diff --git a/.github/codecov.yml b/.github/codecov.yml
index e9b2ef7cd..c910cfa5e 100644
--- a/.github/codecov.yml
+++ b/.github/codecov.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ coverage:
       default:
         target: 100
   ignore:
-    - "numcodecs/tests/**"
+    - "tests/**"
 comment:
   layout: "diff, files"
   behavior: default
diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index 41513ecbc..6469633e1 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
 recursive-include c-blosc *
 recursive-include numcodecs *.pyx
 recursive-include numcodecs *.pxd
-include numcodecs/tests/package_with_entrypoint-0.1.dist-info/entry_points.txt
diff --git a/docs/release.rst b/docs/release.rst
index fcd3422f1..093466a6a 100644
--- a/docs/release.rst
+++ b/docs/release.rst
@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@ Release notes
 Unreleased
 ----------
 
+Maintenance
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+* Move tests out of installable package into top-level ``tests/`` directory.
+  By :user:`Max Jones <maxrjones>`, :issue:`829`
+
 .. _release_0.16.5:
 
 0.16.5
diff --git a/notebooks/benchmark_vlen.ipynb b/notebooks/benchmark_vlen.ipynb
index cb971278e..6870bef6a 100644
--- a/notebooks/benchmark_vlen.ipynb
+++ b/notebooks/benchmark_vlen.ipynb
@@ -63,18 +63,10 @@
   },
   {
    "cell_type": "code",
-   "execution_count": 3,
+   "execution_count": null,
    "metadata": {},
    "outputs": [],
-   "source": [
-    "from numcodecs.tests.common import greetings\n",
-    "\n",
-    "msgpack_codec = numcodecs.MsgPack()\n",
-    "json_codec = numcodecs.JSON()\n",
-    "pickle_codec = numcodecs.Pickle()\n",
-    "cat_codec = numcodecs.Categorize(greetings, dtype=object, astype='u1')\n",
-    "vlen_codec = numcodecs.VLenUTF8()"
-   ]
+   "source": "from tests.common import greetings\n\nmsgpack_codec = numcodecs.MsgPack()\njson_codec = numcodecs.JSON()\npickle_codec = numcodecs.Pickle()\ncat_codec = numcodecs.Categorize(greetings, dtype=object, astype='u1')\nvlen_codec = numcodecs.VLenUTF8()"
   },
   {
    "cell_type": "markdown",
@@ -677,4 +669,4 @@
  },
  "nbformat": 4,
  "nbformat_minor": 2
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/__init__.py b/numcodecs/tests/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index bb4e151d1..000000000
--- a/numcodecs/tests/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-import pytest
-
-pytest.register_assert_rewrite('numcodecs.tests.common')
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index a47600dc3..57cc28e91 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -101,14 +101,11 @@ test-zarr-main = [
 
 [tool.setuptools]
 package-dir = {"" = "."}
-packages = ["numcodecs", "numcodecs.tests"]
+packages = ["numcodecs"]
 zip-safe = false
 
 [tool.setuptools.package-data]
-numcodecs = [
-    "tests/package_with_entrypoint/__init__.py",
-    "tests/package_with_entrypoint-0.1.dist-info/entry_points.txt"
-]
+numcodecs = []
 
 [tool.setuptools_scm]
 version_scheme = "guess-next-dev"
@@ -120,7 +117,7 @@ skip = "./.git,fixture"
 ignore-words-list = "ba, compiletime, hist, nd, unparseable"
 
 [tool.coverage.run]
-omit = ["numcodecs/tests/*"]
+omit = ["tests/*"]
 
 [tool.coverage.report]
 exclude_lines = [
@@ -139,7 +136,7 @@ doctest_optionflags = [
     "IGNORE_EXCEPTION_DETAIL",
 ]
 testpaths = [
-    "numcodecs/tests",
+    "tests",
 ]
 norecursedirs = [
     ".git",
@@ -230,7 +227,7 @@ ignore = [
 ]
 
 [tool.ruff.lint.extend-per-file-ignores]
-"numcodecs/tests/**" = ["SIM201", "SIM202", "SIM300", "TRY002"]
+"tests/**" = ["SIM201", "SIM202", "SIM300", "TRY002"]
 "notebooks/**" = ["W391"]  # https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/issues/13763
 
 [tool.ruff.format]
@@ -287,9 +284,9 @@ test-google-crc32c = ["test", "test-google-crc32c"]
 ls-deps-312 = "uv run --group test-zarr-312 uv pip freeze"
 ls-deps-313 = "uv run --group test-zarr-313 uv pip freeze"
 ls-deps-main = "uv run --group test-zarr-main uv pip freeze"
-test-zarr-312 = "uv run --group test-zarr-312 pytest --cov=numcodecs --cov-report=xml --cov-report=term numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3.py numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3_import.py"
-test-zarr-313 = "uv run --group test-zarr-313 pytest --cov=numcodecs --cov-report=xml --cov-report=term numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3.py numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3_import.py"
-test-zarr-main = "uv run --group test-zarr-main pytest --cov=numcodecs --cov-report=xml --cov-report=term numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3.py numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3_import.py"
+test-zarr-312 = "uv run --group test-zarr-312 pytest --cov=numcodecs --cov-report=xml --cov-report=term tests/test_zarr3.py tests/test_zarr3_import.py"
+test-zarr-313 = "uv run --group test-zarr-313 pytest --cov=numcodecs --cov-report=xml --cov-report=term tests/test_zarr3.py tests/test_zarr3_import.py"
+test-zarr-main = "uv run --group test-zarr-main pytest --cov=numcodecs --cov-report=xml --cov-report=term tests/test_zarr3.py tests/test_zarr3_import.py"
 
 [tool.pixi.feature.test.tasks]
 run-tests = "pytest -v"
diff --git a/tests/__init__.py b/tests/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..76094f9ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import pytest
+
+pytest.register_assert_rewrite('tests.common')
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/common.py b/tests/common.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/common.py
rename to tests/common.py
index e3c9cfb3e..31685d955 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/common.py
+++ b/tests/common.py
@@ -6,11 +6,10 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-from numpy.testing import assert_array_almost_equal, assert_array_equal
-
 from numcodecs import *  # noqa: F403  # for eval to find names in repr tests
 from numcodecs.compat import ensure_bytes, ensure_ndarray
 from numcodecs.registry import get_codec
+from numpy.testing import assert_array_almost_equal, assert_array_equal
 
 greetings = [
     '¡Hola mundo!',
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/package_with_entrypoint-0.1.dist-info/entry_points.txt b/tests/package_with_entrypoint-0.1.dist-info/entry_points.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from numcodecs/tests/package_with_entrypoint-0.1.dist-info/entry_points.txt
rename to tests/package_with_entrypoint-0.1.dist-info/entry_points.txt
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/package_with_entrypoint/__init__.py b/tests/package_with_entrypoint/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from numcodecs/tests/package_with_entrypoint/__init__.py
rename to tests/package_with_entrypoint/__init__.py
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_astype.py b/tests/test_astype.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_astype.py
rename to tests/test_astype.py
index b4653f5be..d0cc4c596 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_astype.py
+++ b/tests/test_astype.py
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import numpy as np
+from numcodecs.astype import AsType
 from numpy.testing import assert_array_equal
 
-from numcodecs.astype import AsType
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_base64.py b/tests/test_base64.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_base64.py
rename to tests/test_base64.py
index 03f2d491c..71d671c7b 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_base64.py
+++ b/tests/test_base64.py
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.base64 import Base64
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_encode_decode,
     check_err_decode_object_buffer,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_bitround.py b/tests/test_bitround.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_bitround.py
rename to tests/test_bitround.py
index 3929e43c6..663cf73a3 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_bitround.py
+++ b/tests/test_bitround.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.bitround import BitRound, max_bits
 
 # adapted from https://github.com/milankl/BitInformation.jl/blob/main/test/round_nearest.jl
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_blosc.py b/tests/test_blosc.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_blosc.py
rename to tests/test_blosc.py
index 52ef183a4..6e1927302 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_blosc.py
+++ b/tests/test_blosc.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     pytest.skip("numcodecs.blosc not available", allow_module_level=True)
 
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_bz2.py b/tests/test_bz2.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_bz2.py
rename to tests/test_bz2.py
index ce83f1e2d..a58446ca2 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_bz2.py
+++ b/tests/test_bz2.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import itertools
 
 import numpy as np
-
 from numcodecs.bz2 import BZ2
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_categorize.py b/tests/test_categorize.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_categorize.py
rename to tests/test_categorize.py
index 0ec115bb3..8431d4fb9 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_categorize.py
+++ b/tests/test_categorize.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
+from numcodecs.categorize import Categorize
 from numpy.testing import assert_array_equal
 
-from numcodecs.categorize import Categorize
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_checksum32.py b/tests/test_checksum32.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_checksum32.py
rename to tests/test_checksum32.py
index 06b0a1a8c..fe51084b3 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_checksum32.py
+++ b/tests/test_checksum32.py
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.checksum32 import CRC32, Adler32
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_compat.py b/tests/test_compat.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_compat.py
rename to tests/test_compat.py
index 0d5f2d74e..091e34539 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_compat.py
+++ b/tests/test_compat.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.compat import ensure_bytes, ensure_contiguous_ndarray, ensure_text
 
 
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_delta.py b/tests/test_delta.py
similarity index 97%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_delta.py
rename to tests/test_delta.py
index 9664efeee..08df959b9 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_delta.py
+++ b/tests/test_delta.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
+from numcodecs.delta import Delta
 from numpy.testing import assert_array_equal
 
-from numcodecs.delta import Delta
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_entrypoints.py b/tests/test_entrypoints.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_entrypoints.py
rename to tests/test_entrypoints.py
index 43503ec39..25eb9d34d 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_entrypoints.py
+++ b/tests/test_entrypoints.py
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
 import os.path
 import sys
 
-import pytest
-
 import numcodecs.registry
+import pytest
 
 here = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
 
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_entrypoints_backport.py b/tests/test_entrypoints_backport.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_entrypoints_backport.py
rename to tests/test_entrypoints_backport.py
index 7e1c32bcc..ff1b02a67 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_entrypoints_backport.py
+++ b/tests/test_entrypoints_backport.py
@@ -3,9 +3,8 @@
 import sys
 from multiprocessing import Process
 
-import pytest
-
 import numcodecs.registry
+import pytest
 
 importlib_spec = importlib.util.find_spec("importlib_metadata")
 if importlib_spec is None or importlib_spec.loader is None:  # pragma: no cover
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_fixedscaleoffset.py b/tests/test_fixedscaleoffset.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_fixedscaleoffset.py
rename to tests/test_fixedscaleoffset.py
index 337e893ee..9c9e36dfb 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_fixedscaleoffset.py
+++ b/tests/test_fixedscaleoffset.py
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
+from numcodecs.fixedscaleoffset import FixedScaleOffset
 from numpy.testing import assert_array_equal
 
-from numcodecs.fixedscaleoffset import FixedScaleOffset
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_fletcher32.py b/tests/test_fletcher32.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_fletcher32.py
rename to tests/test_fletcher32.py
index 3bbefe850..adfb31da6 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_fletcher32.py
+++ b/tests/test_fletcher32.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.fletcher32 import Fletcher32
 
 
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_gzip.py b/tests/test_gzip.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_gzip.py
rename to tests/test_gzip.py
index d63676412..745b6b025 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_gzip.py
+++ b/tests/test_gzip.py
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.gzip import GZip
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_jenkins.py b/tests/test_jenkins.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_jenkins.py
rename to tests/test_jenkins.py
index de008be52..2187934b1 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_jenkins.py
+++ b/tests/test_jenkins.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.checksum32 import JenkinsLookup3
 from numcodecs.jenkins import jenkins_lookup3
 
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_json.py b/tests/test_json.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_json.py
rename to tests/test_json.py
index 771a05191..94a8b1c2a 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_json.py
+++ b/tests/test_json.py
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.json import JSON
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode_array,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_lz4.py b/tests/test_lz4.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_lz4.py
rename to tests/test_lz4.py
index 82af464af..c6b8faec9 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_lz4.py
+++ b/tests/test_lz4.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
     pytest.skip("numcodecs.lz4 not available", allow_module_level=True)
 
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_lzma.py b/tests/test_lzma.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_lzma.py
rename to tests/test_lzma.py
index 017f6da65..ff36cc428 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_lzma.py
+++ b/tests/test_lzma.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
     raise unittest.SkipTest("LZMA not available") from e
 
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_msgpacks.py b/tests/test_msgpacks.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_msgpacks.py
rename to tests/test_msgpacks.py
index 4f8778459..0792cdfdd 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_msgpacks.py
+++ b/tests/test_msgpacks.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
     raise unittest.SkipTest("msgpack not available") from e
 
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode_array,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_ndarray_like.py b/tests/test_ndarray_like.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_ndarray_like.py
rename to tests/test_ndarray_like.py
index 6c16e7dbf..ff10e2400 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_ndarray_like.py
+++ b/tests/test_ndarray_like.py
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.ndarray_like import DType, FlagsObj, NDArrayLike
 
 
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_packbits.py b/tests/test_packbits.py
similarity index 96%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_packbits.py
rename to tests/test_packbits.py
index 303216172..10f058daf 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_packbits.py
+++ b/tests/test_packbits.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import numpy as np
-
 from numcodecs.packbits import PackBits
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_pcodec.py b/tests/test_pcodec.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_pcodec.py
rename to tests/test_pcodec.py
index d0520b45e..e34d66589 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_pcodec.py
+++ b/tests/test_pcodec.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
     pytest.skip("pcodec not available", allow_module_level=True)
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode_array,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_pickles.py b/tests/test_pickles.py
similarity index 97%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_pickles.py
rename to tests/test_pickles.py
index 6f7ad2f7b..3012f6110 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_pickles.py
+++ b/tests/test_pickles.py
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
-
 from numcodecs.pickles import Pickle
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode_array,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_pyzstd.py b/tests/test_pyzstd.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_pyzstd.py
rename to tests/test_pyzstd.py
index 7ee6084b4..e6df84a71 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_pyzstd.py
+++ b/tests/test_pyzstd.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
 import pyzstd
-
 from numcodecs.zstd import Zstd
 
 test_data = [
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_quantize.py b/tests/test_quantize.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_quantize.py
rename to tests/test_quantize.py
index c070ed72b..f29aae4db 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_quantize.py
+++ b/tests/test_quantize.py
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
+from numcodecs.quantize import Quantize
 from numpy.testing import assert_array_almost_equal, assert_array_equal
 
-from numcodecs.quantize import Quantize
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_registry.py b/tests/test_registry.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_registry.py
rename to tests/test_registry.py
index 93ed8f032..a5e52ba01 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_registry.py
+++ b/tests/test_registry.py
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 import inspect
 
-import pytest
-
 import numcodecs
+import pytest
 from numcodecs.errors import UnknownCodecError
 from numcodecs.registry import get_codec
 
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_shuffle.py b/tests/test_shuffle.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_shuffle.py
rename to tests/test_shuffle.py
index 6e6d744a1..8035c5586 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_shuffle.py
+++ b/tests/test_shuffle.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
     pytest.skip("numcodecs.shuffle not available", allow_module_level=True)
 
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_array.py b/tests/test_vlen_array.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_array.py
rename to tests/test_vlen_array.py
index 79d6be42d..f25374a06 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_array.py
+++ b/tests/test_vlen_array.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     from numcodecs.vlen import VLenArray
 except ImportError as e:  # pragma: no cover
     raise unittest.SkipTest("vlen-array not available") from e
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     assert_array_items_equal,
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_bytes.py b/tests/test_vlen_bytes.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_bytes.py
rename to tests/test_vlen_bytes.py
index 3546dbaa7..facd09472 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_bytes.py
+++ b/tests/test_vlen_bytes.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     from numcodecs.vlen import VLenBytes
 except ImportError as e:  # pragma: no cover
     raise unittest.SkipTest("vlen-bytes not available") from e
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     assert_array_items_equal,
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_utf8.py b/tests/test_vlen_utf8.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_utf8.py
rename to tests/test_vlen_utf8.py
index 514c7dc16..ee54793cb 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_vlen_utf8.py
+++ b/tests/test_vlen_utf8.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     from numcodecs.vlen import VLenUTF8
 except ImportError as e:  # pragma: no cover
     raise unittest.SkipTest("vlen-utf8 not available") from e
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     assert_array_items_equal,
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3.py b/tests/test_zarr3.py
similarity index 100%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3.py
rename to tests/test_zarr3.py
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3_import.py b/tests/test_zarr3_import.py
similarity index 100%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_zarr3_import.py
rename to tests/test_zarr3_import.py
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_zfpy.py b/tests/test_zfpy.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_zfpy.py
rename to tests/test_zfpy.py
index e48c3cb7d..3c15aacb8 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_zfpy.py
+++ b/tests/test_zfpy.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     pytest.skip("ZFPY not available", allow_module_level=True)
 
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode_array,
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_zlib.py b/tests/test_zlib.py
similarity index 98%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_zlib.py
rename to tests/test_zlib.py
index 15f1ef587..c5043722b 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_zlib.py
+++ b/tests/test_zlib.py
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
+from numcodecs.zlib import Zlib
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
@@ -11,7 +12,6 @@
     check_err_encode_object_buffer,
     check_repr,
 )
-from numcodecs.zlib import Zlib
 
 codecs = [
     Zlib(),
diff --git a/numcodecs/tests/test_zstd.py b/tests/test_zstd.py
similarity index 99%
rename from numcodecs/tests/test_zstd.py
rename to tests/test_zstd.py
index a3a926ebd..09342088a 100644
--- a/numcodecs/tests/test_zstd.py
+++ b/tests/test_zstd.py
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
+from numcodecs.zstd import Zstd
 
-from numcodecs.tests.common import (
+from tests.common import (
     check_backwards_compatibility,
     check_config,
     check_encode_decode,
@@ -12,7 +13,6 @@
     check_err_encode_object_buffer,
     check_repr,
 )
-from numcodecs.zstd import Zstd
 
 codecs = [
     Zstd(),