diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/verify_student/tests/test_views.py b/lms/djangoapps/verify_student/tests/test_views.py
index 4c2d5818bc..483f4124e4 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/verify_student/tests/test_views.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/verify_student/tests/test_views.py
@@ -1637,7 +1637,7 @@ class TestSubmitPhotosForVerification(TestCase):
     def _get_post_data(self):
         """Retrieve POST data from the last request. """
         last_request = moto.packages.httpretty.last_request()
-        return json.loads(last_request.body)
+        return json.loads(last_request.body.decode('utf-8'))
 
 
 class TestPhotoVerificationResultsCallback(ModuleStoreTestCase):