Due to the scarcity of HIV-1 latently infected cells in patients, in vitro primary latency models are now commonly used to study the HIV-1 reservoir. To this end, a number of experimental systems have been developed. Most of these models differ based on the nature of the primary CD4+ T-cell type, the used HIV strains, activation methods, and latency assessment strategies. Despite these differences, most models share some common characteristics. Here, we provide a systematic review covering the primary HIV latency models that have been used to date with the aim to compare these models and identify minimal requirements for such experiments. A systematic search on PubMed and Web of Science databases generated a short list of 17 unique publications that propose new in vitro latency models. Based on the described methods, we propose and discuss a generalized workflow, visualizing all the necessary steps to perform such an in vitro study, with the key choices and validation steps that need to be made; from cell type selection until the model readout.