PADI Specialty Instructor

PADI Specialty Instructors are PADI Instructors who have met the requirements to offer courses in various special types of diving activities.  These instructors have acquired the knowledge and skills necessary to offer this training by continuing their education and/or gaining experience in a particular specialty diving area.  Instructors must apply separately for each PADI Specialty Instructor rating.

There are several standardized PADI Specialty Diver courses that PADI Specialty Instructors may conduct which are supported by course outlines and various student materials.  In addition, instructors may write their own distinctive specialty programs that they may offer upon approval from PADI.

PADI Specialty Diver courses include:

1.  Altitude Diver                                            14.  Night Diver

2.  Boat Diver                                                 15.  Search and Recovery Diver

3.  Cavern Diver                                             16.  Semiclosed Rebreather Diver

4.  Deep Diver                                                17.  Underwater Naturalist

5.  Digital Underwater Photographer          18.  Underwater Navigator

6.  Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) Diver  19.  Underwater Photographer

7.  Drift Diver                                                 20.  Underwater Videographer

8.  Dry Suit Diver                                           21.  Wreck Diver

9.  Enriched Air Diver                                   22.  Other Standardized specialties

10.  Equipment Specialist                             23.  Distinctive Specialties (Specialty courses developed individually by instructors.)

11.  AWARE - Fish Identification Diver       

12.  Ice Diver

13.  Multilevel Diver

Prerequisites for Attending a Specialty Instructor Training Course:

Specialty Instructor Training course attendance is highly recommended.  These courses provide valuable hands-on training, technique demonstrations, course marketing information, current PADI Standards information and, when applicable, instructor-level open water training.

To enroll in most Specialty Instructor Training Courses, an individual must:

• Be a renewed PADI Assistant Instructor (certified/upgraded since 1995), or be a renewed PADI Underwater Instructor (or PADI Instructor with a higher rating), or have completed an IDC/OWSI Program within the past 12 months.

                  After successfully completing specialty instructor training, PADI Assistant Instructors may apply only for PADI Specialty Instructor

                  certification in nondiving specialties.

                  Instructor candidates may apply for PADI Specialty Instructor certification only after becoming certified as PADI Instructors.

• Digital Underwater Photographer Exception

• Active status PADI Divemasters and Teaching status Assistant Instructors must enroll in and complete a PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty Instructor Course to apply for the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty Instructor rating.

                    After successfully completing the course and showing proof of 10 logged digital underwater photography dives, they may be

                    authorized to teach and certify Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty course participants under the direction of a PADI

                    Instructor who is also certified as a PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty Instructor.

Training and Certification

Upon completion of a PADI Specialty Instructor Training course, the instructor submits to the appropriate PADI Office a completed application signed by the PADI Course Director who conducted the training.

The instructor must have made at least 10 dives in the particular specialty area (20 dives required for PADI Semiclosed Rebreather Specialty Instructor rating.)  These dives may be completed before, during or after attending the Specialty Instructor Training Course.

If you have any questions about the course, feel free to stop in or call.

GO PRO!!!

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