PADI Pro Check is an important tool and today I will explain how to use it. Scuba diving is a wonderful recreational activity that can bring a lot of fun and enjoyment. However, very importantly, any attempt to dive without training is a very bad idea that can turn innocent fun into a tragedy. Do not risk your health and sign up for a scuba diving course to learn all the rules and safely start your underwater adventure.
The diving course is a training course aimed at teaching the proper and safe use of diving equipment, as well as planning and performing dives. Each diving federation, after completing the training, issues a certificate, which confirms the acquired skills. You can read about diving federations in this piece: what is the best scuba diving organization?
Once you have chosen a dive federation, dive center or instructor, the next step is to check the instructor’s qualifications. Every dive instructor has to go through a long and complicated training course and then pass a difficult exam before he can provide training. It doesn’t stop there, however, as every instructor must renew his or her membership with the diving federation and undergo periodic refresher training. Active training privileges are only issued for one year and each instructor must renew it every year if they wish to continue teaching.
Here we will describe the procedure for verifying your instructor qualifications with the world’s largest dive instructor organization, PADI. To do this, just go to the website:
https://apps.padi.com/scuba-diving/pro-chek/
The PADI Pro Check site is available in English and Spanish, but even without speaking those languages, getting information will not be a problem. Just enter your instructor number in the “Member Number” field and click “Submit”.
In the next step, you will see the instructor’s name, their instructor rank, and whether they have active training status to teach courses and issue certificates. A green icon next to “Authorized to teach” confirms active training status, and a green icon next to “Renewed” confirms that the instructor has renewed membership and insurance for the year. It also indicates until when that status is valid, i.e., when the instructor must renew their certifications.
The above report from PADI Pro Check also shows what instructor rank the instructor holds. In this case it is “Master Scuba Diver Trainer”. There is also additional information below, such as in this case that the instructor with this number is also a First Aid Instructor and has active training status and renewed privileges.
Any active instructor who is to provide your training is required to give you this number and their name. I assure you, however, that this obligation is not needed here, as any good instructor will happily and proudly give you all the information. Don’t be afraid to ask, it is part of our job and part of the service you are buying. If for some reason your chosen training center is unwilling to give you this information, a red warning light should go off. You can also contact PADI directly and ask to see the instructor’s credentials if you only know his name.
As in every industry and in every aspect of life, we can meet people with passion, as well as those who found themselves in a particular place completely by accident. It doesn’t really matter when you run into an incompetent salesperson at the grocery store. At most, you will shop somewhere else. However, when it comes to any training, you want the best knowledge possible and you want to make sure that your teacher is qualified and experienced. Otherwise, you will lose time and money. Checking credentials and experience is even more important when it comes to extreme sports or potentially dangerous activities. There is no room for error or oversight here. You want to make sure you’re learning from the right person.
We are a PADI accredited dive center, and all training provided at our dive center in Costa Rica is always taught by active and experienced dive instructors. Instructors who don’t just treat it as a job, but also dive in their free time and are constantly developing their skills and taking more courses. Diving is a never ending adventure and there is always something new to discover and learn. And even as dive instructors with a lot of experience, when we go for another course to more experienced colleagues, we always choose those we can trust. Now you already know how to use the PADI Pro Check tool but if you have any questions go ahead and contact us.
Contact us today to enroll in a diving course in Costa Rica!
Do you have a good insurance?
Accidents can happen even in paradise and that sucks. That’s why it’s so important to have good insurance to keep you covered under and above the water.
