Yes, at-home COVID test kits expire — but you may want to keep yours. What to know

Yes, there are expiration dates for at-home COVID-19 tests, and you should check if an unopened one has been sitting on your shelf for some time. But while the FDA says you shouldn’t use an expired at-home test, you might still want to keep any you may have as the coronavirus continues to spread in the U.S. Here’s why.

There’s an increased risk of inaccurate COVID-19 test results — meaning a false positive or negative — when using an expired test kit, the FDA says. For this reason, they shouldn’t be used.

However, the FDA acknowledges that test kit expiration dates can get extended as manufacturers gather data to determine how long a test is actually reliable. With “real-time stability testing,” a manufacturer will store tests longer than their listed shelf life and then analyze their “ability to perform accurately,” according to the agency.

Before you throw out your expired test, check for updated expiration dates for FDA-authorized test kits as listed by the agency here. You can look for your particular test by using the available search bar.