diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index d65cc3796..db7b9e6ae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Run tests on Ubuntu Test
       if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
+      env:
+        OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY }}
       run: |
         if [ "${{ matrix.code-cov }}" = "true" ]; then
           codecov="--cov=openml --long --cov-report=xml"
@@ -107,6 +109,8 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Run tests on Ubuntu Production
       if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
+      env:
+        OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY }}
       run: |
         if [ "${{ matrix.code-cov }}" = "true" ]; then
           codecov="--cov=openml --long --cov-report=xml"
@@ -122,6 +126,8 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Run tests on Windows
       if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest'
+      env:
+        OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY }}
       run: |  # we need a separate step because of the bash-specific if-statement in the previous one.
         pytest -n 4 --durations=20 --dist load -sv --reruns 5 --reruns-delay 1 -m "not uses_test_server"
 
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 35ab30b4a..0b581ff30 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -96,6 +96,20 @@ To test your new contribution, add [unit tests](https://github.com/openml/openml
 * Please ensure that the example is run on the test server by beginning with the call to `openml.config.start_using_configuration_for_example()`, which is done by default for tests derived from `TestBase`.
 * Add the `@pytest.mark.sklearn` marker to your unit tests if they have a dependency on scikit-learn.
 
+#### Running Tests That Require Admin Privileges
+
+Some tests require admin privileges on the test server and will be automatically skipped unless you provide an admin API key. For regular contributors, the tests will skip gracefully. For core contributors who need to run these tests locally:
+
+**Set up the key** by exporting the variable:
+run this in the terminal before running the tests:
+
+```bash
+# For windows
+$env:OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY = "admin-key"
+# For linux/mac
+export OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY="admin-key"
+```
+
 ### Pull Request Checklist
 
 You can go to the `openml-python` GitHub repository to create the pull request by [comparing the branch](https://github.com/openml/openml-python/compare) from your fork with the `develop` branch of the `openml-python` repository. When creating a pull request, make sure to follow the comments and structured provided by the template on GitHub.
diff --git a/openml/config.py b/openml/config.py
index e6104fd7f..9758b6fff 100644
--- a/openml/config.py
+++ b/openml/config.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 OPENML_CACHE_DIR_ENV_VAR = "OPENML_CACHE_DIR"
 OPENML_SKIP_PARQUET_ENV_VAR = "OPENML_SKIP_PARQUET"
+OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY_ENV_VAR = "OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY"
 _TEST_SERVER_NORMAL_USER_KEY = "normaluser"
 
 
diff --git a/openml/testing.py b/openml/testing.py
index 8d3bbbd5b..304a4e0be 100644
--- a/openml/testing.py
+++ b/openml/testing.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class TestBase(unittest.TestCase):
     }
     flow_name_tracker: ClassVar[list[str]] = []
     test_server = "https://test.openml.org/api/v1/xml"
-    admin_key = "abc"
+    admin_key = os.environ.get(openml.config.OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY_ENV_VAR)
     user_key = openml.config._TEST_SERVER_NORMAL_USER_KEY
 
     # creating logger for tracking files uploaded to test server
diff --git a/tests/test_datasets/test_dataset_functions.py b/tests/test_datasets/test_dataset_functions.py
index c41664ba7..d80743a8c 100644
--- a/tests/test_datasets/test_dataset_functions.py
+++ b/tests/test_datasets/test_dataset_functions.py
@@ -599,6 +599,10 @@ def _assert_status_of_dataset(self, *, did: int, status: str):
         assert len(result) == 1
         assert result[did]["status"] == status
 
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(
+        not os.environ.get(openml.config.OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY_ENV_VAR),
+        reason="Test requires admin key. Set OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY environment variable.",
+    )
     @pytest.mark.flaky()
     @pytest.mark.uses_test_server()
     def test_data_status(self):
diff --git a/tests/test_openml/test_config.py b/tests/test_openml/test_config.py
index 7ef223504..cd3dd42dd 100644
--- a/tests/test_openml/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/test_openml/test_config.py
@@ -106,6 +106,10 @@ def test_setup_with_config(self):
 
 
 class TestConfigurationForExamples(openml.testing.TestBase):
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(
+        not os.environ.get(openml.config.OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY_ENV_VAR),
+        reason="Test requires admin key. Set OPENML_TEST_SERVER_ADMIN_KEY environment variable.",
+    )
     @pytest.mark.production()
     def test_switch_to_example_configuration(self):
         """Verifies the test configuration is loaded properly."""