Expired Diabetic Test Strips: Can You Use Them or Sell Them?
Expired diabetic test strips shouldn't be used and can't be sold — but there's an important distinction most people miss between expired and close to expiring, and it's worth real money.
Don't use expired strips
The FDA advises against using test strips past their printed date. The reagent coating degrades, and a degraded strip can read high or low with nothing to indicate the number is wrong. If you're adjusting insulin based on that reading, a bad number isn't an inconvenience — it's a hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia risk.
If you've run out of in-date supplies and can't afford more, talk to your care team or pharmacist. Manufacturer assistance programs and community health centres exist for exactly this, and it's a better answer than testing on strips you can't trust.
Can you use diabetic test strips after the expiration date?
You shouldn't. The FDA advises against using expired strips because the chemical reagents degrade over time, and a degraded strip can read high or low without any indication that it's wrong. If you're dosing insulin off that number, an inaccurate reading is a real safety problem rather than an inconvenience. Talk to your care team if you're stuck without in-date supplies.
Can you sell expired diabetic test strips?
No, and nobody legitimate buys them. Wholesalers won't accept them, so there's no resale channel to sell into. Anyone offering to buy expired strips is either reselling them to people who shouldn't be using them or isn't going to pay you. Expired boxes should be disposed of, not sold.
How close to expiration can I still sell them?
Further out than most people assume, and this is where boxes get thrown away unnecessarily. Value drops as the date approaches rather than falling off a cliff at the end — strips with 9 or more months left earn the most, 6 to 8 months still sell, and even shorter dating is often worth something. If the date hasn't passed, it's worth asking before you bin it.
Do unopened strips last longer than the printed date?
The printed date already assumes an unopened vial stored properly, so it isn't a conservative estimate you can safely stretch. Opening a vial shortens things further — many strips carry a shorter in-use window once opened, printed on the label. Heat and humidity degrade them faster regardless, which is why a bathroom cabinet or a hot car is the worst place to keep them.
How should I dispose of expired test strips?
Used strips and lancets are sharps waste and should go in a proper sharps container, not loose in household rubbish. Unused expired strips aren't sharps and can generally go in household waste, though many pharmacies and county household hazardous waste programs will take them. Your county health department's website is the fastest way to find a local drop-off.
Check the date again before you throw them out
Most boxes we're asked about aren't expired — they're close, and the owner had already written them off. A sealed box with six months left is worth real money to someone paying out of pocket, and it's worthless the day after the date passes. The window closes; it doesn't reopen.
If yours are still in date, here's what we pay for diabetic test strips, and whether it's legal to sell them if you haven't checked that yet. We also buy Dexcom supplies and Medtronic pump supplies, which tend to sit in the same drawer. Storage matters as much as the date — heat and freezing ruin supplies without leaving anything to see.
Already past the date? Dispose of them rather than selling them — used strips and lancets are sharps waste, and your county health department can point you at a local drop-off.
General information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor, diabetes educator or pharmacist about testing supplies and anything affecting how you manage your blood sugar.