diff --git a/tests/unit/test_fsspec_streaming.py b/tests/unit/test_fsspec_streaming.py
index 43d193b5..29d29ac1 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_fsspec_streaming.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_fsspec_streaming.py
@@ -1,16 +1,8 @@
 import unittest
-
-
-try:
-    import s3fs
-    import fsspec
-
-    HAVE_FSSPEC = True
-except ImportError:
-    HAVE_FSSPEC = False
-
-
 from hdmf_zarr import NWBZarrIO
+from .utils import check_s3fs_ffspec_installed
+
+HAVE_FSSPEC = check_s3fs_ffspec_installed()
 
 
 class TestFSSpecStreaming(unittest.TestCase):
diff --git a/tests/unit/utils.py b/tests/unit/utils.py
index 67f2e8e0..ebc1f732 100644
--- a/tests/unit/utils.py
+++ b/tests/unit/utils.py
@@ -34,6 +34,16 @@ def get_temp_filepath():
     return temp_file.name
 
 
+def check_s3fs_ffspec_installed():
+    """Check if s3fs and ffspec are installed required for streaming access from S3"""
+    try:
+        import s3fs    # noqa  F401
+        import fsspec  # noqa  F401
+        return True
+    except ImportError:
+        return False
+
+
 ############################################
 #  Foo example data containers and specs
 ###########################################