Royal Mail Tracking Explainer

Testing For All provides tracking for your sample on its way back to the lab, including Royal Mail updates.

Here are the main status updates you can expect to see on www.testingforall.app once your kit has been activated:

Accepted by Royal Mail
Once your item has been collected from the post box by Royal Mail, it is then taken to a local depot. At this stage, it is scanned as “accepted”. Your item should be delivered to our lab within 24-48 hours from this scan.

Out for delivery to lab
Royal Mail scans samples in batches as “Delivered” to the lab. If your Royal Mail tracking states “Delivered” then this means that your test has offloaded at the lab as part of a larger delivery of samples. Due to the volume of packages being sent through the Royal Mail network, packages are not scanned individually.

Delivered at lab
Once your item has been delivered to our lab, it is physically scanned by an operator as “Delivered at lab” to confirm receipt of your test. You should receive your results within 24-48 hours from this scan for Day 2/Day 8 packages, within 12-24 hours for Fit to Fly and Test to Release tests, and within 24-48 hours for antibody tests.

Completed
Your results are available to view from the “My Tests” section of testingforall.app.

Frequently Asked Questions

We use Royal Mail Track 24 service, which operates a 24-48 hours delivery turnaround time from the time that the parcel has been collected and scanned at the depot.

For samples posted Monday-Friday, the following scenario applies:

  1. Monday: Sample is posted in a priority postbox, before midday
  2. Monday evening: Sample is scanned and accepted by the depot
  3. Tuesday AM: Sample is processed and delivered at the local sorting office
  4. Tuesday: Sample is out for delivery to the lab, with Royal Mail scanning bags of samples instead of individual ones, given volumes

For samples posted on the weekends, the following scenario applies:

  1. Saturday: Sample is posted in a priority postbox, before midday
  2. Monday: Sample is scanned and accepted by the depot
  3. Tuesday AM: Sample is processed and delivered at the local sorting office
  4. Tuesday: Sample is out for delivery to the lab, with Royal Mail scanning bags of samples instead of individual ones, given volumes

Royal Mail does not provide a guaranteed service level and whilst 98% of its deliveries fall within the above timeline, there are instances where parcels get delayed or lost.

According to government guidelines, there is no obligation to have obtained a negative day 2 result in order to attend an in-clinic appointment for your test to release.

If your sample result for day 2 happens to be delayed due to Royal Mail’s weekend service restrictions, and your test to release provider has claimed you cannot attend your appointment unless you have a valid day 2 result, you should contact them to discuss your options on the basis of the government advice link above.

Testing For All also offers a next day test to release service using the DX sample drop off network. You can find out more here

Royal Mail is currently the only large scale return option available to COVID testing providers, with other couriers like DPD and DHL not accepting COVID Samples due to health and safety concerns.

However, we are aware that Royal Mail’s lack of deliveries on weekends create delays and bottlenecks at our labs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For this reason, we would advise you organise a private courier if you are posting your day 8 sample over the weekend and wish to avoid any delays in returning your result.

Currently, Gophr has nationwide coverage and accepts COVID samples to return to the lab. You can order your courier via their online booking platform, for same day deliveries.