PADI Rescue Diver

Minimum age: 12

Rescue Divers certified between the ages of 12-14 earn a Junior Rescue Diver certification. Any replacement certification card or eCard purchased after the diver's 15th birthday will automatically show a Rescue Diver (not Jr. Rescue Diver) certification.

Course prerequisites: any diver with an Open Water (or Jr. Open Water) Diver certification may enroll in a PADI Rescue Diver course, complete Rescue Diver eLearning and participate in Rescue Exercises in confined water.

To participate in open water Rescue Exercises and be certified as a PADI Rescue Diver, the student must complete the Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive and hold a PADI (Junior) Adventure Diver certification. A PADI (or other qualifying) Advanced Open Water Diver certification also meets this prerequisite.

Certification also requires CPR and first aid training within the past 24 months. If you don't have this training, you can enroll in an Emergency First Response® (EFR) Primary Care (CPR) and Secondary Care (First Aid) course with your PADI Instructor.

PADI eLearning: 8-12 hours

Entire course: 4-7 days

Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.

Avoid disappointment, download and review the Diver Medical form to ensure you won’t need a physician’s approval to dive before enrolling in a scuba course. Instructors, divemasters and dive shop staff are not physicians and should not be asked for medical advice; only medical professionals can give medical clearance to dive.

If you (or your physician) have questions about medical fitness to dive, contact the experts at Divers Alert Network (DAN).

• Looking for a detailed explanation of what's involved with learning to scuba dive? This comprehensive article covers everything you need to know about scuba certification.

The first dive of the Search and Recovery Specialty course may count toward your Advanced Open Water Diver certification – ask your instructor about earning credit.

Every specialty certification you complete brings you one step closer to becoming a PADI Master Scuba Diver™. Fewer than two percent of divers ever achieve this elite rating.

The skills and confidence you'll gain in the PADI Rescue Diver course prepare you to take the first step towards a scuba career and/or achieve the most elite rating in recreational diving.

As a certified Rescue Diver (18 years or older), you can enroll in the PADI Divemaster course. Upon completion, you can work anywhere in the world there's water:

Assisting with classes
Leading dives
Working on a liveaboard
A PADI Rescue Diver certification is also a prerequisite to enrolling in the Public Safety Diver™ course. This intense and challenging program comes with great rewards.

If the programs above don't interest you, consider becoming a PADI Master Scuba Diver™. Fewer than 2 percent of divers ever achieve this elite rating. As a certified Rescue Diver, you only need five specialty certifications and 50 logged dives to become a Master Scuba Diver.