diff --git a/Sources/AtprotoTypes/LexiconTypes/Union.swift b/Sources/AtprotoTypes/LexiconTypes/Union.swift
index 4b0573a..f3f8e9b 100644
--- a/Sources/AtprotoTypes/LexiconTypes/Union.swift
+++ b/Sources/AtprotoTypes/LexiconTypes/Union.swift
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import Foundation
 ///Currently implemented as a union of records but could be any lexicon schema
 public protocol LexiconUnion: Codable, Sendable {
 	static var members: [Atproto.Ref: any Atproto.Schema.Type] { get }
-	
+
 	init(object: any Codable) throws
 }
 
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ extension LexiconUnion {
 	public init(from decoder: any Decoder) throws {
 		let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: TypeHeader.self)
 		let ref = try container.decode(Atproto.Ref.self, forKey: .type)
-		
+
 		let type = try Self.members[ref].tryUnwrap(
 			LexionUnionError.unknownType(ref)
 		)
diff --git a/Tests/AtprotoTypesTests/UnionTests.swift b/Tests/AtprotoTypesTests/UnionTests.swift
index 30696a2..009da54 100644
--- a/Tests/AtprotoTypesTests/UnionTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/AtprotoTypesTests/UnionTests.swift
@@ -22,12 +22,18 @@ struct UnionTests {
 			[SimpleRelationshipResult].self,
 			from: Self.relationshipJsonString.utf8Data
 		)
-		print(result)
+
+		let encoded = try JSONEncoder().encode(result)
+
+		let _ = try JSONDecoder().decode(
+			[SimpleRelationshipResult].self,
+			from: encoded
+		)
 	}
 
 }
 
-//taken from //c
+//taken from https://docs.bsky.app/docs/api/app-bsky-graph-get-relationships
 enum SimpleRelationshipResult {
 	case relationship(Relationships)
 	case notFound(NotFoundActor)
@@ -36,6 +42,8 @@ enum SimpleRelationshipResult {
 		static var ref: Atproto.Ref {
 			.init(string: "app.bsky.graph.defs#relationship")
 		}
+		//for encoding
+		private(set) var ref: Atproto.Ref? = ref
 		let did: Atproto.DID
 		let blocking: Atproto.ATURI?
 		let blockedBy: Atproto.ATURI?
@@ -43,31 +51,49 @@ enum SimpleRelationshipResult {
 		let followedBy: Atproto.ATURI?
 		let blockedByList: Atproto.ATURI?
 		let blockingbyList: Atproto.ATURI?
+
+		enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
+			case ref = "$type"
+			case did
+			case blocking
+			case blockedBy
+			case following
+			case followedBy
+			case blockedByList
+			case blockingbyList
+		}
 	}
 
 	struct NotFoundActor: Atproto.Schema {
 		static var ref: Atproto.Ref {
 			.init(string: "app.bsky.graph.defs#notFoundActor")
 		}
-		
+
+		//for encoding
+		private(set) var ref: Atproto.Ref? = ref
 		public let actor: LexiconString.AtIdentifier
 		var notFound: Bool = true
 
 		public init(actor: LexiconString.AtIdentifier) {
 			self.actor = actor
 		}
+
+		enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
+			case ref = "$type"
+			case actor
+			case notFound
+		}
 	}
 }
 
 extension SimpleRelationshipResult: LexiconUnion {
-	static var members: [Atproto.Ref : any Atproto.Schema.Type] {
+	static var members: [Atproto.Ref: any Atproto.Schema.Type] {
 		[
 			Relationships.ref: Relationships.self,
-			NotFoundActor.ref: NotFoundActor.self
+			NotFoundActor.ref: NotFoundActor.self,
 		]
 	}
 
-	
 	init(object: any Codable) throws {
 		if let relationships = object as? Relationships {
 			self = .relationship(relationships)
@@ -77,4 +103,14 @@ extension SimpleRelationshipResult: LexiconUnion {
 			throw LexionUnionError.unknownObject
 		}
 	}
+
+	func encode(to encoder: any Encoder) throws {
+		var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
+		switch self {
+		case .relationship(let relationships):
+			try container.encode(relationships)
+		case .notFound(let notFound):
+			try container.encode(notFound)
+		}
+	}
 }