Quick little bit of important info:
The components in the home test kits do expire and may give inaccurate results so it is important to check! Most kits have an expiration or “best by” date on the label near the lot number and barcode.
The good news? There are many tests that have been found to have an extended shelf-life so there may be up to 3 months you can add to the date on the box!
Here is a link to the page with the information:
At-Home OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests/FDA
In the table below, the “Expiration Date” column lists the shelf-life and where to find the expiration date for that test. The shelf-life is how long the test should work as expected and is measured from the date the test was manufactured. The expiration date is set at the end of the shelf-life. In some cases, the expiration date for a test may be extended. An extended expiration date means the manufacturer provided data showing that the shelf-life is longer than was known when the test was first authorized. For more information about how the expiration date is determined and why it may be extended, see the At-Home COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests: Frequently Asked Questions.
To see if the expiration date for your at-home OTC COVID-19 test has been extended, first find the row in the below table that matches the manufacturer and test name shown on the box label of your test.
- If the Expiration Date column says that the shelf-life is “extended,” there is a link to “updated expiration dates” where you can find a list of the original expiration dates and the new expiration dates. Find the original expiration date on the box label of your test and then look for the new expiration date in the “updated expiration dates” table for your test.
- If the Expiration Date column does not say the shelf-life is extended, that means the expiration date on the box label of your test is still correct. The table will say “See box label” instead of having a link to updated expiration dates.
The FDA will update this table as additional shelf-life extensions are authorized. Click for the full table HERE.
I just checked the tests we had that we received for free this spring from the government and they are all iHealth tests and the expiration dates were in July and August originally but now are good into Oct/Nov.