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African American women in the Southern United States have disproportionately high HIV infection rates, and increasing HIV testing is a prevention priority in communities of color. Research suggests that optimal conditions for promoting testing involve reaching out to community members and offering free tests in private, supportive contexts with minimal delays to receiving results. These conditions were implemented with young African American women (N = 223, M age = 20.4 years) living in disadvantaged areas of a Southern U.S. city to identify participant characteristics associated with declining and accepting testing in this low threshold context. Participants were recruited using Respondent Driven Sampling, a peer-driven method useful for recruiting young adults in community settings. Structured field interviews assessed personal and social network characteristics, sexual practices, substance use, and behavioral impulsivity (assessed by a delay discounting task). A free HIV test was then offered. Participants were free to accept or decline testing, which was the outcome variable. Testing was accepted by 69%, which exceeded the national lifetime test rate for this population by 7.4% (p < .05). All were sero-negative. Test refusal (31%) was associated with poorer educational performance, higher delay discounting rates indicative of greater impulsivity, less social network encouragement to use birth control (ps < .05), and lower engagement in sexual risk behaviors (p < .10). Substance involvement did not differ as a function of test choice. Thus, low threshold community testing promoted acceptance among the majority of the priority population, but a sizeable minority with specific characteristics likely need additional incentives to fulfill the prevention potential of “know your status” through HIV testing.