Massachusetts requires every agent who handles or sells marijuana to complete Responsible Vendor Training from a Commission-certified trainer within 90 days of hire and again every year. The Basic Core Curriculum is four hours, with at least two hours of instruction and a test passed at 70% or better. Agents need eight hours of total training each year, and the RVT course counts for four of them. Keep completion certificates in each agent's personnel file and be ready to show them to Commission staff.
Massachusetts
Responsible vendor training
Regulator: Cannabis Control Commission
Buy one seat or a hundred. After checkout you assign seats to staff in your Learn Brands account, and certificates are stored there for inspections.
Stoker Consulting's Massachusetts Responsible Vendor Training (Basic Core Curriculum). Stoker is on the Cannabis Control Commission's list of certified responsible vendor trainers.
$50 a seat. Team pricing: 50 to 99 seats $40, 100+ seats $30.
Sell-SMaRT Responsible Vendor Training for Massachusetts retail teams, from Cannabis Trainers, which is on the Cannabis Control Commission's list of certified trainers. Covers compliant sales, age verification, diversion prevention, and the violations that most often cost operators their license.
$97 a seat. Team pricing: 2 to 24 seats $77, 25 to 74 seats $67, 75+ seats $57.
A short, video-led course that teaches staff to check IDs the Massachusetts way, with hands-on practice on the real Registry of Motor Vehicles sample cards. A refresher that sits alongside responsible vendor training.
$29 a seat. Team pricing: 10 to 24 seats $25, 25 to 49 seats $19, 50+ seats $15.
What the training has to cover
Does the course need state approval?Training must come from a Commission-certified Responsible Vendor Trainer. Trainers apply through MassCIP with their full curriculum, the Commission votes on approval, and trainers must resubmit materials every two years. Trainers cannot own or control a licensed business. Online self-paced courses are allowed only if they verify identity, track time, let learners ask questions and stop them from skipping content. Learners must pass a test with 70% or better. The Commission publishes a list of certified trainers, which includes Stoker Consulting LLC (Basic) and Cannabis Trainers (Basic and Delivery).
Records to keepTraining records, including RVT completion, go in each agent's personnel file and must be available to Commission staff on request. The rule says training records must be kept for four years. The Commission's RVT page says at least 12 months, so keeping four years covers both. Trainers keep their own records for four years.
Why it matters at inspectionFailure to maintain Responsible Vendor status is grounds for action by the Commission.
How our courses fitMassachusetts Responsible Vendor Training, Basic Core Curriculum (Stoker). Built by Stoker Consulting LLC, which is on the Commission's certified trainer list for the Basic Core Curriculum. About four hours, self-paced, so it is designed to meet the annual four-hour RVT requirement. Stoker is not listed for the Delivery Core, so delivery staff need a separate Delivery Core course.
Massachusetts Sell-SMaRT Responsible Vendor Training. Sell-SMaRT is the program of Cannabis Trainers, which is on the Commission's certified trainer list for the Basic and Delivery curricula. About four hours with a 70% passing exam, so it is designed to meet the annual Basic Core requirement. The course includes a delivery bonus section, but confirm with Cannabis Trainers whether it satisfies the Delivery Core Curriculum before relying on it for delivery staff.
Massachusetts ID Checking. A 25-minute ID checking course. It is not RVT and is not state approved, so it does not count toward the four-hour RVT requirement. It can be part of the employer's own job-specific training, which counts toward the eight hours of total annual training.
Massachusetts training questionsWithin 90 days of hire. They also need basic on-the-job training before they start regulated duties.
Every 12 months. Agents complete the four-hour RVT requirement each year, usually by repeating the Basic Core Curriculum, to keep the business's Responsible Vendor status.
The Basic Core Curriculum is four hours, with at least two hours of instruction time. Each agent needs eight hours of total training per year, and the RVT course counts for four.
Yes, if the course is from a Commission-certified trainer and the platform verifies identity, tracks time, allows questions and prevents skipping. Virtual classroom and in-person formats are also allowed.
Not if they never handle or sell marijuana. They may take it voluntarily.
Failure to maintain Responsible Vendor status is grounds for action by the Commission. Inspectors can ask to see training records in personnel files.
Rules: 935 CMR 500.105(2) (adult-use training and Responsible Vendor Training), 935 CMR 501.105(2) (medical-use training).
Last checked 2026-10-24. This page summarizes public rules and is not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with Cannabis Control Commission before relying on it.
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