Backflow Base / Tester certification / Montana
Backflow tester certification in Montana.
DEQ does not issue its own tester certificate. It accepts testers holding a current backflow tester certificate from any state's program, or from ASSE or ABPA. Each water system then adds its own registration and reporting steps.
Last updated .
Who certifies
Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Public Water Supply program
406-444-2544
The state sets a minimum; a water system may ask for more.
What it takes
- Credential
- A current backflow assembly tester certificate from any state program, ASSE or ABPA.
- Training
- No Montana course requirement found. Training and exams come from the certifying body.
- Exam
- Set by the certifying body. Example: Montana Rural Water Systems' Missoula course has an ABPA written exam and an ABPA practical exam, and passing both gives ABPA tester certification.
- Renewal
- Follow the renewal rules of whichever certificate you hold. No Montana renewal step found.
- Test kit
- No statewide rule found. Billings asks for current test kit information when you register.
Certificates from elsewhere
- ABPA: accepted as it is. DEQ accepts a current ABPA certificate. Billings and Missoula use ABPA/ASSE-certified testers.
- ASSE 5110: accepted as it is. DEQ names ASSE (American Society of Sanitary Engineers) certificates; the page does not name the 5110 standard.
- other: accepted as it is. A current certificate from any state's tester certification program is also accepted by DEQ.
A current tester certificate from any state's program is accepted.
Where to get certified
- Montana Rural Water Systems (MRWS)Great Falls, MT; courses held in Missoula · course and exam · in person. Runs a multi-day backflow tester course with ABPA written and practical exams (Missoula, Jan 2025 listing). Contact cmaday@mrws.org, 406-595-3502. Check mrws.org for current dates.
- American Backflow Prevention Association (ABPA)National · exam. Administers the exams at the MRWS course and certifies passing testers. Other Montana exam dates not confirmed.
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 channel. DEQ says assemblies should be tested by a certified tester after installation, after repair, and at least yearly. Each water system sets its own reporting method.
Portals in use: SwiftComply
Largest water systems
City of Billings
- Contact
- 406-657-8305 · backflows@billingsmt.gov
- Reports
- Submit tests online through SwiftComply. Register for a SwiftComply Backflow account first; each tester or admin needs a unique email. Welcome email takes 3 to 5 business days.
- Testers
- Upload your current ABPA or ASSE certification and test kit information before any test can be submitted, and keep them current in SwiftComply.
Missoula Water
- Reports
- City page offers a Backflow Prevention Assembly Field Test and Maintenance Report form (PDF) with a tester number field. It does not say where to send it.
- Testers
- Publishes a list of certified backflow assembly testers. How to get on the list is not stated.
City of Great Falls Public Works (Water Distribution)
- Reports
- The backflow page lists where protection is required and gives no tester reporting instructions.
City of Bozeman
Butte-Silver Bow Water Department
Sources
- Montana DEQ: Cross Connection and Backflow (tester certification, ARM 17.38.301-.310)
- Montana Rural Water Systems: Backflow Prevention Assembly Testers Course, Missoula
- City of Billings: Backflow Prevention & Cross Connection Control
- Missoula Water: Backflow
- Great Falls: Backflow Prevention
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.