What is on the Arizona backflow tester certification exam?

Arizona does not run its own tester exam. The state sets the rule, and approved outside organizations give the exam and issue the certificate. The rule is Arizona Administrative Code R18-4-215. It says testing must be done by a person who is currently certified as a general tester. The certificate has to come from a certifying authority that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) approves. The rule text names the California-Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association and the Arizona State Environmental Technical Training (ASETT) Center, but ADEQ's current list is different.

That last phrase is the one that matters today. ADEQ's backflow prevention page lists four approved certifying authorities:

• The California-Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association (CA-NV Section AWWA)
• The American Backflow Prevention Association (ABPA)
• The American Society of Sanitary Engineering, affiliated with the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (ASSE, affiliated with IAPMO)
• All American Backflow Prevention (AABP)

ADEQ says these organizations offer certification examinations for general backflow testers and for cross-connection control program specialists. ASETT, which the rule text still names, is not on the current list. ADEQ can change the list, so check azdeq.gov/BackflowPrevention before you rely on a certificate from any group.

A few points about how the pieces fit:

• Certification and permission to work in your city are two different things. Phoenix, for example, keeps its own approved company list. See who can test backflow assemblies in Arizona for the city-by-city rules.
• The rule also covers water system staff. People who run a backflow program for a large water system have to be licensed as a cross-connection control program specialist. That is a separate credential from a field tester's.
• A tester certificate is not a contractor license. Phoenix asks a test company for a Registrar of Contractors license only if it will do work that needs a permit. A company that will only test can submit a signed letter saying so instead.

Most tester exams have two parts: a closed-book written test and a hands-on performance test. The clearest public description comes from the American Backflow Prevention Association (ABPA), whose tester handbook is posted online. We use it here as a worked example. Other certifying bodies build their own exams, so details such as question counts and time limits will differ.

### What does the written exam cover?

The ABPA handbook says the written exam is multiple choice and closed book. It draws 100 questions from a bank of about 400, and a score of 70 percent or higher is required to pass. Applicants get three hours. The handbook says the exam is based on a list it calls the Need-to-Know Criteria, and that sections with more critical, more frequent tasks get more questions.

The Need-to-Know outline has six parts. They are:

1. 1Introduction, including local backflow cases and incidents.
2. 2Hydraulic and backflow principles. Pressure types (atmospheric, absolute, negative, gauge, static), the venturi and aspirator effects, backpressure versus backsiphonage, and the difference between a pollutant and a contaminant.
3. 3Theory of backflow and cross-connections. How water behaves in piping, how backflow happens, and the types of cross-connections and degrees of hazard.
4. 4Codes and regulations. Federal, state, local and adopted plumbing codes that govern a cross-connection control program.
5. 5Responsibilities in a program. What the water supplier, health authority, plumbing inspector, tester or contractor, and consumer each do.
6. 6Mechanical equipment. How each device type works, its parts, where it is used, installation rules, the field test procedure, and how to report the results.

The equipment section names the air gap, atmospheric vacuum breaker, pressure vacuum breaker (PVB), spill-resistant pressure vacuum breaker (SVB), double check valve assembly (DC) and reduced pressure principle assembly (RP), plus the detector versions of the DC and RP. It also lists the groups that approve devices, including the USC Foundation, ASSE, IAPMO, CSA, AWWA and UL/FM.

### What does the hands-on exam cover?

The performance exam is closed book too. The handbook says the applicant must show the field test procedure on an RP, a DC, a PVB and an SVB, and be able to tell a working assembly from a broken one. Faults the handbook lists include:

• a failing first or second check valve
• a malfunctioning relief valve on an RP
• a leaking shutoff valve
• a malfunctioning air inlet on a PVB or SVB

A proctor who is not the applicant's own instructor runs the performance exam. Passing both parts earns a certificate. The ABPA certificate lasts three years, and renewal means taking a written and a performance exam again.

The handbook is also clear about who decides what counts. ABPA describes its program as voluntary and says it is up to the local authority to recognize a certificate in its area. That is why a tester's certificate and your water provider's rules both matter.

### What is not on the exam?

Two things owners often assume are there are not. The exam does not test whether your building needs an assembly. That decision belongs to your water provider, and cross-connection survey vs backflow test explains how it works. And the exam is not a plumbing license test. It is about testing and diagnosing backflow assemblies.

Testers train in theory and in hands-on field testing, and they work from the USC Foundation's Manual of Cross-Connection Control. ABPA's handbook says applicants should have completed a course of instruction, or have prior experience, or a suitable mix of both. Its stated training area is theory, design and field testing of backflow assemblies.

The manual matters to owners for a reason beyond the exam. Arizona law points to it by name:

• State rule. R18-4-215 says testing must follow the procedures in Section 9 of the Manual of Cross-Connection Control. It also sets the minimum protection levels by reference to Section 7.2 of the Ninth Edition, dated December 1993.
• Phoenix. The city's code requires testing under Section 9 of the same Ninth Edition manual, and Phoenix requires a certified tester for assembly tests.
• ABPA. The handbook says its exam uses the field test procedures from the USC Foundation's Tenth Edition.

Notice the editions do not match on paper. The state and Phoenix cite the Ninth Edition and ABPA tests on the Tenth. We did not find anything that resolves that difference, so treat it as a reason to hire someone who tests in your city every week and knows what your city's form expects. Arizona's rule also says an assembly with test cocks needs a certificate of approval from the Foundation or from an approved third-party certifier.

Ask for the certificate number and test kit serial number, then confirm the company is on your water provider's list. Phoenix's own test report form has a place for both numbers, so a working tester has them ready. The form also carries the line THIS REPORT IS CERTIFIED TO BE TRUE above the tester's information.

Here is a short routine:

1. 1Ask for the certificate number and its expiration date. Write them down. The state rule says water systems keep the tester's name and certificate number in each assembly's records, so the number should match what your provider has.
2. 2Check your water provider's list. In Phoenix, the city publishes an Approved Backflow Tester Company List. The copy we reviewed was dated August 11, 2026. Check the newest version before you hire.
3. 3Ask for the test kit's latest calibration. Phoenix requires test kit calibrations when a company applies to be listed.
4. 4Ask about repair credentials. Phoenix also asks listed companies for a repairer certificate. If your assembly might need work, ask about it up front.
5. 5Fire system? Ask about the fire permit. Phoenix says the annual flow and valve tests on Class 1 or 2 fire systems must be done by a tester the city Fire Marshal permits for that work.
6. 6Confirm who files the report and when. Get your own copy, and see where to send backflow test reports in Phoenix.

Once you have the report in hand, how to hire a backflow tester and what is on the report walks through the form box by box. For the yearly schedule itself, see how often a commercial backflow preventer needs testing in Arizona.

One thing to keep straight. A certificate shows a tester passed an exam at some point. It does not show that today's test was done right. That is why the report, the calibration and the provider's list all count.

Call a certified tester for the test itself. The state rule requires one. Call a licensed plumber when the plumbing around the assembly needs attention, such as a leaking supply line, a damaged pipe, or an assembly that is hard to reach or test.

HQ Plumbing & Air is licensed and insured and offers free estimates and upfront pricing. We handle plumbing repairs around a backflow assembly, and we offer 24/7 emergency service if water is spraying or a line has failed. If your assembly failed its test, what to do after a failed backflow test lays out the steps. For commercial plumbing help more broadly, see our commercial plumbing services.