Do you need a smear test if you are still a virgin?

If you’ve never had any kind of sexual contact, your risk of cervical cancer is low. But the NHS still advises going for cervical screening when you’re invited, because it’s possible to get cervical cancer without HPV.

Being a virgin usually means you haven’t had penetrative sex. But HPV can be passed on through other kinds of sexual contact, such as touching, oral sex or sharing sex toys, so you’re still at risk of cervical cancer even if you haven’t had penetrative sex.

Screening is always your choice. You can talk it through with the nurse or doctor before you decide.

Cervical screening, which used to be called a smear test, isn’t a test for cancer. It’s a test to help prevent cancer. Many people still call it a smear test.

A nurse or doctor uses a soft brush to take a small sample of cells from your cervix. The lab tests the sample for high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) first. The cells are only checked for changes if HPV is found. If abnormal cells are found, they can be treated to help stop them turning into cancer.

There’s no treatment for HPV itself, but it usually clears up on its own within 2 years. Results usually take between 2 and 6 weeks.

HPV is very common, and most people will get some type of it in their life. You don’t need to have had penetrative sex to get it. HPV can spread through:

• any skin-to-skin contact of the genital area, including touching
• oral sex
• sharing sex toys
• vaginal or anal sex

It’s possible to get HPV from just one occasion of sexual contact. Read more in “How is HPV transmitted?”

Nearly all cervical cancers (99.7%) are caused by a long-lasting infection with a high-risk type of HPV. Two types, HPV 16 and HPV 18, cause about 70% of cases.

Around 3,300 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK each year. It is most often diagnosed in people in their 30s, and it is very rare in people under 25.

Other things can raise the risk, including:

• smoking
• a weakened immune system, for example because of HIV
• having given birth to several children, or having children at an early age
• taking the contraceptive pill for more than 5 years, although this only raises the risk slightly and the risk falls again after you stop

Having Chlamydia as well as HPV might also raise the risk.

In England, Scotland and Wales, people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 are invited every 5 years if no HPV is found. In England, your first invitation arrives a few months before your 25th birthday. You may be invited sooner if HPV is found, or if your next test date was set before screening changed from every 3 years to every 5 years. In Northern Ireland, people aged 25 to 49 are invited every 3 years, and those aged 50 to 64 every 5 years.

Trans men and non-binary people with a cervix can have cervical screening too. If you’re registered as anything other than female with your doctor’s surgery, you may not be invited automatically, so you may need to ask for it.

Cervical screening doesn’t usually hurt, but some people find it uncomfortable or painful, especially if they’ve never had anything put into their vagina. The test itself should take less than 5 minutes.

A nurse or doctor gently puts a smooth, tube-shaped tool called a speculum into your vagina so they can see your cervix, then uses a soft brush to take the sample. To make it more comfortable, you can:

• ask for a smaller speculum
• ask to lie in a different position, such as on your side with your knees pulled up to your chest
• ask to put the speculum in yourself
• book a longer appointment, and agree a word or signal for when you want to stop

You’re in control, and you can ask to stop at any time. You might have some light bleeding or spotting afterwards. This should stop within a few hours.

Yes. Cervical screening is your choice. If you’ve never been sexually active, you may decide not to have it, but you can still go if you want to.

You can opt out of screening invitations, and you can opt back in at any time if you change your mind. If your appointment falls during your period, you can rearrange it.

If you’re invited for cervical screening, the test checks your cervix for high-risk HPV and, if HPV is found, for changes in the cells.

If you’d like to check for HPV privately at home, the Better2Know HPV home test uses a vaginal swab you take yourself. It tests for 14 high-risk types of HPV, including types 16 and 18, the most common causes of cervical cancer, with results usually within 5 working days of the lab receiving your sample. If it finds high-risk HPV, you’ll need a follow-up check of your cervix. It doesn’t replace cervical screening, so still go when you’re invited.

Most STI screens don’t check for HPV. Read more about why most STI screens don’t check for HPV.

Not sure which test you need? Our Patient Care Team is available 24/7 on 020 7099 0955.

Can you get cervical cancer if you’ve never had sex?

It’s possible but unlikely. Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by HPV, which is passed on through sexual contact, so the risk is very low if you’ve never had any sexual contact. A very small number of cervical cancers aren’t caused by HPV.

Do you still need screening if you’ve had the HPV vaccine?

Yes. The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers, but not all of them, so you should still go for cervical screening when you’re invited.

Does cervical screening affect your virginity?

No. Having cervical screening doesn’t change whether you’re a virgin. Only having sex does that.

If you’ve never had any kind of sexual contact, your risk of cervical cancer is low but not zero, and the NHS still advises screening when you’re invited. If you’ve had any sexual contact, even without penetrative sex, you could have HPV.

Screening is your choice, and you can ask for changes that make it more comfortable. If you’d like to check for high-risk HPV at home, order a Better2Know HPV home test. Our Patient Care Team is available 24/7 on 020 7099 0955.

Not in the UK? Choose your country from the selector at the top of the page for local tests and prices.

This article originally appeared on 18 November 2022 and was last updated on 29 September 2026.

This article is general information and not a substitute for personal medical advice.

Sources

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