Answered 24/7 · annual testing and repair
Backflow prevention, tested on installation and then every single year
The assembly is tested by a certified tester working under a licensed plumber, and the result is filed with the utility that holds your record rather than left in a drawer.
- CFC1433655Florida plumbing contractor license
- Annualon installation, then every year
Why does a backflow assembly need testing every year?
Because it is a mechanical device protecting drinking water from whatever is downstream of it, and the only way to know it still closes is to test it. Florida’s cross-connection control requirements sit in Florida Administrative Code Rule 62-555.360, administered by the Department of Environmental Protection, and assemblies are tested when they are installed and then annually.
The administration differs by county, which is the part people get caught by. Miami-Dade Water and Sewer requires every registered assembly to be tested annually by a certified tester with the result submitted through its online portal. Broward notifies customers by post 60 days and then 30 days before the annual compliance date.
Who may test is also specified. For domestic and irrigation services it is a person holding a current backflow testing certification working under a licensed plumber; fire service assemblies need fire-service qualified technicians.
When you need this
The situations that put an assembly on your property
Most people meet backflow through a letter rather than a problem.
A compliance letter arrived
In Broward those land 60 days and 30 days before the due date. The deadline is real and the test has to be done by somebody certified to do it.
You have irrigation
An irrigation system is a classic cross connection: it puts a line that sits in soil on the same supply as the drinking water, which is exactly what the assembly exists to separate.
Commercial premises of almost any kind
Annual testing is required for most commercial assemblies, and the record sits with the utility rather than with the building.
The assembly failed its test
A failed test is a repair or a replacement, not a re-test. The parts inside are rebuildable in many cases, which is worth establishing before replacing the whole device.
New construction or a change of use
The assembly is tested on installation, so it is part of getting a new service accepted rather than something that starts a year later.
Questions
Straight answers before you call
Can any plumber test my backflow assembly?
No. Testing domestic and irrigation services requires a current backflow testing certification, held by the tester and working under a licensed plumber. Fire service assemblies need fire-service qualified technicians, which is a separate qualification again.
Who do I send the result to?
The utility that holds your record. Miami-Dade Water and Sewer takes results through its online portal for every registered assembly. In Broward the notification and the process come from the water and wastewater services side, which is why the letters arrive before the date rather than after it.
What happens if it fails?
It gets repaired or replaced and then re-tested. A failed assembly is not a paperwork problem, it is a device that is no longer separating your drinking water from whatever is on the other side of it.
Do I need one for a house?
Often yes if there is irrigation, and the requirement follows the cross connection rather than the size of the building. If you have received a notice, you have a registered assembly and it is due.
Related work
What sits alongside backflow work
Usually the same visit or the same property.
Live dispatch · 24 / 7 / 365
Compliance letter with a date on it?
A person answers at any hour. The test gets done by somebody certified to do it, and the result gets filed where your utility expects it.
No obligation. Work performed under Florida plumbing contractor license CFC1433655.