The federal website where Americans can request free COVID-19 tests will begin taking orders Wednesday as the White House looks to address a nationwide shortage, but supplies will be limited to four free tests per household.

The White House announced Friday that starting Jan. 19, the website COVIDTests.gov will offer tests for free, including no shipping charges.

Faced with criticism of low inventories and long testing lines, President Joe Biden announced last month that the U.S. would buy 500 million home tests to kick-start the program, and on Thursday the president announced he was doubling the order to 1 billion tests. .

But Americans shouldn’t expect a quick turnaround in the order, and they must plan ahead and request a test before meeting federal guidelines on when to use it.

“Tests typically ship via the U.S. Postal Service within 7-12 days of ordering,” the White House said, with the company reporting 1-3 days for its premier package service in the continental U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at-home testing five days after potential COVID-19 exposure or as part of a test stay in school and Workplace Agreement.

Not a Modern Healthcare subscriber? Register today.

“Certainly, if you’re going to have a gathering with your family, if you’re going to a gathering of people who are immunocompromised or elderly, or you have people who may be unvaccinated or poorly protected by vaccines, this could be an opportunity,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday. .

Officials stressed that the federal website is just one way for people to get tested for COVID-19. Starting Saturday, private insurers will be required to cover the cost of rapid home tests, allowing Americans to be reimbursed for tests purchased at pharmacies and online retailers. This includes up to eight tests per month.

The White House said the four-test limit for website orders would apply to each residential address and would apply to the first batch of 500 million tests. It estimated the cost of purchasing and distributing the first batch of tests at $4 billion.

Officials said they recognized that any website launch would carry some risk — the disastrous launch of Healthcare.gov during the Obama administration is still fresh in the memory — but said they believed they had the ability to handle the anticipated demand for testing.