Preparing for Your COVID-19 Test
You must book to be tested at ExpressTest. Please choose from these products to find out more:
This is to be used if you are NOT travelling but need a test
This test cannot be used as a Fit to Fly Test
Booking Your Test
Booking is essential to get tested at ExpressTest. We offer gold standard COVID-19 PCR testing at these UK locations.
Book your slot at your preferred Testing Centre and pay online. You will be sent a confirmation email with a QR code, which you must bring to your appointment.
Arriving For Your Test
You may be asked to wear a mask until the moment that you are being swabbed. Our team will tell you when to remove your mask and put it on again afterwards.
Please bring with you:
- Photo ID for everyone being tested
- Confirmation email with QR code for each person being tested
You will be greeted by a member of the ExpressTest Team, who will check your documentation.
You will remain in your car/taxi at our Drive Throughs, or will be directed to the swabbing area at our Walk Throughs.
Our Drive Through vehicle height restriction is 2.4m
Our Testing Process
Please make sure that you do not eat or drink anything for 30 minutes before your swab is taken. This is to reduce the risk of tainting the swab (therefore not producing a result).
Children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Each customer will be safely swabbed by one of our clinically trained swabbing practitioners in full PPE.
Swabbing involves taking a sample from both the back of the throat and the nasal passage.
Your swab sample is then safely stored and labelled, ready to be sent to an ExpressTest laboratory.
This is for travelling FROM the UK, where a PCR test is required
Booking Your Test
Booking is essential to get tested at ExpressTest. We offer gold standard COVID-19 PCR testing at these UK locations.
Book your slot at your preferred Testing Centre and pay online. You will be sent a confirmation email with a QR code, which you must bring to your appointment.
Please allow enough time before your travel check-in to receive your results and show them to transport staff. We recommend booking 2 days before you need your Fit to Fly certificate (i.e. book Monday for Wednesday departures).
We offer the following PCR Fit to Fly test products:
- 4 hour PCR Fit to Fly - results within 4 hours of your sample being taken
- Same Day PCR Fit to Fly - results by midnight the same day
- PCR Fit to Fly - our standard PCR Fit to Fly product, results by 10pm the day after your test
Arriving For Your Test
You may be asked to wear a mask until the moment that you are being swabbed. Our team will tell you when to remove your mask and put it on again afterwards.
Please bring with you:
- Photo ID for everyone being tested
- Confirmation email with QR code for each person being tested
You will be greeted by a member of the ExpressTest Team, who will check your documentation.
You will remain in your car/taxi at our Drive Throughs, or will be directed to the swabbing area at our Walk Throughs.
Our Drive Through vehicle height restriction is 2.4m
Our Testing Process
Please make sure that you do not eat or drink anything for 30 minutes before your swab is taken. This is to reduce the risk of tainting the swab (therefore not producing a result).
Children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Each customer will be safely swabbed by one of our clinically trained swabbing practitioners in full PPE.
Swabbing involves taking a sample from both the back of the throat and the nasal passage.
Your swab sample is then safely stored and labelled, ready to be sent to an ExpressTest laboratory.
This is for travelling FROM the UK, where a LAMP test is required
Booking Your Test
ExpressTest offers LAMP testing at Heathrow Terminal 2 and Terminal 5 Arrivals; and Terminal 3. Please see our ‘book a test’ pages for latest locations.
Book your slot at your preferred Testing Centre and pay online. You will be sent a confirmation email with a QR code.
We advise booking your test no less than 4 hours before any travel plans you may have (eg Flight Check-In).
Arriving For Your Test
You may be asked to wear a mask until the moment that you are being swabbed. Our team will tell you when to remove your mask and put it on again afterwards.
Bring with you:
- Passports for everyone being tested
- Confirmation email with QR code for each person being tested
You will be greeted by a member of the ExpressTest Team, who will check your documentation
Please do not eat or drink anything acidic (fruit juice or sweets) in the 30mins before your test.
Our Testing Process
Please make sure that you do not eat or drink anything for 30 minutes before your swab is taken. This is to reduce the risk of tainting the swab (therefore not producing a result).
Children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Each customer will be safely swabbed by one of our clinically trained swabbing practitioners in full PPE.
Swabbing involves taking a sample from the nasal passage.
Your swab sample is then safely stored and labelled, ready to be sent to the laboratory for testing.
This is for travelling FROM the UK, where a Antigen Lateral Flow Test is required
Booking Your Test
Booking is essential to get tested at ExpressTest. We offer Antigen Lateral Flow testing at a number of our test centres across the UK.
Book your slot at your preferred testing centre and pay online. You will be sent a confirmation email with a QR code, which you must bring to your appointment.
We advise booking your test no less than an hour before any travel plans you may have (eg Flight Check-In).
Arriving For Your Test
You may be asked to wear a mask until the moment that you are being swabbed. Our team will tell you when to remove your mask and put it on again afterwards.
Please bring with you:
- Photo ID for everyone being tested
- Confirmation email with QR code for each person being tested
You will be greeted by a member of the ExpressTest Team, who will check your documentation.
You will be directed to the swabbing area at our Walk Throughs and Park to Test. There are dedicated parking areas for coaches, minibuses and taxis at our Heathrow Park to Test centre.
Our Testing Process
Please make sure that you do not eat or drink anything for 30 minutes before your swab is taken. This is to reduce the risk of tainting the swab (therefore not producing a result).
Children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Each customer will be safely swabbed by one of our clinically trained swabbing practitioners in full PPE.
Swabbing involves taking a sample from both nasal passages.
Please visit our dedicated Antigen Lateral Flow Kit pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you have any queries about ExpressTest, here are some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about our services. Alternatively, for a more extensive list of answers, read our dedicated FAQs page.
Book online directly from our Home page. You can choose your preferred testing centre, time and also pay online. Make sure you can access the Testing Centre you have chosen by vehicle, on foot or an airport location. Airport Testing Centres are all landside - meaning you need to be able to clear immigration and customs to access them. Please make sure you give us your name as written in your PASSPORT, so that it matches your travel documents.
We will confirm your test in an 'Order Confirmation' email. You will then be sent a 'Booking Confirmation' email containing your Booking Reference (a number beginning CPT or SCPT) and a QR code attached for your test. This could take up to 30 minutes to receive after you’ve made your booking. We suggest you also check your spam/junk folder for the email, as some email providers may place it there.
You must bring the QR code with you when you arrive for your test. Please also bring your valid Passport, National ID or Home Office Travel Document if you have booked any travel test including an arrivals test.
Can I book over the phone?
Bookings can only be made via our website and not by phone. Our website currently shows all our available slots and you will not gain access to additional slots by calling our customer care centre.
Note: not all products are available at every site due to different laboratory processes.
Maximum Group Size
You can book for up to 5 people in one booking. If your group is larger than this you will need to make 2 or more bookings (and arrive in 2 or more vehicles at a Drive through centre).
Don't forget to bring all of your QR codes and IDs to the appointments.
We currently have testing centres at Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham and Edinburgh airports, as well as regional testing centres across the country - please see our 'Directions' page to find the test centre nearest to you. (Not all tests are available at all locations.)
Walk throughs and Drive throughs
Please note that some centres are 'Drive through', some are 'Walk through' and some are both of these. Please check the test centre accommodates the method of transport you intend to use.
Park to Test
Our Park to Test facilities are at our Heathrow Drive through and Birmingham Drive through sites. Both sites offer a range of tests for arrivals and departures.
They allow you to park outside the door while you go in and get your test done. It is very suitable for families and groups from the same bubble who are all getting tests at the same time.
There are dedicated parking areas for coaches, minibuses and taxis at our Park to Test centres.
4 Hour RT-PCR Tests
4 Hour PCR test results will be delivered within 4 hours of your sample being taken. (Available at selected locations by appointment: please make a booking.)
Same Day RT-PCR Tests
We aim to deliver your Same Day PCR Test results by midnight on the day of your test. (Available at selected locations by appointment: please make a booking.)
RT-PCR Tests
Please note that we aim to deliver your standard PCR test results by 10pm the day AFTER your test.
LAMP Tests
LAMP test results will be delivered 2 hours after testing. But please check that LAMP is accepted by your destination country.
Antigen Lateral Flow Tests - in person tests
We aim to deliver your Lateral Flow results in 40mins from your sample being taken, but please allow sufficient time especially if the test is required to check-in for your flight.
Antigen Lateral Flow Fit to Fly Home Tests - self swabbed
Test results are delivered in 30 minutes providing that all the information is uploaded correctly and in a readable format.
When you visit one of our centres, we may ask you to wear a mask until the moment that you are being swabbed (depending on the environment provided at your Testing Centre). The swabbing practitioner will tell you when to remove your mask and when put it back on afterwards (if required).
All of our staff will be wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), they will follow our infection control guidelines; and they are tested every 72 hours using our Gold standard RT-PCR.
Please do not visit our Testing Centres if you have symptoms of Covid-19.
Safeguarding
Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian to be tested.
No - please don't come to our sites if you have any COVID-19 symptoms. We advise you to contact NHS 111 to get further advice.
Our dedicated and specially trained staff are available at the Customer Assistance Zone through all our opening hours at the Heathrow Drive through Testing Centre. In addition to their experience in looking after your needs during testing, they can also offer you the following:
Breathing Space
Need a little more space and time to relax to get your test done? We can provide that for you in our dedicated Customer Assistance Zone. Take as long as you need to relax and get ready for your test to be done for you, by our specially trained and patient staff.
Wheelchair Ramp
While we recognise that using our Drive through facility may be your favoured choice for your test, we can provide a space for you to come into our Customer Assistance Zone if you would like a little more time or space for your test.
Hearing Loop
It can be quite difficult to hear in wide open spaces with lots of people talking, to hear what’s being said. We can provide a portable loop, so if you set your hearing aid to the ‘T’ setting we can improve the experience for you to be able to hear everything that is going on while you are with us.
Young Families
If you have young children, we know how much anxiety it can bring to try and get your young ones through the testing process. If you feel that you might benefit from more space and time, then please feel free to ask for our Customer Assistance Zone on your arrival at Heathrow Drive through. We will direct you to a space where you can have all the time that you need to get the tests done for everyone in your family.
How can I access this assistance?
Book your required test at Heathrow Drive through (or Park to Test is also ok), then when you arrive to check in for your test, please ask the staff if you can be tested at the Customer Assistance Zone. They will guide you to the right place where we can provide the help that you need.
All tests can be done in the Customer Assistance Zone. Please contact us if you would like to make use of this space for any of the above reasons, or if you have questions about the facilities we have.
