Tester guide · report submission
How to submit a backflow test report without losing the field record
A completed backflow test report is not necessarily a submitted report. The receiving water system controls its accepted form, delivery method, timing, and tester authorization. Treat submission as a separate final step after the field record is reviewed.
First, confirm the receiving program—not a generic destination
Before you send anything, confirm which water system, cross-connection program, or designated processor receives the result. Some programs use their own form or electronic workflow; some require a registered tester. For example, Fort Worth directs registered testers to submit completed results for assemblies including new, altered, replacement, and removed work.
A utility email address found in an old report, a customer's forwarding instruction, or a generic PDF title is not a reliable substitute for the current program guidance. Ask the recipient when the notice, form, or account details are unclear.
Sources for this section: City of Fort Worth: Backflow and cross-connection control; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention; Portland Water Bureau: Testing backflow prevention assemblies.
Review the record before it leaves the field workflow
| Record block | Review question | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Assembly identity | Review question:Do type, make, model, serial, size, service, and location match the assembly tested? | Why it matters:The recipient must match the result to the correct asset. |
| Readings and result | Review question:Are all family-specific measurements, tightness checks, and initial/retest results present? | Why it matters:A final status without the supporting record may not satisfy the program. |
| Tester and gauge | Review question:Are certification, expiration, gauge identity, and calibration fields complete where required? | Why it matters:These fields establish the context of the observed test. |
| Recipient details | Review question:Does the named account, program number, or required local form agree with the current instruction? | Why it matters:Correct data sent to the wrong program is still misrouted. |
Sources for this section: Washington Administrative Code: field test report content; Washington State Department of Health: Backflow prevention assembly field test report; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention.
Deliver, record proof, and retain the same version
Use the current method
Follow the program's portal, email, paper, processor, or other stated delivery method—never a method inferred from another jurisdiction.
Keep delivery evidence
Record the date, recipient, confirmation number, or transmitted file name in the assembly record when the program supplies one.
Keep the tested version intact
Store the submitted report with the original field readings and any repair/retest sequence so the history remains auditable.
Sources for this section: EPA: Protecting Water Quality through Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention; Portland Water Bureau: Testing backflow prevention assemblies; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention.
A PDF generator supports review; it does not submit for you
BackflowPass generates a one-page PDF after a tester enters the field record and captures signatures. That can make the final review and handoff easier, especially when a jobsite has limited connectivity.
The product does not claim to submit reports to water systems or determine acceptance. The tester and customer must still follow the receiving program's current instructions.
Sources for this section: Washington State Department of Health: Backflow prevention assembly field test report; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention.
Sources and review boundary
This guide was reviewed on August 22, 2026. It links to primary public sources where possible and labels state and local examples as examples. It is educational material, not engineering, legal, installation, certification, or water-system approval advice.
- EPA: Protecting Water Quality through Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention
Program elements, including records for testing, repair, personnel, and assemblies in service.
- EPA: Cross-Connection Control Best Practices Guide
EPA guidance on cross-connection-control program responsibilities, testing, and records.
- Portland Water Bureau: Testing backflow prevention assemblies
A current public-water-system example of annual notices, owner coordination, tester reporting, and a submission timeline.
- City of Fort Worth: Backflow and cross-connection control
A current utility example covering irrigation, certified tester registration, and reports for new, altered, replacement, and removed assemblies.
- Washington State Department of Health: Backflow prevention assembly field test report
An official example of a state field-report resource; its requirements are not a national form.
- Washington Administrative Code: field test report content
A detailed state example of report fields covering identity, readings, repair, tester, and gauge information.
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Cross-connection control and backflow prevention
A state example of a receiving authority's program and report materials; do not treat it as a national procedure.
Continue with the right next question
Related field references
Backflow prevention assembly guide
The practical distinction between testable assemblies, non-testable devices, air gaps, and the pressure reversals cross-connection programs manage.
RPZ vs. DCVA vs. PVB
A source-led comparison of the major assembly families, their protection limits, and why local hazard approval controls selection.
Backflow test report guide
Common report record blocks, local-form acceptance, failed-test history, and the submission checks a generic PDF cannot answer.
Failed backflow test guide
How to preserve the original result, confirm the local corrective path, document repair or replacement, and retain a complete retest record.
Backflow testing checklist
A job-readiness checklist for procedure, access, assembly identity, gauge records, report review, and filing—not a replacement field procedure.
Cross-connection control program guide
The authority, survey, approved protection, testing, recordkeeping, and corrective-action pieces behind a maintained program.
Fill this out on the phone instead.
The generator asks for exactly these fields, grades every differential as you type, opens repair and retest fields when something fails, and hands you the finished one-page PDF. No account, no install, works with no signal.