--- title: Can I Use Expired COVID-19 Tests? description: At-home COVID-19 test kits expire, but it's not always easy to figure out when. Here's what to know about expiration dates on COVID tests. canonical: https://time.com/6169734/can-i-use-expired-covid-19-tests/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-04-22T15:56:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:34:47.726Z article:section: Health og:title: At-Home COVID-19 Tests Expire. What to Know About Yours og:description: Here's how long they really last og:url: https://time.com/6169734/can-i-use-expired-covid-19-tests/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39ad6ba06943e88d/698a3126929fad929bbf883f/rapid-covid-test.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2121 og:image:height: 1193 og:image:alt: Rapid COVID-19 test og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: At-Home COVID-19 Tests Expire. What to Know About Yours twitter:description: Here's how long they really last twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39ad6ba06943e88d/698a3126929fad929bbf883f/rapid-covid-test.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # At-Home COVID-19 Tests Expire. Here's What to Know About Yours > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=82ad0002-1cf0-487f-b354-d95e5ec27733&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Difference Between a Covid Spike and a Surge [Watch (HLS stream): The Difference Between a Covid Spike and a Surge](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/j83pb4lv.m3u8) (2:25)  _Published 2022-04-05. At-home COVID-19 test kits expire, but it's not always easy to figure out when. Here's what to know about expiration dates on COVID tests._  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 22, 2022 3:56 PM UTC  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 22, 2022 3:56 PM UTC If you stockpiled at-home COVID-19 tests during the [great Omicron shortage](https://time.com/6146105/free-covid-19-test-biden-supply/), you may want to do a little research before using your diagnostics. Like food and medications, rapid COVID-19 tests expire—but figuring out when they go bad isn’t always as easy as glancing at the box. Here’s what to know about the expiration dates on [at-home COVID-19 tests](https://time.com/6168809/at-home-covid-19-test-results-should-i-report/). ## **When does my COVID-19 test expire?** The components of COVID-19 test kits can degrade over time, potentially affecting the diagnostic’s performance and accuracy, [according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration](https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-covid-19-diagnostic-tests-frequently-asked-questions) (FDA). Figuring out exactly how long a product lasts takes time, though. To know if a test performs well after two years, for example, the manufacturer would logically need at least two years of data. Since rapid COVID-19 tests are relatively new products, companies are collecting much of that data in real time—meaning their expiration dates can and do change. The FDA sets expiration dates conservatively and then adjusts as needed. To start, at-home COVID-19 tests are typically authorized with expiration dates of four to six months after they’re made, the FDA says. But the agency can extend that window as new study results are available. That dynamic system means the date stamped on your test’s box may not be its current expiration date. In January, [the FDA extended the recommended shelf life of Abbott’s BinaxNOW test kits](https://www.fda.gov/media/155283/download) from 12 to 15 months, based on data from the company. CareStart tests distributed through the federal government’s free testing program [can also be used for three months longer than their marked expiration dates](https://www.covid.gov/tests/faq), according to [COVID.gov](https://time.com/6162807/where-to-find-free-covid-tests-masks-vaccines/). The California Department of Public Health went a step further in March, saying that, until further notice, consumers [can use any at-home test beyond its expiration date](https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/332/2022/03/Temporary-Extension-At-Home-Test-Expirations.pdf) as long as the “control” line shows up normally. (Your test kit should include guidance about the control line.) Officials from Washington State’s health department have also acknowledged that [using technically expired but functional tests may be necessary](https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/ExpiredRegentTestKitsLetter.pdf) in some cases. To get the latest information about your tests, check the FDA’s website for updates about [antigen tests](https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-emergency-use-authorizations-medical-devices/in-vitro-diagnostics-euas-antigen-diagnostic-tests-sars-cov-2) and [molecular tests](https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-emergency-use-authorizations-medical-devices/in-vitro-diagnostics-euas-molecular-diagnostic-tests-sars-cov-2). You may have to calculate the new expiration date yourself, using the lot number or date of manufacture stamped on the package. ## **Can I use a test even if it has expired?** If you’re used to ignoring [food expiration dates](https://time.com/5533317/food-labels-food-waste/), you may be inclined to do the same with COVID-19 tests. But—even though some people interpret the dates more liberally—the [FDA says not to use expired kits](https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-covid-19-diagnostic-tests-frequently-asked-questions#expired). Dr. Ulysses Wu, system director of infectious diseases at Connecticut’s Hartford HealthCare, agrees it’s best to be cautious, because you may not get accurate results if you use an expired test. “You’re more likely to have false negatives rather than false positives, but that false negative could give a false sense of security when you actually are positive for COVID,” he says. Since diagnostic expiration dates are a “moving target,” it’s possible that your test actually lasts longer than the box suggests. But, Wu says, “I would just follow \[the latest\] expiration date and if you really have a concern or you don’t want to throw it away, you can always call the company.” ## **How should I store my home COVID tests?** Time isn’t the only thing that can affect the quality of a COVID-19 test. Moisture and extreme temperatures can also impair its accuracy, Wu says. He recommends keeping medical supplies in a cool, dark place, like a kitchen cabinet, to keep them stable. Despite the name, your bathroom medicine cabinet is not a good place to store drugs and diagnostics because the room often gets hot and humid, Wu adds. Extreme cold is also something to avoid. When the U.S. government first began distributing free at-home test kits this past winter, some people were concerned that the liquid reagents [used in the diagnostic process might freeze](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/02/04/cold-temperatures-could-affect-home-covid-test/6650634001/) during delivery. While [the FDA says that’s not something to be too worried about](https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-covid-19-diagnostic-tests-frequently-asked-questions#freezing), tests are meant to be used in environments kept between 59°F and 86°F. So if yours gets cold in transit, you should allow it to warm up (while in the unopened box) for a couple hours before swabbing. And though it may be tempting after recent supply-chain issues, Wu discourages keeping a huge stockpile of tests on hand. It’s good to have a few around in case someone in your house is exposed to the virus or develops symptoms, but there’s no need to buy a lifetime supply at once, he says—both because they may expire before you can use them, and because it makes it harder for others to get the supplies they need. ## Transcript Spike, surge and uptick are used fairly interchangeably. I think many people in healthcare would view a surge as something that has the potential to overwhelm the healthcare system or threaten the capacity of hospitals in a given area. Whereas an uptick, or an increase, or spike in cases is usually used a little bit more casually just to suggest that case counts are rising. The ways that the U.S. has been predicting when a spike is coming, one of them is just looking to other parts of the world. Europe and particularly the U.K., has been a good predictor for the U.S. throughout the pandemic, they started to see Delta cases and Omicron cases rising a few weeks before we did. So, looking at what's going on in other countries is very valuable, as is looking at metrics like testing. If more cases are being reported and if a higher percentage of tests are coming back positive, those are both indications that there's more virus spreading in the community. Scientists and researchers all over the world are monitoring COVID, of course. Particularly looking for new variants as the virus continues to evolve. And a lot of those efforts are coordinated through the World Health Organization. But also, independent labs are scientists who are sequencing COVID samples to look for new variants, will often sound the alarm for the rest of the world when they start to notice either the viruses evolving or that a certain variant is spreading more rapidly in certain area. For example, before the Omicron surge, that news came out of South Africa originally and that kind of let the rest of the world know that they needed to be aware this variant was coming. During a spike in cases, I think we can keep doing the things that health experts have really been recommending for the last couple years. A lot of vaccine and mask mandates have rolled back recently but that doesn't mean that masking and vaccination are not still effective or still necessary in certain situations. So if case levels are rising, or very high in your area, you might want to wear protective masks like a N95. When you go out into indoor areas in public, you might want to limit the time that you spend in public indoor areas. You should stay up to date on booster shots as they're recommended for different demographics. And you can take advantage of that home tests to test yourself before you gather with others to make sure that you're not unknowingly infected with the virus. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6169734/can-i-use-expired-covid-19-tests/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6169734/can-i-use-expired-covid-19-tests/"},"headline":"At-Home COVID-19 Tests Expire. Here's What to Know About Yours","datePublished":"2022-04-22T15:56:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:34:47.726Z","description":"At-home COVID-19 test kits expire, but it's not always easy to figure out when. 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