Canvas Support FAQs

If you set up your own Canvas account, go to "Log In" and click on the "Forgot Password?" link. Enter the login information associated with your Canvas account and click the "Request Password" button. You'll be sent an email prompting you to reset your password. Once you’ve reset your password, return to the login screen to sign in. For more information, view login tips for:

• Instructors
• Students
• Parents (observers)

If you're using Canvas as part of an institution account, you'll log in either from your institution's web page or by using its direct Canvas url. Canvas Network accounts also log in with a Canvas url. Find step-by-step guidance here.

Note: You must have an account to log in to Canvas. If you're associated with an institution using Canvas and don't know your username and password, please contact your site administrator. If you were given a join code or a secret url to join a course, learn how to create a Canvas account.

Parents can sign up as an "observer" in Canvas. Observers can link their Canvas account to their student's account so they can see assignment dues dates, announcements, and other course content.

In order to create a Canvas account, you'll need the Canvas url associated with the institution where your student is enrolled. If you don't know your institution's Canvas url, contact the institution. If you already have an account from your student's institution, log in to Canvas using the credentials given to you. Find step-by-step guidance here.

In the Community, there's an entire section devoted to parent resources for Canvas, with helpful links, a forum to ask questions, and a blog.

An educator and community coach has also pulled together this guide, where you’ll find step-by-step guidance on pairing codes, adding and organizing additional students, seeing student courses and grades, receiving notification alerts, and more.

To link yourself to a student, you'll need to enter a student-specific pairing code. Students can generate pairing codes from their User Settings. Depending on institution permissions, admins and instructors may also be able to generate pairing codes. For more info, visit our Pairing Code FAQ.

Depending on your role, there are two places ways to generate pairing codes:

• How to generate a pairing code for an observer as a student
• How to generate a pairing code for an observer as an instructor

A few options to consider with an invalid pairing code:

If the pairing code has been used by another observer (parent), you'll need a new code.

If the pairing code was generated more than seven days ago, you'll need a new code.

The pairing code needs to be entered exactly as it displays (they are case sensitive), without spaces.

The pairing code needs to be entered from the same institution (i.e. Canvas url) where your student is enrolled. If these troubleshooting tips don't apply, please use the "Report a Problem" option from the app or your browser so we can identify the issue. Please provide the student's email, not your personal email, as it's not accessible in our system.

For help with your Free for Teacher account, check out our Free for Teacher Account FAQ in the Canvas Community.

The Free Canvas Accounts don't contain all the features available to institutional users of Canvas. Check out this Canvas Account Comparison guide to see the difference.

If you're using Canvas through your institution, you will most likely already have an account and need to accept a course invitation. Your institution will email your login information. If you do not yet have an account, you can create an account when you accept the course invitation.

If you're not using Canvas through your institution, you can create your own account. Your instructor will provide you with a join code to link you directly to the course. This code will be sent to you separately from the Canvas email that invites you to join the course. If you need to create an account in Canvas but haven't received your join code via email, please contact your instructor or institution for help with logging in. Follow this step-by-step guidance.

Visit your Canvas Dashboard and click on the “Help” button at the bottom of the Global Navigation. From there, you’ll be able to access a range of helpful resources and The Training Services Portal. You can also reach out to your school's admin for support or visit the resource guides and forums in the Community.

If you can't log in to Canvas, follow this step-by-step guidance.

If you're trying to log into a Free for Teacher account, visit this guide.

The Canvas Network offers open, online courses from experts and institutions worldwide. If you need training on Canvas, free Canvas training courses can be found here.

Visit our distance learning portal site, with resources to help students, teachers, and parents face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact info@instructure.com with your billing location, institution name, institution type, user count (students, faculty, and admins), and any other relevant details.

Contact info@instructure.com with your billing location, school or district name, school or district type, user count (students, teachers, and admins), and any other relevant details.

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