San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: backflow testing rules

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission at a glance

When the test is due

Properties with a potential cross-connection, such as boilers, chemical feed equipment, dedicated irrigation, interconnected fire sprinklers or buildings four stories or taller, must install an approved assembly and test it at least once a year. Source.

How the report is filed

Testers submit results electronically through CCAMS within five business days of the test; a failed assembly that cannot be repaired the same day is entered on the day of the test. Source.

If a test is missed

Failure to test as required can lead to termination of water service, fines, or both. Source.

Approved testers

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission posts a list of testers it accepts on sf.gov. Open the list.

Notices and deadlines

• New assemblies are tested right after installation; after that, the Water Quality Division sends a notice when the annual test is due. Source.

Tester registration

• All testing must be done by an Authorized Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester permitted by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Source.

Approved testers

• The program page links a list of companies employing authorized testers, hosted on sf.gov. Source.

Program

• San Francisco's cross-connection control program comes from the city's Backflow Prevention Ordinance, adopted in 1984 and revised in 2016, and is run by the SFPUC Water Quality Division with the Department of Public Health. Source.

From notice to filed report, the steps are the same everywhere: how a backflow test goes.

Other water utilities in California

• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
• East Bay Municipal Utility District
• City of San Diego Public Utilities Department
• San Jose Water
• City of Fresno Department of Public Utilities
• Long Beach Utilities
• Burbank Water and Power
• City of Modesto Utilities

Read October 7, 2026. Program page: sfpuc.gov.

Backflow testers near San Francisco

What the badges mean

All testers near San Francisco · California roster