Test to release

Currently, arriving or returning to England from most countries requires that you self-isolate (quarantine) for a minimum of 10 days. Breaking quarantine can endanger the safety of others and lead to fines of up to £10,000

From the 15^th December, you can take a PCR test after 5 days of quarantine. If the result is negative, you may end your self-isolation.

You buy one or more test kits from this page.

You must opt-in to test to release on your passenger locator form here within 48 hours of your return flight.

When the kit arrives, you take a nose and throat swab sample and return it to our lab in the pre-paid envelope provided.

The government scheme allows you to leave your house to post back the sample without it being classed as violating lockdown.

You must use a priority post box to return the sample. There are many priority post-boxes across the UK, and you can find your nearest one here.

Once the lab has processed your sample your results will be emailed to you. If the results are negative, then you may end your quarantine.

Results are processed Monday-Saturday and we aim to send you your results within 12-24 hours of receiving your sample. This means you can potentially end self-isolation a week early. Please be advised there can be delays with receiving your result if your sample has to be rerun.

“You may leave your house to post your test or to travel directly to and from the testing site. You should follow safer travel guidance and avoid public transport if possible.” – From the Government website

Most countries require a 10-day self-isolation period. A list of countries that may be except or have alternative requirements can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors

You may also find our own Covid-19 travel portal helpful.

This infographic from Gov.uk demonstrates some sample scenarios:

Yes, our laboratories are on the government-approved list of private facilities authorised to conduct PCR tests for test to release purposes.