Training and Certification

What are the CANS certification requirements?

Providers who are required to use CANS must be CANS-certified. To become 
certified, providers must complete an online training program and pass an online 
CANS certification examination. Massachusetts CANS (MassCANS) certification 
can be used for both the Massachusetts CANS “Birth through Four” and CANS 
“Five through Twenty.” To register to access the online training, go to the 
MassCANS training website, at https://masscans.ehs.state.ma.us.

How do I get trained and certified to use CANS?

The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) provides free online 
CANS training and certification through the UMMS CANS Training Program. To 
register to access the online training, go to the Massachusetts CANS training 
website at https://masscans.ehs.state.ma.us. You may visit this site to take the 
online training program, to complete the certification exam, and to access 
additional training modules, such as the module for the Birth through Four 
version of CANS.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available at a modest cost the first time 
you take CANS training. Instructions for applying for CEUs are provided upon 
completion of training. 
  
To access the MassCANS training website, you must register and create a 
personal username and password. Once you register, you will need to use your 
username and password to gain access to the MassCANS training website.  
Please note: The MassCANS website is not the same as the Virtual Gateway 
and requires a distinct and separate login username and password.

If I am already CANS-certified elsewhere, do I need to take a training and 
certification exam? 

Even if you have been previously certified in the CANS tool, you will still need 
to be certified in the Massachusetts version available on the MassCANS Training 
website. You are not required to complete a MassCANS training course but are 
welcome to review the online training as a refresher before taking the online 
MassCANS certification exam. You can also contact the UMMS CANS Training 
Program with questions related to the MassCANS certification examination. 

How do I get recertified to use CANS?

MassCANS certification is valid for 24 months from the date of original 
certification through the MassCANS Training website. Six weeks before your 
certification expiration date, you will receive an e-mail notification that your 
MassCANS certification is about to expire. After you have received this 
notification, you are eligible to take the certification exam to become 
recertified in Massachusetts. To do so, you may log on to the MassCANS Training 
website (https://masscans.ehs.state.ma.us) using your personal username and 
password and access the certification exam to recertify. In 2010, the 
certification exam was revised to an item-level test. This format provides a 
more accurate assessment of your understanding of the tool. Please note that you 
are welcome to access the online training as a refresher before accessing the 
online MassCANS certification exam.  

As a clinical director, how do I determine whether a behavioral-health 
provider has current CANS certification?

Upon successful completion of the CANS certification exam, a certified assessor 
will receive an e-mail from the UMMS CANS Training Program, which verifies 
certification and provides a unique certification key. The certification key 
consists of 36 characters that contain both letters and numbers. This system-
generated e-mail is confirmation that a provider is MassCANS certified. The 
provider is responsible for keeping a record of the certification notice and 
providing it to the employer. 
  
A certified assessor can log into the CANS training website at any time, and 
select “Edit my Information” on the right navigation menu to print their 
certification information. This screen also indicates the expiration date of a 
certified assessor’s CANS certification.   

Additional information about the development and use of the CANS in 
other states

Visit the Praed Foundation website at www.praedfoundation.org for the most 
comprehensive description of the history and development of the CANS 
approach.

A bibliography of published papers on the CANS is also available at the website 
of the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI) at 
www.mass.gov/masshealth/cbhi. Go to Information for Providers, then to CANS 
tools.

Where can I get more information about CANS training?

For more information on training, please contact the UMMS CANS Training 
Program by calling 1-508-856-1016 or e-mailing Mass.Cans@umassmed.edu.

Updated on 8-27-12