diff --git a/fernet_test.go b/fernet_test.go
index 7f80d7f..6758be7 100644
--- a/fernet_test.go
+++ b/fernet_test.go
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ func TestFernet(t *testing.T) {
 	// Read the key from environment variable
 	encodedKey := os.Getenv("FERNET_KEY")
 	if encodedKey == "" {
-		panic("FERNET_KEY environment variable not set")
+		//		panic("FERNET_KEY environment variable not set")
+		t.Skip("FERNET_KEY environment variable not set, skipping test") // Skip the test if FERNET_KEY is not set
+		return
 	}
 	//[{"email": "renn.valo@noaa.gov", "given_name": "", "family_name": "", "return_url": "https://apps-dev.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/vx/formsui/", "return_html": "https://apps-dev.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/vx/formsui/"}]
 	payload_mdev := []byte(`[{"Email": "jason.english@noaa.gov", "GivenName": "", "FamilyName": "", "ReturnURL": "https://apps-dev.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/vx/formsui/", "ReturnHTML": "https://apps-dev.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/vx/formsui/"}]`)