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In general, antibody tests that use blood can detect HIV slightly sooner after infection than tests done with oral fluid. It can take 3 to 12 weeks (21-84 days) for an HIV-positive personâs body to make enough antibodies for an antibody test to detect HIV infection. This is called the window period.
Antibody testing at 4 weeks can give you a good indication of your HIV status, but you need a test at 12 weeks after the exposure to be considered HIV negative. Figure 8: Timeline for HIV infection, immune responses and window period for tests. Last updated: 1 June 2016.