Where to Get Your Kid's School Physical in Indianapolis Before the Fall Rush
From HealthNet's sliding-scale clinics to CVS MinuteClinic walk-ins, here's what Marion County parents need to know before August.
From HealthNet’s sliding-scale clinics to CVS MinuteClinic walk-ins, here’s what Marion County parents need to know before August.
If your child starts school in Indianapolis this fall and you haven’t scheduled a physical yet, the clock is already running. Indianapolis Public Schools and most Marion County districts open in early-to-mid August. Physicals must be on file at enrollment. By late July, pediatric offices and retail clinics routinely report waits of two to four weeks — that’s not a warning, it’s just what happens every year, predictably, without fail.
This guide is built for June and July, when you still have real options.
What follows covers every realistic path to a school physical in Marion County: the free and sliding-scale clinics that most coverage skips, the retail walk-in options and their honest limitations, the private pediatric systems for insured families, and the specific paperwork problem that sends IPS parents back to square one even after sitting in a waiting room for an hour. That last one especially — I want to save you that trip.
The Indiana Immunization Requirements for Fall 2026
Before you book anything, pull your child’s shot records. Indiana’s CHIRP immunization registry (Children and Hoosiers Immunization Registry Program) lets parents request vaccination history directly through their provider or the county health department. Knowing which doses are current or missing before you show up to a clinic can save you money and a second appointment. It takes maybe twenty minutes. Do it first.
For the 2026–27 school year, Indiana Department of Health requirements include:
DTaP/Tdap: A complete DTaP series; a Tdap booster is required at entry into sixth grade and above.
Polio (IPV): Four doses.
MMR: Two doses.
Varicella: Two doses, or documented proof of disease — a provider’s note confirming chickenpox.
Hepatitis B: Three-dose series.
Hepatitis A: Two doses.
Meningococcal (MenACWY): One dose at sixth grade entry; a booster at twelfth grade entry.
Indiana does not mandate HPV or COVID-19 vaccination for school entry. Neither appears on the required list, and parents won’t be asked to document either at enrollment.
Medical and religious exemptions remain available under Indiana law, each with its own paperwork track. Contact your school’s health office for the current exemption form.
If your child is behind on more than one vaccine series, factor that into your scheduling. A school physical confirms health status and generates the required documentation, but catch-up shots may require a separate visit — some clinics run out of specific vaccines, and some providers prefer to space multiple injections. Worth knowing before you assume one appointment covers everything.
Free and Low-Cost Physicals: HealthNet and Eskenazi Health
Most school-physical roundups skip this section. That’s a problem, because for a significant share of Marion County families, it’s the only section that matters. As part of our health & wellness coverage, we return to these two systems every year because they’re the most important starting point for uninsured and underinsured Indianapolis families.
HealthNet is a Federally Qualified Health Center — an FQHC — which means it receives federal funding to serve patients regardless of ability to pay. It cannot turn a patient away for inability to pay. Fees are set on a sliding scale based on household income and family size. For a school physical, families at or below the federal poverty level can expect fees somewhere in the low double digits to around $50, though the exact figure depends on your household calculation — confirm when you call. Families with Hoosier Healthwise or Medicaid pay nothing out of pocket.
HealthNet operates multiple locations across Marion County. The Sherman Drive Health Center (3802 N. Sherman Drive) is the primary site on the Near Eastside. The East 10th Street Health Center (2340 E. 10th St.) serves Martindale-Brightwood. There’s also a location in the Bush Stadium area on the west side. Verify the full list and current hours by calling HealthNet at (317) 635-3000 before your visit — clinic schedules shift seasonally. Spanish-language services are available at HealthNet sites, which is worth knowing if you’re choosing between locations in Perry Township or along the southeast corridor.
HealthNet offers same-day appointments for certain services, including pediatric well-child visits, though it’s not guaranteed and slots fill early. For a school physical — a scheduled visit with specific documentation requirements — calling ahead even a few days out will give you a more predictable experience than walking in cold. HealthNet doesn’t require an established patient relationship for initial visits. Confirm this applies to school physicals specifically when you call.
Eskenazi Health is Marion County’s public hospital system — formerly Wishard, if you’ve lived here long enough to remember it that way — and operates pediatric primary care through several community health centers. Eskenazi Health Center Pecar (far east side), Eskenazi Health Center Grassy Creek (east side), and Eskenazi Health Center Blackburn (near downtown) all provide pediatric services. Eskenazi uses a sliding-scale fee schedule for uninsured patients and accepts Hoosier Healthwise, Medicaid, and most commercial insurance. Spanish-language interpretation is available at all sites.
Eskenazi’s central scheduling line is (317) 880-8400. Demand in July and early August is high. Calling early isn’t just slightly better — it meaningfully changes what’s available to you. New patients take a bit longer to intake than established ones, but Eskenazi’s community health centers are built to absorb this volume, which gives them a real edge over private practices that quietly stop taking new patients once summer fills up.
If your family is uninsured or underinsured, these two systems are your starting point. Not your backup plan.
Walk-In and Retail Clinics: CVS MinuteClinic and the Walgreens Question
Retail health clinics fill a real gap for families who don’t have an established pediatric relationship, can’t get a timely appointment at an FQHC, or need paperwork turned around fast. No existing patient relationship required. That’s the actual advantage.
CVS MinuteClinic locations in Indianapolis include sites near Castleton (around 82nd and Allisonville), the Keystone Avenue corridor, and the Washington Square area on the east side. Online scheduling is available and they push you toward it for good reason — walk-in availability in late July and August is genuinely unpredictable. If you’ve tried walking into a MinuteClinic on a Saturday in late July, you already know.
The self-pay fee for a school or sports physical at MinuteClinic typically runs somewhere between $35 and $79, depending on location and visit scope. Confirm the exact price when you schedule. MinuteClinic accepts most commercial insurance and many Medicaid plans — call your specific location or check your insurer’s portal before assuming you’re covered, because network status varies.
MinuteClinic providers are nurse practitioners and physician assistants. For most Marion County schools and IPS in particular, NP and PA signatures on physical forms are accepted. But confirm this with your school’s enrollment office before your appointment. It’s a detail that has sent parents back for a repeat visit, and it takes five minutes to verify.
On the IPS form: MinuteClinic staff will complete whatever form you bring. They are not stocked with district-specific forms. If your child attends or will attend an IPS school, download the current IPS physical examination form from the IPS website, print it, and bring it to your appointment. This is such a fixable problem that it’s almost painful to watch families get tripped up by it — they did everything right, they just showed up empty-handed.
Walgreens Health is a more complicated picture. After significant restructuring in 2024 and 2025 that included clinic closures across the country, the status of specific Indianapolis-area Walgreens clinic locations is something you need to verify by phone before making any plans. Call the specific store, ask explicitly whether the health clinic is currently operating, and ask whether it does pediatric school physicals. Don’t trust Google Maps hours or the Walgreens website alone — location-level clinic status has been inconsistent during the restructuring period, and showing up to a closed clinic in late July is not a situation you want.
Private Pediatrics and Health System Clinics for Insured Families
For families with commercial insurance and an established pediatric relationship, the school physical itself is typically a covered preventive visit. Getting an appointment before August is the actual challenge.
Riley Children’s Primary Care (IU Health) operates multiple locations across Indianapolis and the northern suburbs, including sites downtown and in Carmel and Fishers. Riley Primary Care runs on an established-patient model. New patients need a new-patient intake appointment, which books up fast in summer. If you’re not already a Riley Primary Care patient and want to use the system for your child’s school physical, call in June. Waiting until July significantly narrows what’s available. Cash-pay rates for a well-child visit run roughly $100 to $200, and some practices add a separate form-completion fee.
Community Health Network Pediatrics operates clinics across the east side and surrounding suburbs, including the Shadeland and Castleton areas. Community’s pediatric practices follow the same established-patient model. New patients should call in June.
Ascension St. Vincent / Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital pediatric primary care serves the north side. Availability varies by specific office — call your preferred location directly and ask about new-patient scheduling for summer physicals.
The tradeoff with private pediatrics is straightforward: you get a provider who knows your child, more thorough documentation, and continuity of care. But that relationship-based model creates real access problems in summer. It’s not the right path for a family that’s uninsured, new to the city, or trying to get a physical done in the last two weeks of July. Know which situation you’re in before you spend an afternoon on hold.
The IPS Form Problem
This deserves its own section because it’s the thing that catches families off guard after they’ve already done everything right.
Indianapolis Public Schools has its own required physical examination form. It’s distinct from a generic school physical form. Clinics — including retail clinics, FQHCs, and even some pediatric offices — may not have it in their standard supply. If a provider completes a generic form but not the IPS-specific one, you may arrive at enrollment with documentation that doesn’t satisfy the district’s requirements. That means another appointment, more time off work, and a kid who might not get enrolled on day one. It’s entirely avoidable.
The fix: download the current IPS physical examination form from the IPS website, print it, and bring it to your appointment. Tell the scheduling staff when you book that you need the IPS form completed and signed. Confirm again at the start of the visit. Most providers will complete any form you bring — they just need you to bring it.
While you’re on the IPS site, check whether your child’s school or grade level has any additional health documentation requirements. Some IPS schools have added requirements for specific programs. And on the NP/PA signature question — call the IPS enrollment center directly. Five minutes on the phone before you schedule at a retail clinic is much better than finding out at enrollment.
Immunization Catch-Up Without a Full Physical: Marion County Public Health
If your child’s physical is covered, but the shot record has gaps, you don’t need a second full clinical appointment to get caught up. The Marion County Public Health Department runs dedicated immunization clinics on a separate schedule, built specifically for this.
These clinics are faster and cheaper than catch-up shots through a private practice or retail clinic. Fees are sliding-scale, and many vaccines are available at low or no cost for uninsured children. Check current clinic dates and locations at marionhealth.org — the schedule shifts seasonally and the website carries the most current information.
Bring a printed CHIRP record. Staff will cross-reference it and administer only what’s needed. This path also works for families who got a physical from an out-of-state provider over the summer and need Indiana-specific documentation updated before enrollment — a situation that comes up more than you’d expect, particularly among families who moved here after the school year ended.
Your Timing Roadmap: June, July, and August
The window matters more than most people realize.
June: Pull your child’s CHIRP records now and identify any immunization gaps. If you’re a new patient anywhere — Riley, Community, Ascension, or an FQHC — call for a new-patient appointment. HealthNet and Eskenazi schedules still have real availability in June. Don’t wait for a back-to-school reminder from your school. By then, you’re already behind.
Early to mid-July: CVS MinuteClinic online scheduling is still manageable. Same-day availability exists but shrinks weekly. If you haven’t scheduled and your child is uninsured, call HealthNet or Eskenazi this week — not next week, this week. Private pediatricians who still had July openings in June are filling those slots now.
Late July onward: Two-to-four-week waits at most pediatric offices are the norm. MinuteClinic walk-in slots at peak hours can mean an hour of waiting just to get on a list. HealthNet same-day slots still exist — call early in the morning for that day’s availability. You’re not out of luck, but you’re playing with very little margin.
Matching your approach to your situation:
- Uninsured or on Medicaid or Hoosier Healthwise: Call HealthNet (317-635-3000) or Eskenazi (317-880-8400) first. Both have sliding-scale or no-cost options and can handle summer volume.
- Insured with an established pediatrician: Call your practice now and mention you need a school physical with IPS documentation. Don’t assume they know what form you need.
- Insured but no existing pediatric relationship: Call Riley Primary Care or Community Health Network for new-patient availability, or use CVS MinuteClinic as a faster alternative.
- Catch-up shots needed after the physical: Marion County Public Health Department immunization clinics at marionhealth.org.
- Need a physical done fast with no established relationship: CVS MinuteClinic online scheduling or HealthNet are your best options.
Sidebar: Is Your Child Eligible for Free Coverage Through Hoosier Healthwise?
Every provider in this guide accepts Hoosier Healthwise, Indiana’s Medicaid managed care program for children. If your child is uninsured and your family income is within qualifying limits, your child may be eligible. Enrollment can happen before the physical appointment — meaning a visit that would otherwise cost $150 or more could cost nothing. That’s worth thirty minutes of paperwork.
Enrollment runs through Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration. Apply now rather than after school starts. CHIP coverage also runs through Indiana’s Medicaid system for families whose income falls slightly above traditional Medicaid thresholds. If you’re unsure whether your child qualifies, apply and let the eligibility review tell you. HealthNet and Eskenazi enrollment staff can also walk families through the Hoosier Healthwise application process at the time of scheduling — you don’t have to figure it out alone before you walk in.
The system works, but it rewards people who move in June. Know your child’s shot record before you schedule. Bring the IPS form to your appointment. Match your provider choice to your insurance situation rather than defaulting to whatever sounds most convenient. The free and low-cost clinics in this guide are real, operational, and built specifically for families who need them.
Use them.
