Divemaster Training

The divemaster rating is the first PADI Membership level. PADI Divemasters supervise diving activities for certified divers, assist instructors with training student divers, and instruct skin diving and snorkeling. This rating denotes an individual who has exemplary diving skills and role model behavior, solid rescue skills, professional level knowledge of dive theory, dive management and supervision abilities, and competence as a certified assistant.

The best way to gain professional Divemaster experience is to become a Divemaster with a Divemaster Internship.

Prerequisites

To enroll in a PADI Divemaster course, an individual must:

1. Be certified as a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or have a qualifying certification from another training organization.

2. Be certified as a PADI Rescue Diver or have a qualifying certification from another training organization.

3. Be at least 18 years old.

4. Submit, to the instructor, medical clearance for diving signed by a physician, attesting to fitness to dive. The medical clearance must be current within the previous 12 months. The physician signing the medical clearance cannot be the applicant.

5. Have completed and logged at least 40 dives
 
6. Submit proof of Emergency First Response Primary Care (CPR) and Secondary Care (First Aid) training (or other qualifying CPR/first aid training) within the last 24 months.

                       

Training and Certification

Divemaster candidates must satisfactorily complete all course performance requirements, have current CPR and first aid training, and show proof of at least 60 logged dives showing experience in night diving, deep diving and underwater navigation to be certified as PADI Divemasters

Duties

Renewed PADI Divemasters who are in Active status are authorized to:

1. Supervise both training and nontraining-related activities by planning, organizing and directing dives.

2. Assist a Teaching status PADI Instructor during confined water and open water training sessions for any PADI Diver course.

3. Independently guide Open Water Diver course students on the tour portion of Open Water Diver course Training Dives 2, 3 and 4 at a ratio of two student divers per certified divemaster.

4. Accompany Open Water Diver students under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor during surface swims to and from the entry/exit point and during navigational exercises, as well as remain with other student divers when the instructor conducts a skill, such as an ascent or descent, with an individual student or buddy team.

5. Accompany student divers during Adventure Dives or Specialty training dives under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor.

6. If insured (where required), teach and certify PADI Skin Divers independently.

7. If insured (where required), conduct the PADI Discover Snorkeling program.

8. If insured (where required), conduct subsequent dives under an instructor’s indirect supervision for Discover Scuba Diving participants at a ratio of two participants per certified divemaster, after participants have satisfactorily completed the first dive with a PADI Instructor.

9. If insured (where required), conduct the PADI Discover Local Diving experience.

10. If insured (where required), conduct the PADI Scuba Review program for certified divers. or for PADI Scuba Divers who want only to refresh their skills.

11. If insured (where required), conduct the skin diving skills segment of the PADI Open Water Diver course during either Confined Water Dive Two, Three, Four or Five.

12. Teach Emergency First Response courses after successfully completing an Emergency First Response Instructor course.

13. If qualified as a Discover Scuba Diving Leader, independently conduct Discover Scuba Diving  in a pool or in confined open water.

14. If insured (where required), teach PADI Digital Underwater Photographer specialty courses under the direction of a PADI Instructor after earning the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty Instructor rating.
 
15. If insured (where required), teach PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider specialty courses after earning the PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider Specialty Instructor rating.