How long does it take to get a scuba diving license? Short answer: It takes at least four days to become a certified diver and earn your scuba diving license. After successfully completing the Open Water Diver course, your digital certification card (PADI eCard™) may be downloaded within 24 hours — usually sooner.
Can’t devote four full days to scuba training? Prefer to take your time? No worries. You can earn a PADIscuba certification over a few weekends or even a few months.
In a moment, I’ll explain some different ways to get a scuba diving license. First, I want to help folks who may have clicked this article because they want to know how long it takes to get a replacement scuba diving license.
Lost Your PADI Card?
Click the button below to purchase a PADI eCard. It will be available for download almost instantly.
You can also order a plastic replacement card made from recycled materials by clicking on the button above, but be advised that plastic cards take 1-2 days to process and two weeks or more to arrive in the mail. Express shipping options are not available. Learn more about your PADI replacement card options.
How Long Does It Take to Get PADI Certified?
As mentioned above, you can get a scuba diving license (aka become a certified diver) in as little as four days. If you use PADI eLearning® for the knowledge development portion of your scuba certification course, you can complete the inwater training part of the course in three days.
Knowledge de-what?
There are three parts to earning a scuba certification:
Knowledge development (classroom or online learning)
Skill development in a pool or pool-like environment (confined water)
Four open water dives in a large body of water
PADI eLearning® allows you to complete the knowledge development part of the course at your own pace. You can take up to one year to complete your online course. The alternative is to read the Open Water Diver Manual, watch the training videos and attend classroom sessions.
Skill development can be done in one very long day, but it’s more common to spend two to three half days in the pool. The open water dives must be completed over at least two days, and the time commitment varies depending on how far away the open water site is.
Here’s a breakdown of approximately how long each part of a scuba certification course can take:
Knowledge development: Five to 10 hours
Pool training: Six to 10 hours
Open water dives: Must be completed over at least two days
Why Such a Wide Range of Time?
PADI training is performance-based. When you master a skill or concept quickly, you’ll move on to the next one. If you forget a step, or don’t feel comfortable with a skill, you’ll repeat the skill until you and your instructor agree that you have demonstrated mastery and are ready to move on.
The hour range must account for a private versus a group class. Group classes usually cost less and can be a lot of fun. But when there are more students, the class takes longer.
PADI Open Water Diver Referral: Start Local, Finish Tropical
An Open Water Diver Referral is the best choice for people who want to maximize their time on holiday by exploring, gaining dive experience, and eating and drinking all the things. With an open water referral, you complete the course knowledge development segments and confined water dives before leaving home.
You can choose when and where to complete your four open water certification dives. Your local instructor will give you a referral document verifying what you’ve accomplished. You can present that document to any PADI Dive Shop or Instructor around the world within 12 months to finish the course.
It should be said that you don’t have to do your final dives somewhere tropical. You could get a scuba license (aka certification) while visiting Canada, Iceland, Scotland or many other cold water diving hotspots.
Learn more about the PADI Open Water Diver Referral process here.
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Related Reading
How to Become a Scuba Diver: Everything You Need to Know
Our scuba courses typically take 3 sessions which can be done over entire weekend from a Friday to a Sunday. However, this can be altered depending on the student's needs. We can schedule the courses in as few as 3 days or it can be spread in a span of weeks or so.
It's possible to complete your confined and open water dives in three or four days by completing the knowledge development portion via PADI eLearning, or other home study options offered by your local dive shop or resort.
The necessary skills are not tough for most people to master. During scuba certification class, you're taught the effects of increased water pressure and safe diving practices.
The quizzes have 10 questions each and the PADI Open Water Exam has 50 questions. A lot of people worry about the exam, but I can tell you now that the PADI Open Water Exam questions are very easy. Especially if you have a great Dive Instructor, you will have nothing to worry about.
A minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested for a single no-decompression dive. For multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, a minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested.
No, your certification will not expire. As an PADI Open Water Diver, your certification is good for life. If you do not actively participate in scuba for an extended period of time, however, it's a good idea to refresh your skills through the PADI ReActivate class.
Your PADI certification never expires; but if you haven't been diving in a while, it's better to be over-prepared than risk a problem because you forget something important. For just a knowledge review, complete eLearning. To get comfortable in the water again, also schedule time with dive professional.
The first level of a scuba certification is Open Water Diver, which on average can be completed in 3-5 days. The independent study using PADI's digital learning program (eLearning) takes about eight hours.
Most Divemaster students complete their training within six months. Why do some people finish the Divemaster course in a few weeks and others take six months? There are a few reasons. Becoming a divemaster in 2 to 3 weeks is an all-day, every day commitment, and some people can't take that much time away from work.
It's a vital skill to be mastered by any new diver as it is quite common for water to enter the mask due to a variety of reasons, be it because of a poorly fitting mask, a stray hair caught under the skirting, a kick from another diver or a broken mask strap – the list is endless!
Laws don't prohibit you from enjoying the sport without getting certified. You can simply take a short resort course, and you'll be ready to dive underwater. However, getting scuba diving certified will eliminate the risks and allow you to have maximum fun.
Yes!The PADI Scuba class and pool program as well as the ocean checkout dives program are both pass or fail program. The staff at Scuba Fusion would love to guarantee successful graduation of every student. However, it is just not possible to do that.
If you get less than 75% in one of the five sections you will be allowed to retake that section later in the IE. If you fail in 2 or more sections, or you fail the retake, you will have to attend a later PADI Instructor Exam and repeat all written exams again.
As you descend, water pressure increases, and the volume of air in your body decreases. This can cause problems such as sinus pain or a ruptured eardrum. As you ascend, water pressure decreases, and the air in your lungs expands.This can make the air sacs in your lungs rupture and make it hard for you to breathe.
It is recommended to not exceed the rate of 60 feet (18 m) per minute when ascending from more than 60 feet of depth, and 30 feet (9 m) per minute for dives shallower than 60 feet. Ascending even slower will give you an added margin of safety. 5. Make safety stops.
The average beginner diver's air consumption in calm waters runs a tank close to empty in around 1 hour at 10m depth (compared to just a few minutes at 40m). Professional and very experienced divers can usually double this time through breathing/buoyancy control and by minimizing the amount of movement underwater.
Though you must finish the online portion of the course within that time frame, you will have perpetual access to an online version of the PADI Open Water Diver Manual through the PADI Digital Library app. The PADI Open Water Diver eLearning should take approximately 12 to 15 hours to complete.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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