Johnson, who is expected to confirm plans to relaunch international travel and open sections of the economy later on Monday, said the new mass testing programme would break the chain of transmissions and spot cases without symptoms.
As much of Europe enters new lockdowns to tackle surging cases, Johnson has set out a staggered plan to ease restrictions in the coming months, a huge boost for one of the worst-hit countries during the pandemic.
"As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine program and with our roadmap to cautiously easing restrictions underway, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts are not wasted," Johnson said in a statement.
Junior health minister Edward Argar said the tests would be sent to homes or businesses, or picked up from pharmacies or test centres. He said he was confident people would isolate.