ACO Resources

Training Requirements

Massachusetts Animal Fund Animal Control Officer Training Institute Program

All ACOs are required to complete 30 education credits (ECs) in their first training year. The Massachusetts Animal Fund Animal Control Institute's Core Competencies Training is mandatory for all ACOs and worth 16 ECs. Registration for the 2021 Core Competencies Training is open!

2021 Mass Animal Fund Core Competencies \| Chelmsford	9AM- 5PM 9/27/21 & 9/28/21 at Chelmsford Police Station	FREE	16	Click here to register
2021 Mass Animal Fund Core Competencies \| Northampton	9AM-5PM 10/4/21 &10/5/21 at Northampton Police Station	FREE	16	Click here to register
2021 Mass Animal Fund Core Competencies \| Wareham	9AM-5PM 10/18/21 &10/19/21 at Onset Bay Center	FREE	16	Click here to register

All animal control officers are eligible for exemption from the remaining fourteen (14) credit hours of continuing education in the first year if they completed a comprehensive course with the Animal Control Officers Association of Massachusetts (ACOAM), the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA), or the New England Animal Control/Humane Academy (NEACHA).

After completing the year one training cycle, Core Training plus an additional 14 ECs, ACOs are required to take eight credit hours of approved continuing education through any combination of in-person or online trainings offered by or approved by the Massachusetts Animal Fund during each calendar year.

Upon completion of any continuing education course, ACOs must submit a certificate of completion and/or a Request for CE Form or the Request for Multiple CEU Form.

If no certificate is available, fill out the Request for CE Form.https://www.mass.gov/doc/aco-request-for-multiple-ceus-form/download It requires the signature of the course organizer and your supervisor. Be sure to bring this form with you to the training. In the case of online courses, only your supervisor’s signature is required.

All completed CE forms should be mailed to Mass Animal Fund, 251 Causeway Street Suite 500, Boston, MA 02114 or to sheri.gustafson@mass.gov

Forms and Reference Guides

Under Massachusetts general laws ACOs need to make, keep, and maintain a system of records or forms which fully and correctly disclose detailed information of all animals taken into ACO custody. In addition, it is important to keep activity, incident, lost/found, and voucher request information. Mass Animal Fund has compiled forms, and resources for ACOs to use for their records.

Download a copy of the Massachusetts Animal Fund ACO Training "Animal Laws and Regulations." This publication includes: