyzer. Make sure the kit has been stored at room temperature, between 59°F and 77°F. Kits exposed to heat, cold, or direct sunlight can give unreliable results.
- Prick your finger. Use the included lancet to get a drop of blood. Washing your hands with warm water beforehand helps blood flow.
- Apply the sample quickly. You need to get your blood onto the test cartridge and into the analyzer within two minutes. Don’t move or pick up the analyzer while it’s processing.
- Read and record your result. Your A1C percentage will appear on the screen within about five minutes. Write it down immediately. Most analyzers don’t save the result, and the display turns off after 15 minutes.
These are single-use kits. Each test cartridge works once, so if you make an error during the process (not enough blood, inserting the cartridge too slowly), you’ll need a new kit.
How Accurate Are Home Tests?
Home A1C kits are reasonably accurate but not as precise as a clinical lab. Studies comparing the A1C Now device to laboratory testing found a correlation coefficient of about 0.76 to 0.88, meaning the home result tracks well with lab values but can be off by a few tenths of a percentage point in either direction. A central lab, by comparison, has a coefficient of variation around 1%, while point-of-care devices run closer to 2-3%.
In practical terms, this means a home reading of 7.0% might correspond to a lab result anywhere from roughly 6.7% to 7.3%. That’s good enough to spot trends over time, like whether your A1C is rising or falling between visits. It’s not precise enough to make fine-grained treatment decisions on its own, which is why these kits are cleared for monitoring, not for diagnosing diabetes.
What Your Result Means
A1C reflects your average blood sugar over the previous two to three months. The number is expressed as a percentage: higher percentages mean higher average blood sugar. Here’s how the ranges break down:
- Below 5.7%: Normal range
- 5.7% to 6.4%: Prediabetes range
- 6.5% or higher: Diabetes range
The American Diabetes Association suggests a target of 7% or below for most nonpregnant adults with diabetes, which translates to an estimated average glucose of about 154 mg/dL. Every 1% change in A1C corresponds to roughly a 29 mg/dL shift in average blood sugar. So an A1C of 6% means an average around 126 mg/dL, while 8% means an average around 183 mg/dL.
Conditions That Skew A1C Results
A1C measures how much sugar has attached to your red blood cells. Anything that changes the lifespan or composition of those cells can throw the number off, whether you test at home or in a lab. The CDC lists several factors that can falsely raise or lower your result: severe anemia, kidney failure, liver disease, blood disorders like sickle cell anemia or thalassemia, recent blood loss or transfusions, and early or late pregnancy. Certain medications, including opioids and some HIV drugs, can also interfere.
If any of these apply to you, your A1C may not accurately reflect your true average blood sugar. Your doctor may use a different test, like fructosamine, to get a more reliable picture. A home kit won’t flag these interferences for you, so it’s worth knowing whether your situation could affect the reading.
Tips for Getting the Best Results
Storage matters more than most people realize. Home A1C kits contain reagents that degrade outside of room temperature. Keep them between 59°F and 77°F, out of direct sunlight, and don’t leave them in a hot car or cold garage. Properly stored kits remain stable for up to 36 months, but always check the expiration date on the box before testing.
Timing your test relative to your lab work can help you gauge how closely your home kit tracks with your doctor’s results. If you test at home within a day or two of a scheduled lab draw, you can compare the numbers and get a sense of your kit’s accuracy for future reference. Keep a simple log of both your home and lab results so you can spot patterns over time. A single home reading is a snapshot, but a series of readings every few months tells a much more useful story about your blood sugar management.