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Vitamin D Your store of the vitamin bones need

Also called 25-hydroxy vitamin D, 25(OH)D and Calcidiol Not on a standard checkup No fasting needed

The short answer

Vitamin D helps you absorb the calcium your bones need. For most people, a level of 20 ng/mL or higher is enough.2,3

A good result
20 to 50 ng/mL. Twenty covers the needs of almost everyone, and going above 50 has no proven benefit.2,3
If yours is low
Under 12 goes with deficiency, which can soften your bones over time. From 12 to 20 is lower than ideal. Both are usually treated with a daily vitamin D3 supplement.3,8
Should you test?
Most healthy adults don’t need it on its own. The Endocrine Society suggests against routine testing and sets no target, and US screening experts found too little evidence that it helps.1,4 It’s worth checking if you have thin bones or a condition that affects absorption.1,8 Many broader panels add it, because it costs little on a draw you’re already having.

Check your result

Type the number from your report. It stays on this page.

Do you have osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis guidelines aim higher, at 30 to 50 ng/mL, for people with thin bones.8 For everyone else, 20 is enough.2

12 20 50 100.1 150
  • Deficient Under 12.0
  • Low 12.0 to 19.9
  • Enough 20.0 to 49.9
  • More than needed 50.0 to 100.0
  • High 100.1 to 149.9
  • Very high 150.0 or more

Enter your result to see what it means and what to do next.

Got a result from another lab? Ask Picardo about it. The app explains your results, and a physician can follow up.

The 12, 20, 50 and 150 lines come from US nutrition standards,2,3 and 100 is the top of Labcorp’s range.9 The osteoporosis target is from US endocrinologists.8 The bar isn’t to scale.

What is a normal vitamin D level?

Labcorp flags results under 20 ng/mL or over 100.9 Until September 2026 it flagged anything under 30, but the 2024 Endocrine Society guideline no longer backs 30 as a target, or any target at all.1,9 These are the cutoffs from US nutrition standards:2,3

Deficient Under 12 ng/mL

Deficient: worth treating

Levels below 12 go with vitamin D deficiency, which can soften your bones over time, a condition called osteomalacia.3

How worried to be

Very treatable. See a clinician in the next few weeks.

What to do next
  1. 1 Ask a clinician about treatment and the right dose for you.
  2. 2 Find out why. Common reasons are little sun, darker skin, some medicines and conditions that affect absorption, such as celiac disease.3,9
  3. 3 Check your calcium and kidney function, which a metabolic panel includes.
Low 12 to 19.9 ng/mL

Lower than ideal

Between 12 and 20, vitamin D is generally considered too low for bone health, and Labcorp flags it.3,9 US nutrition standards call this inadequate rather than deficient, and it’s usually easy to raise.3

How worried to be

Not urgent.

What to do next
  1. 1 A daily vitamin D3 supplement is the usual fix. D3 raises levels more than D2.3
  2. 2 The US daily allowance is 600 IU, or 800 IU over 70. Don’t take more than 4,000 IU a day unless a clinician advises it.2
  3. 3 Recheck after a few months, not weeks. The level changes slowly, with a half-life of about 15 days.3
Enough 20 to 49.9 ng/mL; 30 to 49.9 if you have osteoporosis

Enough

This covers the needs of at least 97.5% of people, according to the US National Academies.2 In large trials of mostly healthy adults, taking more vitamin D didn’t prevent cancer, heart disease or fractures.5,6

How worried to be

Nothing to worry about.

What to do next
  1. 1 If you don’t have osteoporosis, there’s no need to retest routinely.1
  2. 2 If you take a supplement, keep to 4,000 IU a day or less unless a clinician advises more.2
More than needed 50 to 100 ng/mL

More than you need

Labcorp won’t flag this.9 But there’s no proven benefit to being this high, and the US National Academies recommend avoiding levels above about 50 to 60: they’ve been linked to possible harm.2,3

How worried to be

Not urgent. Toxic effects usually start far higher, above 150, but there’s no reason to go higher.3

What to do next
  1. 1 If you take more than 4,000 IU a day, ask whether to cut back.2
  2. 2 If you’re 50 or older, daily doses are preferred to large weekly or monthly ones.1
High Over 100 to 149.9 ng/mL

High: cut back

This is above Labcorp’s range.9 It’s nearly always from supplements, not sun or food.3 It isn’t usually toxic yet, but it’s more than anyone needs.3

How worried to be

Not an emergency, but worth acting on now.

What to do next
  1. 1 Stop or cut back on vitamin D, and check every product you take, including multivitamins and calcium.
  2. 2 Check your calcium. Too much vitamin D can push it up.3
Very high 150 ng/mL or higher

Very high: see a clinician soon

Vitamin D toxicity usually shows at levels above 150. It raises your calcium, which can cause nausea, vomiting, weakness, confusion, thirst and kidney stones.3

How worried to be

See a clinician in the next few days, and the same day if you have any of those symptoms.

What to do next
  1. 1 Stop all vitamin D supplements now.
  2. 2 Have your calcium and kidney function checked. Too much vitamin D raises calcium, and in extreme cases damages the kidneys.3
Vitamin D test, $11.00
Results in 2 to 3 days, explained in the app
Order

What is vitamin D?

Think of this test as a gauge on a tank that fills and drains slowly. It reads your stored vitamin D, which changes over weeks and months, not from one day to the next.

Your skin makes vitamin D in sunlight, and a few foods contain it. Your liver turns it into 25-hydroxy vitamin D, the form this test measures, which reflects your supply from both.3

Its main job is helping your gut absorb calcium. Without enough, bones can become thin, brittle or misshapen.3

Why don’t guidelines recommend routine vitamin D tests?

Because no one has shown that testing healthy people, and treating their numbers, makes them healthier. The US Preventive Services Task Force found too little evidence to recommend screening adults without symptoms.4

The 2024 Endocrine Society guideline goes further. It suggests against routine testing in healthy adults, including people with darker skin or obesity, and in pregnancy.1 It also dropped the old target of 30 ng/mL, because trials haven’t identified a level that predicts benefit.1

Do vitamin D supplements prevent disease?

In large trials of mostly healthy adults, they didn’t prevent cancer, heart disease or fractures. A newer trial in people who’d had a heart attack missed its main goal too:

Trial Who took part What it found
VITAL (2019)25,871 US men 50 and over and women 55 and over, taking 2,000 IU a day for about 5 yearsNo fewer cancers, heart attacks or strokes than a placebo5
VITAL fractures (2022)The same trialNo fewer fractures, whatever people’s vitamin D level at the start6
TARGET-D (2026)630 people after a heart attack, dosed to reach 40 to 80 ng/mLNo significant drop in major heart events, its main goal. Fewer repeat heart attacks, a secondary finding that needs confirming.7

The Endocrine Society does suggest a supplement, without testing first, for a few groups where trials point to modest benefits: adults 75 and older, pregnant people and people with prediabetes at high risk of diabetes.1

What causes low vitamin D?

  • Little sun, especially in winter or at northern latitudes3,9
  • Darker skin, which makes less vitamin D from the same sun. Whether lower levels harm people with darker skin isn’t clear.3
  • Older age, and obesity3
  • Conditions that limit absorption, such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease or gastric bypass surgery3
  • Some medicines, including the seizure medicines phenytoin and phenobarbital, the antibiotic rifampin and steroids3,9

How to raise vitamin D

  • A daily vitamin D3 supplement

    The most reliable way to raise your level. D3 works better than D2.3 Over 50, daily doses are preferred to large weekly or monthly ones.1

    How much it helps
    A lot
    How sure we are
    Very sure
  • Sunlight

    Your skin makes vitamin D in the sun, but how much varies with the season, the time of day and your skin color.3 Sun also raises your risk of skin cancer.3

    How much it helps
    Some
    How sure we are
    Fairly sure
  • Food

    Oily fish, egg yolks and fortified milk and cereals contain some, but few foods contain much.3

    How much it helps
    A little
    How sure we are
    Very sure

The US daily allowance is 600 IU, or 800 IU over 70, and the upper limit for adults is 4,000 IU a day.2 Higher treatment doses are for a clinician to set.

Who should get a vitamin D test?

Guidelines don’t support routine testing in healthy adults, whatever their age, skin color or weight.1,4 It’s worth checking if:

  • You have osteoporosis or have broken a bone in a minor fall.8
  • You have a condition that affects absorption, such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease or weight-loss surgery.1,3
  • You have kidney or liver disease.1,9
  • You take a medicine that speeds up vitamin D breakdown, such as phenytoin, phenobarbital or rifampin.9
  • You take more than the upper limit of 4,000 IU a day.2,3

Vitamin D also comes in many broader panels, such as checkups and tests for tiredness or after birth, because it costs little to add to a draw that’s already happening. If yours comes back low, that’s common: almost 1 in 4 people in the US have a level that’s low or borderline.3 So a low result won’t by itself explain symptoms such as tiredness. A daily vitamin D3 supplement is the usual fix.3

How to get a vitamin D test, and what it costs

A vitamin D test costs $11.00 through Picardo.

Order the test

Vitamin D test

$11.00
Labcorp 081950 · no fasting needed
Order vitamin D
  • Results in 2 to 3 days, in the app
  • Physician follow-up if you want one
  • Free Labcorp draw, or $75 at home
  • No other fees. HSA and FSA eligible.

It’s also part of the Base Core Annual – Men, Base Core Annual – Women, Heart Health, Brain Health Screening, Postpartum, Fertility and Celiac / GI panels, if you’d rather test more at once.

Already have a result? Ask Picardo about it

Questions people ask

Is a vitamin D level of 25 low?

Not for most people. The US National Academies say 20 ng/mL covers the needs of 97.5% of people, and Labcorp’s range now starts at 20.2,9 If you have osteoporosis, US endocrinologists aim for 30 or higher.8

How much vitamin D should I take?

For most adults, the US daily allowance is 600 IU, or 800 IU over 70. It assumes you get little sun.2 The Endocrine Society suggests more, without testing first, for adults 75 and older, in pregnancy and, alongside lifestyle changes, for prediabetes with a high risk of diabetes. Trial doses in those groups averaged about 900, 2,500 and 3,500 IU a day.1

Can you take too much vitamin D?

Yes. The upper limit for adults is 4,000 IU a day.2 Toxicity is rare and almost always comes from supplements, with levels usually above 150 ng/mL. It raises calcium, which can harm your kidneys.3

Is vitamin D3 better than D2?

Yes. D3 raises your level more, and keeps it up for longer.3

How long does it take to raise vitamin D?

Months rather than weeks. The form the test measures has a half-life of about 15 days, so a new dose takes a few months to settle.3

Often checked alongside

Calcium
Calcium in your blood, set by the parathyroid glands
Magnesium
A mineral for muscles, nerves and heart rhythm
Vitamin B12
Needed for nerves and red blood cells
Ferritin
How much iron you have in store

Test details

Labcorp test
Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy, 081950
LOINC
62292-8
Sample
Blood
Fasting
Not needed
Typical lab range
20.0 to 100.0 ng/mL9
Measures
Total 25-hydroxy vitamin D, from D2 and D39
Units
ng/mL in the US. For nmol/L, multiply by 2.5.

Sources

  1. 1 Demay MB, Pittas AG, Bikle DD, et al. Vitamin D for the prevention of disease: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024;109(8):1907–1947. doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgae290
  2. 2 Ross AC, Manson JE, Abrams SA, et al. The 2011 report on dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D from the Institute of Medicine: what clinicians need to know. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;96(1):53–58. doi.org/10.1210/jc.2010-2704
  3. 3 Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Vitamin D: fact sheet for health professionals. Updated June 27, 2025. ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
  4. 4 US Preventive Services Task Force; Krist AH, Davidson KW, Mangione CM, et al. Screening for vitamin D deficiency in adults: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2021;325(14):1436–1442. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.3069
  5. 5 Manson JE, Cook NR, Lee IM, et al. Vitamin D supplements and prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2019;380(1):33–44. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1809944
  6. 6 LeBoff MS, Chou SH, Ratliff KA, et al. Supplemental vitamin D and incident fractures in midlife and older adults. N Engl J Med. 2022;387(4):299–309. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2202106
  7. 7 May HT, Le VT, Anderson JL, et al. Targeted vitamin D supplementation and major adverse cardiovascular events after myocardial infarction: the TARGET-D trial. Eur Heart J. Published online September 7, 2026. doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag611
  8. 8 Camacho PM, Petak SM, Binkley N, et al. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists/American College of Endocrinology clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis—2020 update. Endocr Pract. 2020;26(Suppl 1):1–46. doi.org/10.4158/GL-2020-0524SUPPL
  9. 9 Labcorp. Vitamin D, 25-hydroxy, test 081950. Labcorp test menu. Updated September 15, 2026. Accessed October 28, 2026. www.labcorp.com/tests/081950/vitamin-d-25-hydroxy

Updated 3 Nov 2026.

This is general health information, not medical advice: talk to your clinician about your results and before changing any treatment.