Abstract: A remote monitoring system includes an object apparatus and a monitoring apparatus monitoring a current state of the object apparatus over a communications network. The object apparatus includes a state information reporting unit reporting information about the current state of the object apparatus, and a test data generating unit generating test data and controlling the state information reporting unit to output the test data to the monitoring apparatus via the communications network. The monitoring apparatus includes a test data returning unit returning the test data back to the object apparatus via the communications network so that the test data generating unit of the object apparatus compares the returned test data with the test data generated by the test generating unit to discriminate whether the state information reporting unit is in condition for normal reporting.