What Does a Passing Backflow Test Report Look Like?
A passing backflow test report is a short document, but it has to be complete, legible, and on the form your water purveyor expects. Most reports that get rejected did not fail the test — they failed the paperwork.
Here is what should be on yours.
The short version
A passing report identifies the property, identifies the exact assembly by size, make, model, and serial number, records the readings for each check and valve, shows a current gauge calibration date, is signed by a certified tester with their certification number, and is marked as a pass with no unresolved notes. Then it gets filed with the purveyor in whatever format that purveyor accepts.
The sections you should see
- Property and account. Service address, customer name, water account number, contact information.
- Device details. Assembly type (RP, DC, PVB, SVB, DCDA, RPDA), size, manufacturer, model, serial number, and where on the property it sits. This has to match the district's record.
- Test data. The readings for each check valve, relief valve, or air inlet, in the order the procedure calls for, in psid.
- Tester credentials. Name, certification number, company, signature, and the date and time of the test.
- Gauge information. Make, model, and serial of the differential gauge, plus a calibration date still inside the required window — typically twelve months.
- Filing confirmation. Which portal or form it went to, and any submittal ID.
What passing readings look like
Exact criteria come from your purveyor's form, but these are the standard thresholds.
| Assembly | Passing criteria |
|---|---|
| Double check (DC / DCVA) | Check 1 holds tight at 1.0 psid or more; check 2 holds tight at 1.0 psid or more |
| Reduced pressure (RP / RPZ) | Relief valve opens at 2.0 psid or more; check 1 holds at 5.0 psid or more; check 2 holds at 1.0 psid or more |
| Pressure vacuum breaker (PVB) | Air inlet opens at 1.0 psid or more; check holds at 1.0 psid or more |
| Spill-resistant vacuum breaker (SVB) | Air inlet opens at 1.0 psid or more; check holds at 1.0 psid or more |
| Fire line detector assemblies (DCDA / RPDA) | Same thresholds as the DC or RP they are based on, on both the main assembly and the bypass where the district requires it |
Shutoff valves also have to hold. A leaking downstream shutoff invalidates the test regardless of how the checks read.
Visual cues on a clean report
- A clearly marked overall result of PASS
- Readings at or above the minimums, with no blanks or “N/A” where a number belongs
- Legible figures, no cross-outs or altered numbers without initials
- Tester signature, printed name, and certification number
- A gauge calibration date that was still valid on the day of the test
- If the assembly failed first, a completed repair note and a retest section showing the final pass
Why an otherwise-passing report gets rejected
Nearly always something clerical:
- Serial number, size, or model does not match the district's record
- Gauge calibration expired
- Wrong form, or the wrong device type selected in the portal
- Illegible handwriting
- Readings recorded out of order or in the wrong units
- Missing or expired tester certification number
A two-minute check before submitting — serial, size, device type, sequence, signatures, calibration date — catches most of it.
Keeping yourself out of trouble
Schedule three to four weeks ahead of your due date. That leaves room for the thing nobody plans for: the assembly fails, it needs parts, and it needs a passing retest before the deadline. Testing on the due date works right up until it does not.
Keep a folder per property with last year's report, repair invoices, and photos of the serial tag. Every one of those fields gets re-entered annually, and having the tag photo on hand eliminates the most common rejection reason outright.
How we handle it
We photograph every backflow we test, whether there is a problem or not, and we file the report with the right district on the right form. Testing is $90 per device across most of Los Angeles and Orange County. In Palmdale, Lancaster, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties there is a $450 minimum covering up to five devices, then $90 each after that.
If the device fails, we quote the repair before touching anything, and the re-certification is included when we do the repair ourselves. You get the paperwork either way — we send it before payment, which occasionally burns us, but it is the right way to do it.
If you manage multiple properties across different districts, the tracking problem is usually bigger than the testing problem. That is covered on our HOA and property manager page.