Read all of your kit instructions first.

If your kit lists medications or supplements to pause before collecting — which may include certain antibiotics, antifungals, probiotics, bismuth products (such as antidiarrheal medicines), antacids, digestive enzymes, or aspirin — follow your kit's timing for each. Never stop a prescribed medication without first talking to your care provider.

Some kits ask you to avoid collecting within a few days of a barium GI exam or near recent dental amalgam work. Check your kit for any restrictions.

Label the vial and any barcode sticker with your name, date of birth, and collection date. Use a blue or black ballpoint pen — not a felt-tip or dry-erase pen. Unlabeled samples are rejected.

Put on a glove if your kit includes one.

Place the collection tray, hat, or sheet over the toilet to catch the bowel movement before it touches the water.

Have a natural bowel movement onto the tray or collection sheet. Do not let urine or toilet water come into contact with the stool sample.

Using the spoon built into the vial cap — or the disposable spoon provided — take small, pea-sized amounts from several different areas of the stool. Sampling from multiple spots gives a more representative specimen.

Add stool to the vial until its contents reach the fill line. Do not overfill or underfill.

Cap the vial tightly and mix as your kit directs — commonly by shaking for 30 seconds or inverting the vial 8–10 times — to combine the stool with the preservative inside the vial.