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Guidance

Finding and choosing a private coronavirus (COVID-19) test provider

If you need to purchase a coronavirus (COVID-19) test from a private provider, the following are private test providers.

This publication was withdrawn on

Thank you for your continued support throughout the United Kingdom’s response to COVID-19.

In line with the Living with COVID-19 strategy, in order to reduce the burden on providers and ensure policy alignment, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has withdrawn the published GOV.UK list of providers.

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Who this guidance is for

The guidance and information on this page are for anyone who needs to order a COVID-19 test from a private provider.

The government cannot contact a test provider for you, nor can we guarantee that the providers list will have tests available.

You can check your eligibility for a free test and you can also make a complaint about a test provider.

Finding and choosing a private provider

‘Finding and choosing a private COVID-19 provider’ sets out what you should know before you look for a private provider or book a test, including information on:

  • minimum standards
  • UKAS accreditation
  • the provider lists we publish on GOV.UK
  • what we’re doing to protect consumers

Lists of private providers on GOV.UK

The lists published on this page are of providers that have demonstrated compliance with the government’s minimum standards for the type of commercial COVID-19 testing service they offer. These are:

  • general population COVID-19 testing

The lists are not exhaustive. Some providers have decided to opt out from being published on these lists.

If you’re arriving in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland

There are different rules. If you will be travelling on to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man in the 10 days after you arrive in the UK, you must follow the rules for testing and quarantine in those places. Find out what you need to do if you’re:

Pre-departure travel tests (‘fit to fly’)

There is no separate list of providers offering pre-departure travel tests (often called fit to fly tests by providers). This is because the testing requirements are set by the country you want to travel to, and sometimes the airline you’re flying with. For example, some countries require PCR tests, while others accept rapid lateral flow tests (also known as antigen tests). Each country sets its own rules.

In practice, many providers from the general population providers list offer pre-departure travel tests. Make sure you know the type of pre-departure test you need to take before you book anything.

Check entry requirements for countries you want to travel to.

The government does not comment on commercial practices of specific companies or cases. Neither do we endorse, recommend or approve any private test provider. Providers on the GOV.UK list have demonstrated compliance with the relevant minimum standards for their commercial provision of testing. This includes applying for and being on their journey to achieving accreditation through the 3-stage UKAS accreditation process if they are providing sample collection and/or test analysis services.

Guidance for providers

If you are a private provider and would like to be added to a list, read our separate guidance for providers.

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