Choosing a backflow tester in BC

In BC a tester must hold a backflow assembly tester certification; Burnaby's Plumbing Bylaw, for example, requires results to be reported only by a person certified by the BC Water and Waste Association or another certifying body the Plumbing Inspector approves (s.13(7)). Some authorities add their own conditions:

• The Township of Langley: the tester needs a Township business licence or the Engineer's approval.
• The City of White Rock: both a BSI registration and a White Rock business licence.
• The City of Richmond: a Richmond business licence to buy fee-paid decals.
• The City of Pitt Meadows: a copy of the tester's certificate with every filing.
• The City of Chilliwack: a copy of the tester's certificate with every filing.
• The City of Nanaimo: a 16-company voluntary tester list published by the City.
• The City of Castlegar: a nine-company tester list, with no condition on how you file.
• The Regional District of North Okanagan: a tester list that only includes companies filing exclusively through FAST.

Worth asking before you book

• Are you certified, and licensed in this municipality where it requires it?
• Will you file the report with the authority, and send me a copy and the confirmation?
• Is your test gauge in calibration, and can you show the certificate?
• If the device fails, what does a repair and retest cost, and how quickly can you do it?

Every city's deadline

Quoted from each authority's own bylaw or form:

Abbotsford · Burnaby · Capital Regional District · Castlegar · Chilliwack · Clearbrook Waterworks District · Coquitlam · Duncan · Enderby · Fort St. John · Kamloops · Kelowna · Mission · New Westminster · Parksville · Penticton · Pitt Meadows · Port Moody · Prince George · Regional District of Nanaimo · Regional District of North Okanagan · Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen · Salmon Arm · Sunshine Coast Regional District · Terrace · Township of Langley · UBC · University Endowment Lands · Vancouver · West Kelowna · Whistler · White Rock · Williams Lake

More guides

• What a backflow test is, and who has to have one
• What a backflow test costs in BC
• Backflow fines and penalties in BC
• Choosing a backflow tester in BC
• Backflow duties for strata councils and property managers
• My backflow test failed — what happens now
• Backflow reports: portal or email, authority by authority
• Backflow records to keep, and for how long