Backflow Base / Tester certification / Iowa
Backflow tester certification in Iowa.
Iowa Code 135K and IAC 481-476 require anyone who tests or repairs a backflow assembly to be a DIAL-registered tester. The rule moved from the Public Health Department (641 IAC 26) to DIAL in 2025.
Last updated .
Who certifies
Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL)
515-381-7397
The state issues the certificate testers need.
What it takes
- Credential
- DIAL Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester registration
- Training
- DIAL-approved training course of at least 32 hours, finished within 12 months before applying. Not needed if you hold a current third-party certification.
- Exam
- Course ends with a written exam (100+ questions, 70 percent to pass) and a practical exam. Approved third-party certification (ABPA, ASSE or another agency DIAL approves) can be used instead.
- Renewal
- Registration lasts two years. Renew with at least 5 hours of approved continuing education in the period, or proof of current certification. Renewal opens 60 days before expiry; late fee $10 a month up to $50. Lapsed over 24 months needs a new 32-hour course within 12 months, or certification, or a comparable out-of-state registration.
- Test kit
- Use a differential pressure gauge verified at least every 13 months, traceable to NIST. A gauge off by more than 0.2 psi cannot be used. Keep the prior verification with each test record.
- Fees
- $72 for application or renewal.
Certificates from elsewhere
- ABPA: accepted once you apply, no new exam. Current ABPA certification can be used in place of the 32-hour course; you still register with DIAL and pay $72.
- ASSE 5110: accepted once you apply, no new exam. Rule names ASSE International certification; same paperwork route. The rule does not cite the 5110 number.
- other: accepted once you apply, no new exam. Any third-party agency approved by DIAL. Agencies must renew certification at least every 5 years.
No other state's certificate is named as valid here. Ask the program before you rely on one.
Where to get certified
- Kirkwood Community CollegeCedar Rapids, IA · course · in person. DIAL-approved 32-hour and 5-hour courses.
- Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 33 JATCDes Moines, IA · course · in person. DIAL-approved 32-hour and 5-hour courses.
- Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 125 JATCCedar Rapids, IA · course · in person. DIAL-approved 32-hour and 5-hour courses.
- The CEU AuthorityClive, IA · course. 32-hour and 5-hour courses, including a webinar option per DIAL.
- Total Backflow ResourcesSalix, IA · course. DIAL-approved 32-hour and 5-hour courses.
- PHCC (Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors)West Des Moines, IA · course · in person. DIAL-approved 32-hour and 5-hour courses.
Listed for convenience, not endorsed. Check that a course is on the state's approved list before you pay.
Free exam prep → Study questions, practice exams, device tests.
Test procedures for every assembly → The steps we recommend for the field exam.
Filing test reports
No statewide report form. Testers complete the local authority's form if its ordinance requires one and keep records for five years. Cedar Rapids and Ankeny use BSI.
Portals in use: BSI Online
Largest water systems
Des Moines Water Works
- Contact
- 515-283-8775
- Reports
- Backflow Test Form (PDF) on the page; no portal described.
- Testers
- Works with listed testers and testing companies that follow DMWW rules; the tester list PDF could not be read.
Iowa American Water (Davenport)
Cedar Rapids Water Department
- Contact
- 319-286-5932 · backflow@cedar-rapids.org
- Reports
- Enter test results online through Backflow Solutions, Inc. at bsionline.com.
Sioux City Water Supply
- Reports
- Backflow Test Report Form to the Underground Utilities Division, electronically or by mail (405 6th St, PO Box 447, Sioux City, IA 51102). Liquor-licensed properties send to Inspections. Annual testing of every testable device.
City of Ankeny Water
- Contact
- 515-963-3565 · customerservice@ankenyiowa.gov
- Reports
- Reports go to Backflow Solutions, Inc. (BSI): bsionline@backflow.com, phone 800-414-4990, fax 888-414-4990. Only a certified technician can submit. Irrigation assemblies tested by May 31 each year.
- Testers
- Only reduced-pressure principle assemblies meet Ankeny requirements. No city tester registration; points to the state tester database.
Sources
- IAC 481-476 Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester Registration
- Iowa Code chapter 135K
- DIAL Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester registration
- Des Moines Water Works backflow
- Cedar Rapids backflow
- Sioux City backflow
- Ankeny backflow
Checked 2026-10-19 against each state's own program pages and rules. Rules change; confirm with the program before you book an exam or a test. Spot something out of date? hello@backflowbase.com.
The software
- Bookings from a booking page, your own website, and an AI receptionist on your phone.
- Schedule board and route for each tester.
- Field app that scores every test, even with no signal.
- Test reports sent to the water system that serves each address.
- Card payments to your own Stripe account, and yearly renewals that charge after the test.
- Client portal for HOAs, property managers and contractors.
- $50/month flat: no per-test fee, no cut of payments.
- Every feature →What the app does, part by part.
- Compare →Next to other backflow and field-service software.
- Start free →No card. $50/month or $500/year once you go live, 45 days free.
- Free exam prep →Study questions, practice exams, device tests, a VR wet lab.