diff --git a/backend/cmd/debug_user/main.go b/backend/cmd/debug_user/main.go
index 5f801e0..7842079 100644
--- a/backend/cmd/debug_user/main.go
+++ b/backend/cmd/debug_user/main.go
@@ -17,20 +17,12 @@ func main() {
 		log.Println("Warning: Error loading .env file, relying on system env")
 	}
 
-	host := os.Getenv("DB_HOST")
-	if host == "" {
-		// Fallback for debugging if env not picked up
-		host = "localhost"
+	dbURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
+	if dbURL == "" {
+		log.Fatal("DATABASE_URL environment variable not set")
 	}
-	port := os.Getenv("DB_PORT")
-	user := os.Getenv("DB_USER")
-	password := os.Getenv("DB_PASSWORD")
-	dbname := os.Getenv("DB_NAME")
 
-	connStr := fmt.Sprintf("host=%s port=%s user=%s password=%s dbname=%s sslmode=disable",
-		host, port, user, password, dbname)
-
-	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", connStr)
+	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", dbURL)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/backend/cmd/fixhash/main.go b/backend/cmd/fixhash/main.go
index 7ad40c0..e47b399 100644
--- a/backend/cmd/fixhash/main.go
+++ b/backend/cmd/fixhash/main.go
@@ -3,13 +3,20 @@ package main
 import (
 	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"os"
 
 	_ "github.com/lib/pq"
 	"golang.org/x/crypto/bcrypt"
 )
 
 func main() {
-	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", "postgres://yuki:xl1zfmr6e9bb@db-60059.dc-sp-1.absamcloud.com:26868/gohorsejobs_dev?sslmode=require")
+	dbURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
+	if dbURL == "" {
+		log.Fatal("DATABASE_URL environment variable not set")
+	}
+
+	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", dbURL)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Println("❌ Connection error:", err)
 		return
diff --git a/backend/cmd/inspect_schema/main.go b/backend/cmd/inspect_schema/main.go
index 6a8cba5..90f9535 100644
--- a/backend/cmd/inspect_schema/main.go
+++ b/backend/cmd/inspect_schema/main.go
@@ -14,18 +14,7 @@ func main() {
 	godotenv.Load(".env")
 	dbURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
 	if dbURL == "" {
-		// Fallback
-		host := os.Getenv("DB_HOST")
-		port := os.Getenv("DB_PORT")
-		user := os.Getenv("DB_USER")
-		pass := os.Getenv("DB_PASSWORD")
-		name := os.Getenv("DB_NAME")
-		ssl := os.Getenv("DB_SSLMODE")
-		if host != "" {
-			dbURL = fmt.Sprintf("postgres://%s:%s@%s:%s/%s?sslmode=%s", user, pass, host, port, name, ssl)
-		} else {
-			log.Fatal("DB URL not found")
-		}
+		log.Fatal("DATABASE_URL environment variable not set")
 	}
 
 	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", dbURL)
diff --git a/backend/cmd/manual_migrate/main.go b/backend/cmd/manual_migrate/main.go
index eafa9bf..c53e08a 100644
--- a/backend/cmd/manual_migrate/main.go
+++ b/backend/cmd/manual_migrate/main.go
@@ -24,18 +24,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	dbURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
 	if dbURL == "" {
-		host := os.Getenv("DB_HOST")
-		port := os.Getenv("DB_PORT")
-		user := os.Getenv("DB_USER")
-		pass := os.Getenv("DB_PASSWORD")
-		name := os.Getenv("DB_NAME")
-		ssl := os.Getenv("DB_SSLMODE")
-		if host != "" {
-			dbURL = fmt.Sprintf("postgres://%s:%s@%s:%s/%s?sslmode=%s", user, pass, host, port, name, ssl)
-		} else {
-			// Last resort
-			dbURL = "postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/gohorsejobs?sslmode=disable"
-		}
+		log.Fatal("DATABASE_URL environment variable not set")
 	}
 
 	db, err := sql.Open("postgres", dbURL)
diff --git a/backend/internal/database/database.go b/backend/internal/database/database.go
index 2fce50b..f01c98f 100755
--- a/backend/internal/database/database.go
+++ b/backend/internal/database/database.go
@@ -40,44 +40,12 @@ func InitDB() {
 }
 
 func BuildConnectionString() (string, error) {
-	// Prefer DATABASE_URL if set (standard format)
 	if dbURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL"); dbURL != "" {
 		log.Println("Using DATABASE_URL for connection")
 		return dbURL, nil
 	}
 
-	// Fallback to individual params for backward compatibility
-	host := os.Getenv("DB_HOST")
-	if host == "" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("DATABASE_URL or DB_HOST environment variable not set")
-	}
-	user := os.Getenv("DB_USER")
-	if user == "" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("DB_USER environment variable not set")
-	}
-	password := os.Getenv("DB_PASSWORD")
-	if password == "" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("DB_PASSWORD environment variable not set")
-	}
-	dbname := os.Getenv("DB_NAME")
-	if dbname == "" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("DB_NAME environment variable not set")
-	}
-	port := os.Getenv("DB_PORT")
-	if port == "" {
-		port = "5432"
-	}
-
-	sslmode := os.Getenv("DB_SSLMODE")
-	if sslmode == "" {
-		sslmode = "require" // Default to require for production security
-	}
-
-	connStr := fmt.Sprintf("host=%s port=%s user=%s password=%s dbname=%s sslmode=%s",
-		host, port, user, password, dbname, sslmode)
-	log.Println("Using individual DB_* params for connection")
-	return connStr, nil
-
+	return "", fmt.Errorf("DATABASE_URL environment variable not set")
 }
 
 func RunMigrations() {
diff --git a/backend/internal/database/database_test.go b/backend/internal/database/database_test.go
index 5c96214..032174b 100644
--- a/backend/internal/database/database_test.go
+++ b/backend/internal/database/database_test.go
@@ -12,21 +12,9 @@ import (
 func TestBuildConnectionString(t *testing.T) {
 	// Backup env vars
 	oldURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
-	oldHost := os.Getenv("DB_HOST")
-	oldUser := os.Getenv("DB_USER")
-	oldPass := os.Getenv("DB_PASSWORD")
-	oldName := os.Getenv("DB_NAME")
-	oldPort := os.Getenv("DB_PORT")
-	oldSSL := os.Getenv("DB_SSLMODE")
 
 	defer func() {
 		os.Setenv("DATABASE_URL", oldURL)
-		os.Setenv("DB_HOST", oldHost)
-		os.Setenv("DB_USER", oldUser)
-		os.Setenv("DB_PASSWORD", oldPass)
-		os.Setenv("DB_NAME", oldName)
-		os.Setenv("DB_PORT", oldPort)
-		os.Setenv("DB_SSLMODE", oldSSL)
 	}()
 
 	// Case 1: DATABASE_URL
@@ -39,29 +27,11 @@ func TestBuildConnectionString(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("Mismatch URL")
 	}
 
-	// Case 2: Individual Params
+	// Case 2: Missing DATABASE_URL
 	os.Unsetenv("DATABASE_URL")
-	os.Setenv("DB_HOST", "localhost")
-	os.Setenv("DB_USER", "user")
-	os.Setenv("DB_PASSWORD", "pass")
-	os.Setenv("DB_NAME", "mydb")
-	os.Setenv("DB_PORT", "5432")
-	os.Setenv("DB_SSLMODE", "disable")
-
-	s, err = database.BuildConnectionString()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Errorf("Unexpected error: %v", err)
-	}
-	expected := "host=localhost port=5432 user=user password=pass dbname=mydb sslmode=disable"
-	if s != expected {
-		t.Errorf("Expected %s, got %s", expected, s)
-	}
-
-	// Case 3: Missing Param
-	os.Unsetenv("DB_HOST")
 	_, err = database.BuildConnectionString()
 	if err == nil {
-		t.Error("Expected error for missing host")
+		t.Error("Expected error for missing DATABASE_URL")
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/e2e/e2e_test.go b/backend/tests/e2e/e2e_test.go
index 133934e..3c7ec6d 100644
--- a/backend/tests/e2e/e2e_test.go
+++ b/backend/tests/e2e/e2e_test.go
@@ -44,23 +44,8 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 func setTestEnv() {
 	// Only set if not already set (allows override via .env file)
 	// These are defaults for when running tests without sourcing .env
-	if os.Getenv("DB_HOST") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_HOST", "db-60059.dc-sp-1.absamcloud.com")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_USER") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_USER", "yuki")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_PASSWORD") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_PASSWORD", "xl1zfmr6e9bb")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_NAME") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_NAME", "gohorsejobs_dev")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_PORT") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_PORT", "26868")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_SSLMODE") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_SSLMODE", "require")
+	if os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL") == "" {
+		os.Setenv("DATABASE_URL", "postgres://yuki:xl1zfmr6e9bb@db-60059.dc-sp-1.absamcloud.com:26868/gohorsejobs_dev?sslmode=require")
 	}
 	if os.Getenv("JWT_SECRET") == "" {
 		os.Setenv("JWT_SECRET", "gohorse-super-secret-key-2024-production")
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/setup_test.go b/backend/tests/integration/setup_test.go
index 17f6da0..7d7b415 100644
--- a/backend/tests/integration/setup_test.go
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/setup_test.go
@@ -31,23 +31,8 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 }
 
 func setTestEnv() {
-	if os.Getenv("DB_HOST") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_HOST", "db-60059.dc-sp-1.absamcloud.com")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_USER") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_USER", "yuki")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_PASSWORD") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_PASSWORD", "xl1zfmr6e9bb")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_NAME") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_NAME", "gohorsejobs_dev")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_PORT") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_PORT", "26868")
-	}
-	if os.Getenv("DB_SSLMODE") == "" {
-		os.Setenv("DB_SSLMODE", "require")
+	if os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL") == "" {
+		os.Setenv("DATABASE_URL", "postgres://yuki:xl1zfmr6e9bb@db-60059.dc-sp-1.absamcloud.com:26868/gohorsejobs_dev?sslmode=require")
 	}
 	if os.Getenv("JWT_SECRET") == "" {
 		os.Setenv("JWT_SECRET", "gohorse-super-secret-key-2024-production")
diff --git a/backend/tests/verify_login_test.go b/backend/tests/verify_login_test.go
index cd8b2b9..1ecb5ff 100644
--- a/backend/tests/verify_login_test.go
+++ b/backend/tests/verify_login_test.go
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ func TestVerifyLogin(t *testing.T) {
 	// Config
 	dbURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
 	if dbURL == "" {
-		dbURL = "postgres://yuki:xl1zfmr6e9bb@db-60059.dc-sp-1.absamcloud.com:26868/gohorsejobs_dev?sslmode=require"
+		t.Skip("Skipping: DATABASE_URL not set")
 	}
 	// Updated to match deployed backend .env
 	pepper := "some-random-string-for-password-hashing"
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ func TestVerifyLoginNoPepper(t *testing.T) {
 
 	dbURL := os.Getenv("DATABASE_URL")
 	if dbURL == "" {
-		dbURL = "postgres://yuki:xl1zfmr6e9bb@db-60059.dc-sp-1.absamcloud.com:26868/gohorsejobs_dev?sslmode=require"
+		t.Skip("Skipping: DATABASE_URL not set")
 	}
 	password := "Admin@2025!"