How long does bottled water last?

Part of our bottled and other water guide

You find a pack of bottles at the back of the cupboard, and the date on the cap passed last spring. Do you bin it? You can compare what is in a bottle with your own tap using a 20-in-1 test strip.

By Andrew Tomlinson, WaterKit · Last reviewed 29 October 2026

How long does bottled water last?

Until the best before date the producer prints on the bottle. In the sources we read (GOV.UK, the Defra and Food Standards Agency labelling guidance, the FSA's home food fact checker and the labelling regulation on legislation.gov.uk) there is no official figure for any longer or shorter period. GOV.UK says manufacturers decide whether to apply a use-by or a best before date, depending on the type of food. A date cannot say how a bottle has been kept, but you can compare what is in it with your tap using a 20-in-1 test strip, which gives readings in under a minute.

GOV.UK describes the two date marks as follows.

Water is not among GOV.UK's examples, so which mark a bottle carries is the producer's choice.

Why does bottled water have a best before date?

Because the Defra and Food Standards Agency labelling guidance says you must usually show a best before or use by date on pre-packed food, and water is not in its list of exceptions. That page was last updated on 20 September 2022. Article 9 of the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on legislation.gov.uk likewise lists the date of minimum durability or the use by date, and any special storage conditions, among the mandatory particulars.

The guidance lists foods that need no date but must carry a lot number.

• Fresh fruit and vegetables that have not been peeled, cut or similarly treated.
• Wines and similar drinks, and drinks containing 10% or more alcohol by volume.
• Baked or pastry goods normally eaten within 24 hours of being made.
• Vinegar, cooking salt, solid sugar, some sugar confectionery and chewing gum.

That a bottle of water must therefore carry a date is our reading of the list, not a sentence in the guidance. The guidance says to show a use by date only where there is a safety issue. Article 24 reserves use-by for foods that are highly perishable from a microbiological point of view.

Does bottled water go off?

In the sources we read, none describes unopened bottled water going off, and none gives an after-opening time for bottled water. What they do say is general food advice. GOV.UK says the label tells you how to store the food, including what to do after opening, and the Defra and FSA guidance says special storage conditions must be on the label if consumers need them. The FSA says that for food with a best before date you can use your senses to check it, but that a sniff test does not work for food with a use-by date. None of that is written for bottled water.

Can you drink bottled water after its best before date?

The sources we read have nothing written for bottled water, so this is general food advice. GOV.UK says food can usually still be eaten after its best before date but may not be of the same quality, and that you can use sight, taste or smell to decide. The FSA fact checker says food with a best before date can be eaten after it, though it may not taste as good. The date is the producer's own statement about quality, and what you do once it passes is your decision.

Why might the bottle in your cupboard not match its date?

The date is the producer's estimate for a bottle kept as the label says. Your bottle has had its own journey, and a date does not tell you where yours has sat since the shop. GOV.UK says that if food is not stored properly it could reduce in quality before the best before date, and that the label says how to store it. We found no official figure in these sources for how much a warm shed or a bright windowsill changes bottled water.

“A date on the label is only the producer's estimate for a bottle kept as the label says, so I would not assume yours matches it after a spell in a shed or on a sunny windowsill. If you are unsure, compare it with your own tap using a strip, and treat the result as a rough guide rather than a verdict.”

The same gap applies to the glass beside it. A date on a label, like a figure for an area, does not tell you what is in the cup in front of you. Our guide to how long tap water lasts looks at the tap side.

What one reader found

A 2019 thread on Mumsnet's Preppers board shows how storage becomes the question. The poster had bought 5 litre bottles at the start of the year and kept them in a shed whose temperature changes, because it has big windows. They asked whether the water was still usable or only good for the garden, and said the date was not their concern. Storage was. One reply said "I have a few much older kept in our garage", where the bottles rarely get light and sit off the concrete floor, and that they intended to use them. Other replies suggested somewhere dark and cool. These are readers' views, and no official source we read sets a light or temperature limit for bottled water.

Shared on Mumsnet.

How can you check a bottle against your tap?

Fill a clean glass from the bottle, dip one strip, wait 30 to 60 seconds and match the pads to the chart (or enter the colours in the results portal), then repeat with your tap. The WaterKit 20-in-1 strip has pads for hardness, sodium chloride, nitrate, chlorine and copper, among others. A different colour on a pad between the two glasses indicates a different level of that substance, which is a rough way to see how a stored bottle compares with what comes out of your own tap. Our guide to testing your water at home has the steps. Our guide to bottled and tap water covers how the two are regulated. The free checker needs no app or account, and the QR code on your chart opens it.

The strip has limits, and the notes on the pads are our own reading of the chart.

• It cannot show how old the water is or whether a bottle has passed its best. We found no source in what we read saying that ageing changes these readings.
• The nitrate pad's first colour step is 10 mg/l, so a label figure below that sits under the first step of the chart.
• We have not confirmed whether the hardness and sodium chloride pads use the same basis as the figures on a mineral water label, so treat those comparisons as rough.
• The optional bacteria test is read after 24 to 48 hours and is a presence screen for coliforms in tap water samples, not a count. We do not claim it for bottled water.
• A strip result has no legal effect.

Best pack: 20 strips, enough to test a few bottles and your tap side by side and repeat later, £5.99 (or £10.99 with a bacteria test for the tap), with free 2nd Class delivery on every order. See the kit

Your bottled water questions

Does bottled water expire?

It carries a date, usually best before, which GOV.UK says relates to quality. In the sources we read, nothing says water becomes unfit on that date.

Can bottled water go bad?

In the sources we read, none describes it. GOV.UK says food stored badly could lose quality before its date, which is general food advice.

How long does unopened bottled water last?

Until the best before date the producer sets. We found no official figure in months or years.

What is the shelf life of bottled water?

Whatever the producer prints as the date. The sources we read give no official shelf life for bottled water.

Does bottled water go out of date?

Its date can pass, yes. For what to do then, the only guidance we found is the general food advice above from GOV.UK and the FSA.

Does bottled water have a use by date?

We found nothing in the sources we read that puts bottled water in the use-by group. GOV.UK says use-by dates must be shown on foods that go off quickly, such as meat products and ready-to-eat salads, and that manufacturers choose the mark.

How long can you store bottled water?

We found no official maximum. GOV.UK says the label tells you how to store the food, so check the bottle.

How to store bottled water?

Follow any storage instruction on the label. The sources we read give no bottled-water advice on temperature or light.

Why does bottled water have an expiration date?

Because the labelling guidance says most pre-packed food needs a best before or use by date and, on our reading, water is not exempt.

Sources

1. GOV.UK, Understanding food labelling: Best before and use-by dates (use-by relates to safety and best before to quality; manufacturers choose the mark; labels give storage advice; sight, taste or smell after the best before date; undated page; read 29 October 2026).
2. Defra and Food Standards Agency, Food labelling: giving food information to consumers (a best before or use by date is usually required on pre-packed food, list of foods needing only a lot number, special storage conditions on the label; published 27 April 2015, last updated 20 September 2022; read 29 October 2026).
3. Food Standards Agency, Home food fact checker (applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales; best before is about quality, the sniff test; undated page; read 29 October 2026).
4. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, the UK version published on legislation.gov.uk, Article 9 (mandatory particulars include the date of minimum durability or use by date, and storage conditions) and Article 24 (use-by for highly perishable foods; read 29 October 2026). Water is not named in either, and that a bottle must carry a date is our reading. We did not rely on Annex X because its text did not load in the copy we read.
5. Mumsnet, How long does bottled water last? (Preppers board thread dated 4 August 2019; readers' views, paraphrased; read 29 October 2026).
6. WaterKit, Water Test Kit (20-in-1 strip, 30 to 60 second read, optional rapid coliform test read after 24 to 48 hours, 20 strips from £5.99, free 2nd Class delivery on every order, 30-day money-back guarantee) and results portal. The notes on chart steps are WaterKit's own reading.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.