Backflow News
Colorado Ends Plumbing License Requirement for Backflow Testers Under New Law HB25-1077
Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 25-1077 into law on March 28, 2025, reversing a requirement that had made Colorado’s backflow testing market one of the most restrictive in the Rocky Mountain region. The new law — officially titled ‘Backflow Prevention Device Requirements’ — exempts individuals engaged in the business of inspecting, testing, or repairing backflow prevention devices from the plumbing licensure requirements that had previously been required for this work. The change comes less than a year after HB24-1344, the State Plumbing Board sunset bill, added those licensure requirements, and it represents a significant course correction following industry and water system stakeholder feedback.
What Changed and What Stayed the Same
Under previous Colorado law, anyone testing or repairing a backflow prevention device was required to hold a plumbing license — the same license required for installing and removing plumbing fixtures. HB25-1077 separates the licensing requirements by function. Inspection, testing, and repair of backflow prevention devices no longer require a plumbing license. Installation and removal of backflow prevention devices still require a licensed plumber. The exception: individuals who install or replace a backflow prevention device on a standalone fire suppression sprinkler system remain exempted from the full plumbing licensure requirement for that specific work.
For the two groups now authorized to test and repair without a full plumbing license — Certified Cross-Connection Control Technicians (CCCTs) and licensed plumbers with a cross-connection control technician certification — the bill specifies acceptable certifications. ABPA (American Backflow Prevention Association) and ASSE (American Society of Sanitary Engineering) certifications are explicitly recognized as satisfying the certified technician requirement. Denver Water confirmed in its program communications following the bill’s passage that domestic and irrigation backflow assemblies can once again be tested, inspected, and repaired by a certified tester holding either an ABPA or ASSE certification without requiring a full plumbing license. Fire assemblies at Denver Water, however, still require an additional certification from the State of Colorado as a Fire Suppression System Contractor-Backflow.
The New Tagging Requirement: Transparency from July 1, 2025
The most operationally significant new requirement in HB25-1077 is a mandatory tagging protocol effective July 1, 2025. Every backflow prevention device that is installed, tested, inspected, repaired, or reinstalled must have a service tag affixed to it after service. The tag must contain specific information about the individual who performed the work: for a licensed plumber, their plumbing license number; for a certified cross-connection control technician, their certification information and certifying agency; and the date and description of the service that was provided. Multiple services may be recorded on a single tag if all required information is clearly included.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is not responsible for enforcing the tagging requirements directly. Instead, enforcement falls to licensed professionals and public water systems, with sanitary surveys used to verify records and enforce compliance indirectly. Water systems that review assembly records during sanitary surveys or cross-connection control program audits can use the tags as primary documentation of service history.
Context: Why This Law Was Needed
The background of HB25-1077 matters for understanding why the legislature acted quickly. The prior year’s HB24-1344 had added the plumbing license requirement for backflow testing and repair as part of a broader sunset review of the State Plumbing Board. The practical effect of that requirement was to significantly restrict who could legally test backflow devices in Colorado — a state with thousands of commercial, institutional, and irrigation backflow assemblies requiring annual attention. Certified cross-connection control technicians who had been doing this work lawfully under the previous rules found themselves suddenly required to hold a plumbing license they had never needed before. Water systems reported difficulty finding enough licensed testers to meet compliance demands.
HB25-1077 corrected this by restoring certified technicians to their previous authorized status for testing and repair, while maintaining the plumbing license requirement where it makes more sense — for the installation and removal of devices, which involves permanent plumbing system modifications rather than the functional testing work that certified technicians are specifically trained to perform.
What Colorado Property Owners Should Know
If you own commercial or residential property in Colorado with backflow prevention assemblies, HB25-1077 means your pool of authorized testers is once again broader than it was in the brief window following HB24-1344. Certified cross-connection control technicians holding ABPA or ASSE certifications are authorized to test your assemblies. Your tester must also affix a compliant service tag documenting the service date, their certification information, and the work performed. Denver Water charges a $250 penalty after three mailed notification letters have gone unanswered and a service goes into suspension status — so if you receive compliance notices, respond promptly.
Colorado Testers: ABPA and ASSE Credentials Reinstated Under HB25-1077
Certified Cross-Connection Control Technicians holding ABPA or ASSE certification are once again authorized to test and repair (not install) backflow prevention devices in Colorado without a plumbing license. The mandatory service tag requirement applies to all services performed on or after July 1, 2025. Confirm fire assembly work requirements with the specific water system — Denver Water requires a Fire Suppression System Contractor-Backflow certification for fire line work regardless of HB25-1077.
Source: Colorado General Assembly — HB25-1077 enrolled bill text (March 28, 2025); CDPHE — Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control program page; Denver Water — Cross-Connection Control Program (2025); Cherry Creek Valley Water & Sanitation District — HB25-1077 update; Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations — Plumbing News. Published at getyourbackflowtested.com/backflow-news