Certification
CALAS/ACSAL Certification
The Application portal is now closed. Applications for the 2025 cycle will open in the Fall of 2024, stay tuned for more information,
What are the Benefits of Being a Certified Member?
Certified CALAS/ACSAL Members are Recognized Internationally!
CALAS Members have proven to meet a standard of laboratory animal care, knowledge and technical procedures, aligning with the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) Guidelines and Institutional Animal Care Committee policies. Those certified with CALAS are knowledgeable about practices that ensure approval with these governing bodies and promote improvements to procedures by practicing the 3 R’s (Reduction, Replacement, and Refinement).
CALAS is the foremost Canadian organization for providing certification of laboratory animal handling, husbandry, and research techniques, and is unique in the world for its qualifying examination, requiring a practical component and academic competency.
Our common goals are to:
- Advance the knowledge, skills and status of those who work with laboratory animals.
- Improve the standards for laboratory animal care and research.
- Provide a forum for the exchange and dissemination of knowledge regarding animal care and research.
CALAS/ACSAL Certification promotes:
1. Higher Quality Animal Care Technicians with enhanced knowledge in laboratory animal science can dramatically improve the
quality of animal care in Canada.
2. Career Advancement
Achieving certification can open doors to professional development opportunities to pursue more
varied tasks and responsibilities.
3. Documentation of Training
A CALAS/ACSAL Certification Committee Certificate provides formal documentation that you have met
a nationally standardized high level of expertise in laboratory animal science. Documentation of such
is increasingly being recognized as a requirement by institutional Animal Care Committees.
4. Continued Education
Preparation for examinations is a foundation on which many individuals build a program of continuing
education for themselves. Involvement in CALAS/ACSAL provides many opportunities for continuing
education and keeping abreast of current advancements.
5. Networking Opportunities
When you become a certified member of CALAS/ACSAL, you join a nation-wide group of animal care
and research technicians across Canada with a common interest in laboratory animal care
and well-being.
How Do I Maintain Certification?
Maintaining certification with, and membership to, CALAS/ACSAL requires payment of annual dues and earning a minimum of 10 Continuing Education (CE) credits per year. CALAS makes this easy at the national and local levels, by offering CE events and promoting webinars.
A lapse of either of these, for two concurrent years, will discontinue certification. Reapplication to the examination process will be required to regain certification status.
What Exam Am I Qualified to Apply For?
Important Note For All Exam Applicants:
Please note that your online application must be completed in full, including an upload of ALL supporting documents. The application cannot be saved and returned to later, so please be prepared in advance. We are looking forward to reviewing your application and assisting you on your path to higher learning, but an incomplete application, including missing documents, will not be reviewed.
Please Read the Website Information Carefully!
Please Note: The CALAS/ACSAL website content is reviewed annually,
and French materials are translated by professional colleagues, not automated software.
If there are alternate ways to describe information,
better fitting for laboratory animal science’s workplace language,
please inform exams@calas-acsal.org .