Speciality 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.

We teach the following PADI Instructor Specialties:

PADI Instructor Specialities:

• Fish Identification

• Altitude Diver

• Underwater Videographer

• Emergency Oxygen Provider

• Digital Underwater Photographer

• AWARE Coral Reef Conservation

• Multilevel Diver

• Night Diver

• Underwater Navigator

• Boat Diver

• Search & Recovery Diver

• Wreck Diver

• Deep Diver

• Dry Suit Diver

• Enriched Air Diver

• Underwater Photographer

• Equipment Specialist

• Ice Diver

• Drift Diver

• Underwater Naturalist

• Peak Performance Buoyancy

• Project Aware

• Sidemount Diver

PADI Distinctive Instructor Specialties:

• Aware Shark Conservation

• Self-Reliant Diver

• SMB Diver

• Full Face Mask Diver

• SCOOTER Diver

PADI Technical Instructor Specialties:

• Tec Rec Deep Diver

• Tec Rec Trimix Blender

• Tec Rec Trimix Diver

• PADI TEC Sidemount Diver

PADI Instructors qualify as PADI Specialty Instructors either by attending a Specialty Instructor Training Course conducted by a PADI Course Director or by applying directly to their PADI Office.

Prerequisites for Attending a Specialty Instructor Training Course

Specialty Instructor Training course attendance is highly recommended, but not required. 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.