Send it to the water provider on your water bill, not to the state. Phoenix takes reports at Backflow.Prevention@phoenix.gov, Scottsdale at backflowtesting@ScottsdaleAZ.gov, Mesa through its backflow portal, and EPCOR at crossconnection@epcor.com. Deadlines run from 7 to 30 days after the test, and your tester usually files it.
Where each Valley provider takes backflow test reports
Here's where the report goes, how it's filed and the deadline, provider by provider. Deadlines count from the day of the test unless the table says otherwise.
| Water provider | How the report is filed | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| City of Phoenix | Signed original emailed to Backflow.Prevention@phoenix.gov, or mailed to City of Phoenix Backflow Prevention, 438 W. Adams St., Phoenix, AZ 85003. Questions: 602-534-2140 | By the date the Planning and Development Director sets (City Code 37-143). Class 1 or 2 fire systems: results to the Director and the City Fire Marshal within 30 days of the inspection (City Code 37-144) |
| Mesa | Recognized testers upload to the city's backflow portal. Questions: backflow@mesaaz.gov, 480-644-6462 | 7 calendar days after the test, or the compliance due date if sooner (City Code 8-1-11) |
| Scottsdale | Email to backflowtesting@ScottsdaleAZ.gov on the city's test report form. Questions: 480-312-5668 | 7 days after the work (Revised Code 49-65) |
| Chandler | Chandler Water Quality runs the program; ask your tester how they file. Contact: chandlerbackflowreports@chandleraz.gov, 480-782-3665 | A passing report by your compliance date |
| Tempe | Copies of test and repair records to the city, on its forms | Test yearly on the anniversary of the first inspection; give 15 days notice before the test (City Code 33-107) |
| Glendale | Testers submit online through the city's SAMS tester portal. Questions: 623-930-4138 | By the end of the month the test is due |
| Peoria | Email to backflow@peoriaaz.gov, or mail to the Peoria Environmental Division, 19980 N. 111th Ave., Peoria, AZ 85382 | 30 days after the test |
| Surprise | Only through the SAMS Universal Tester website. Email and mail are no longer accepted | 10 working days after your renewal date |
| Goodyear | Test results, tester certification and gauge calibration proof to the Environmental Programs Division | 10 days after the test (City Code 14-11-3) |
| Queen Creek | Testers file on BSI Online using your Customer Confirmation Number, with a per-report filing fee | Each annual test |
| EPCOR (private utility) | Email to crossconnection@epcor.com or mail to its Cross Connection Control Department. Questions: 480-450-2077 | 30 days after the test |
| Arizona Water Company (private utility) | Online upload only since April 6, 2026 | 30 days after the test |
Gilbert runs its program through the Town's Backflow Prevention Department (480-503-6826). After any repair or maintenance, a recognized tester must retest the assembly right away and send the report to that department.
How to tell which provider you have
Look at the water bill, not the street address. Plenty of Valley properties carry one city's name on the mailing address while a different system delivers the water. Arizona Water Company, for example, serves Apache Junction, and EPCOR runs water districts in parts of the Valley.
If you don't have a bill handy, last year's test report will tell you. Phoenix's report form asks for the water purveyor and the water meter number in its first two boxes, so any past report names your provider. No report on file? Call the provider you think serves you and give them the service address. They can confirm whether an assembly is on record there and when its next test is due.
### Three situations that trip people up
A new or replaced assembly in Glendale. Glendale won't take the first report until the paperwork behind the install is done. Its tester policy says the Cross Connection Department "will no longer be accepting backflow reports on new or replaced backflow assemblies without a backflow permit, and inspection of the backflow and underground piping." So the order is permit, install, test, then inspection, and the report is accepted only once the permit and inspection are on file.
A first-year assembly in Queen Creek. The per-report filing fee on BSI Online doesn't apply to brand-new or previously unknown assemblies in their first year. Those reports go straight to BSI by fax, email or mail instead of through the online system.
A property with a Tempe water account. Tempe's code asks the user to give the city 15 days notice before the annual test "so that an official representative of the department may witness the tests if so desired." Build that into your scheduling, or the test date may need to move.
What the report has to show before it counts
A report that's missing information gets bounced back to the tester, and your clock keeps running. Phoenix says reports "lacking information or with inaccurate information will be returned to the tester for correction," and Glendale uses nearly the same words. Glendale's list of things that sink a report includes a wrong water meter number, a missing or incorrect serial number and a missing premise owner.
Phoenix's instructions (TRT 00335) spell out what goes on the form:
- Water purveyor and meter number. The number is stamped on the body of the meter.
- Assembly details: manufacturer, size, model and serial number.
- Where it is: the service address, the on-site location of the assembly and the business at that address.
- Type and use: RP, double check, PVB or spillproof vacuum breaker, and whether it protects a fire, landscape or potable line.
- Line pressure at the time of the test and the test readings.
- Pass or fail, with the tester's signature, printed name, certification number and test kit serial number. A failed test also lists the date of failure, the repair date and the date it passed.
Surprise adds a hard rule worth knowing anywhere: it won't count a failed test as a completed submission. A failing report tells the city you're working on it. Only a passing one closes out the year.
Keep your own copy
Ask the tester for a copy every time. Phoenix City Code 37-143 requires the customer to keep all testing records "for a minimum of three years" from the date a copy went to the city. That same folder is your proof if a notice ever shows up for a report the tester says they sent.
A good habit: when the tester leaves, confirm in writing (a text or email is fine) the date they filed the report and where they sent it. For a building with several assemblies, keep one page per serial number. If you're not sure whether a past report ever made it in, call your provider's backflow office and ask what they have on file.
For what the annual test itself involves, see commercial backflow testing requirements in Arizona. If your Phoenix report is late, what happens when you miss a Phoenix backflow test deadline covers the notice and shutoff steps. And to confirm your tester's report will be accepted at all, check who can test backflow assemblies in Arizona.
The state rule behind all of this is Arizona's backflow testing rule, and the backflow section of our code library collects the city rules.
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