Guide

What to Bring to Your Free Clinic Visit

If you are uninsured in North Carolina, a free clinic or community health center will see you. Showing up prepared means fewer return trips and a lower bill. Here is exactly what to bring.

Bring these if you have them

• A photo ID (driver's license, passport, consular ID, or any card with your name).
• Proof of income for everyone in your household: recent pay stubs, a benefits letter, or last year's tax return. This sets your sliding-scale fee.
• Proof of address: a utility bill, lease, or piece of mail from the last 60 days.
• Your medicine bottles. All of them, including vitamins and anything from another country. Bringing the actual bottles is better than a list.
• Insurance or Medicaid card if you have one, even if you think it expired.
• A written list of your symptoms, when they started, and your questions.
• Any records, test results, or discharge papers from another clinic or hospital.
• A form of payment for the sliding-scale fee if you can pay something (often $20-$40).

What if you do not have these?

• No photo ID: most NC community health centers will still see you. Call ahead and say so.
• No Social Security number: not required at federally qualified health centers.
• No immigration status: FQHCs and free clinics do not ask about or report immigration status.
• No income proof: you can usually sign a self-declaration of income form on site.
• Cannot pay: FQHCs cannot turn you away for inability to pay on the day of the visit.

Before you go

• Call and ask whether they take walk-ins or need an appointment. Our directory flags this for each listing.
• Ask if a Spanish-speaking staff member or interpreter will be available. Interpretation is free and is your right.
• Ask what the visit will cost you today and what the sliding-scale paperwork requires.
• Ask whether they fill prescriptions on site or use a discount pharmacy program.
• Arrive 20-30 minutes early the first time; new-patient paperwork takes a while.

Questions to ask at the visit

• Can I get my prescriptions here or at a low-cost pharmacy?
• Do you offer dental, vision, or behavioral health here too?
• Can you help me apply for Medicaid or a marketplace plan?
• If I need a specialist or lab work, will that also be sliding-scale?
• Who do I call after hours if this gets worse?

This guide is general information, not medical or legal advice. Programs change. Always call the clinic to confirm.