Backflow test glossary

Assembly

An assembly is the device the notice is about, the one that is supposed to keep used water out of the drinking supply. The checklist stores a count of assemblies, not a list of model numbers. If the notice names two, you type 2. We do not identify the device from a photograph.

The count is not the number of rooms. A building can have one assembly or several. Only the notice, or the supplier who wrote it, can tell you which number they meant.

Tester and certificate

The tester is the person the water supplier accepts to do the test and to file the report. We are not that person. A certificate, on these pages, means the passed report that tester files with the supplier. Our PDF is not that certificate. Backflow test certificate is the question list for the phone call.

Filing means the tester sends that report to the agency you were told to name. Ask whether the price you were quoted includes the filing, and ask which agency receives the paper. Paying us does not file anything.

Fire line

A fire line, on this site, means an assembly you or the notice connect to a fire sprinkler line. We do not decide that yours is one. The checklist asks you to choose yes, no, or I do not know yet. Yes and I do not know yet print an instruction to ask the supplier which license they accept. No prints no such line.

The longer page is fire line backflow test. It cites no rule number and no fee. A price copied from an ordinary plumber page is not a fire-line price.

Checklist, reminder, and label

The checklist is the PDF. It prints the answers you typed, three questions, the fire-line instruction when you did not choose No, and a sentence that we do not test and do not file. The lines are fixed. What the PDF lists quotes them. Annual, on this site, means the date you typed because the notice asked for a test about a year out. We do not measure the year for you.

A reminder is an email 30 days, 7 days, and 1 day before the date you typed, and only on a plan that includes reminders. The label is the optional short name, such as Kitchen, that appears in the reminder subject. An empty label becomes Primary. The account page does not edit either one. Write support@backflowtestlog.com from the address you paid with.

Price, on these pages, means one of five amounts: $19 once, $39/year, $299, $149/year, or $999. A tester’s bill is a different price, set by the tester. The three plumber ranges on the home page were read on 2026-11-13 and are not copied into the glossary as a quote you can hand someone. If a word you need is not in this list, it is not a word we defined, and the notice is still the source. Support means the inbox support@backflowtestlog.com. It is how you ask for a resend, a date change, or a refund that the refund page allows. It is not a phone, and it is not the water supplier. The contact page repeats that address.

Water supplier and notice

A water supplier, on these pages, is the organization that sent the notice and keeps the record of the test. It may be a city, a district, a private utility, or another operator. The checklist stores the name as you typed it. We do not verify the name, look it up, or decide which office receives a report. The supplier named on the notice is the one to call.

A notice is the letter, bill insert, email, or portal message that asked for the test. The due date is the day that notice gives you. If it gives a month and not a day, the day is unknown until the supplier says it. We do not calculate a due date, extend one, or waive a fee. Water supplier notice is the copying order for the four facts.

Report, record, and filing

A report, on these pages, is what the tester sends to the supplier after a test. A record is the supplier’s copy of that report. Filing means sending the report to the agency named on the notice. Ask whether the quoted price includes filing, and ask which agency receives it. We do not file, and our PDF is not a report.

A certificate is the passed report as the customer experiences it: a document that says the assembly passed. It belongs to the tester and the supplier, not to us. A permit is a different thing from a certificate, and this site does not issue, renew, or interpret one. If a clerk asks for a word we have not defined, use the clerk’s word.

Test and retest

A test is the tester’s work on the assembly, using the gauge and the procedure their license allows. A retest is a second test after a repair or a failed result. The first test and the retest can be billed separately, and the person who may do one is not always the person who may do the other. We do not perform either.

A failure is a result the tester observed, not a judgment this site makes. We do not tell you that a failure is minor or serious, and we do not quote a repair. The questions to ask before a visit are on failed backflow test. The questions to ask about filing are on backflow test certificate.

Backflow and cross-connection

Backflow, in ordinary language, is water moving in the direction it was not meant to move. A cross-connection is a link where used water could reach the drinking supply. An assembly is the device meant to stop that. These are plain descriptions, not code definitions. A code may define the same words more narrowly, and the code wins in a legal or trade context.

We do not inspect a cross-connection, identify an assembly from a photograph, or decide whether a device is the right type for a property. Those are the tester’s work, done on site. Our free pages explain the words so a first-time buyer can follow a phone call; they do not replace the inspection.

Domestic, irrigation, and fire line

Domestic, on this site, means water used for drinking, cooking, washing, or ordinary building use. Irrigation means water used for landscaping. Fire line means an assembly connected to a fire sprinkler or suppression system. These are reading aids, not license categories, and we do not decide which one your device is.

A fire-line assembly may need a different license than a domestic one. We do not name that license or cite a rule number. The instruction is to ask the water supplier which license they accept, before you hire anyone. Fire line backflow test explains why a domestic-water price should not be treated as a fire-line price.

Plan, order, and date

A plan is one of the five purchases on the pricing page: $19 once, $39/year, $299 lifetime, $149/year for up to five locations, or $999 lifetime for up to five locations. An order is the record of one payment, with one email, one count, one supplier, one fire-line answer, one date, and one optional label.

The date on the order is the next date you typed from the notice. A yearly renewal moves it forward one year; a repeat notice for the same renewal does not stack a second year. The account page shows the signed-in email but does not edit the date. Support changes are made from the address you paid with.

Reminder, label, and support

A reminder is an email 30 days, 7 days, and 1 day before the date on the order, and only on a plan that includes reminders. The label is the optional short name, such as Kitchen or Building B, that appears in the subject. An empty label becomes Primary. A one-click link stops future reminder emails for that order.

Support means the inbox support@backflowtestlog.com. It handles a missing file, a date change, a cancellation, and an eligible refund. It is not a phone line, not the water supplier, and not a contractor referral. A request goes faster when it comes from the address used at checkout and names the purchase date.

Lead, quote, and referral

A lead, on this site, means a buyer’s contact details passed to a contractor. We do not create leads, sell them, or accept payment for one. A quote is a price a tester or a contractor gives you for their own work. We do not give quotes for testing, repair, filing, or a fire-line job.

A referral is a recommendation to hire a particular business. We do not rank, refer, or dispatch contractors, and a link to a public source on this site is not an endorsement. The only prices we state are the five amounts for our own digital plans, and the only external ranges are copies of named pages with a read date.

Gauge, reading, and pass

A gauge is the instrument a tester uses to measure pressure during a test. A reading is what the gauge shows at a particular step. A pass is the tester’s conclusion that the assembly held as required. We do not supply a gauge, read one, or interpret a number. Those words appear here only so a reader can follow a tester’s explanation.

A pass is not the same as a certificate, and a certificate is not the same as a filing. The tester passes or fails the assembly, writes the result, and sends the report. The supplier keeps the record. Each step is a different person’s work, and our file is none of them. If a tester uses the word pass loosely on the phone, ask them to say what document will exist afterward and who will receive it.

Owner, manager, and tenant

An owner is the person or business responsible for the property and the account. A manager is someone who acts for the owner and may be the person who receives the notice. A tenant is someone who occupies the property but may not control the water account. These roles matter because the order belongs to the person who paid and the filing belongs to the account holder.

If you are a tenant, ask the owner or manager who is responsible for the test before you buy anything. A checklist can help you ask better questions, but it does not transfer responsibility for a filing. If you are a manager, keep the owner’s account name with the notice, because the supplier’s record and your file should name the same organization.

Compliance, violation, and fine

Compliance means the property meets whatever the supplier requires. A violation is the supplier’s finding that it does not. A fine is money an agency charges. We do not determine compliance, declare a violation, or calculate a fine. We are not an agency and we do not have your account record.

These words are included so a reader can tell when a page is describing a legal outcome rather than a product feature. Our PDF does not make a property compliant. It does not clear a violation. It does not pay a fine. If a sentence on this site ever suggests otherwise, it is an error, and support should be told so the page can be corrected.