Welcome to Reef Divers

What is a Master Instructor?

PADI Master Instructors are experienced dive educators who have achieved one of the highest PADI Instructor ratings

Master Instructors have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the PADI System of diver education and have experience conducting the entire range of programs and courses.

Master Instructors are members of the PADI Master Instructor Review Committee, which is called on from time to time to review and comment on changes to programs and standards.

What are the pre-requisites?

To apply for the Master Instructor rating, an instructor must:

Be a renewed, Teaching status IDC Staff Instructor.
Have been a PADI Instructor for at least two years.
Be a renewed Emergency First Response Instructor.
Have participated in at least three PADI Instructor Development Seminars.

Programs that qualify include:

Underwater to Open Water Scuba Instructor Upgrade
PADI Business of Diving or Risk Management programs, symposiums or Seminars (i.e. Successful Retail Selling, Career Tracking Tips for the Dive Professional, Street fighting, Positive Approach Selling, Advanced Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Enthusiastic Divers, etc.)
Status Update
Audit an IDC
Member Forums (i.e. annual Member Forums, PADI Business Forums, Update Seminars, Update/Member Forum videos, etc.)
IDC Staff Instructor Update

Have certified at least 150 students as PADI Divers. At least 50 of the Certifications must be for PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or higher, with at least 15 of the certifications for PADI Specialty Diver, five for PADI Rescue Diver, five for PADI DiveMaster and five PADI Assistant Instructor.

Note: Staffing two entire IDCs is equivalent to five AI certifications, or staffing one entire IDC and certifying three AIs meets the five required AI certifications. If you staff an IDC and issue AI certifications to candidates, you can’t receive multiple credits for the same candidate.

a. No more than 75 of the 150 certifications may be from credits earned for conducting Discover Scuba Diving experiences.

b. No more than 50 of the 150 certifications may be from credits earned for staffing IDCs.

c. No more than 25 of the 150 certifications may be from nondiving specialty certifications. (i.e. Equipment Specialist, Project AWARE, etc.)

d. No more than 10 of the 150 certifications may be from PADI Seal Team or Master Seal Team registrations.

Have trained at least 10 students through the Emergency First Response program.

Use the complete PADI System of diver education including all appropriate PADI training materials when conducting PADI programs.

Issue PADI as the primary certification, and conduct all PADI certification courses and experience programs using methods consistent with PADI Standards and philosophy as outlined in the PADI Instructor Manual.

Have no verified Quality Assurance violations within the past six months and no open quality assurance inquiries in progress. (A member in Review status may not qualify for Master Instructor until the Review status is lifted.)

Demonstrate support of the PADI organization in its efforts to establish programs in aquatic education and conservation.

How do I register for MSDT?

To apply for certification, the instructor submits to PADI a completed Master Instructor application with a photo, required documentation and application fee. Upon approval of the application, PADI will issue a Master Instructor certification card.

Renewal

The Master Instructor rating is renewed when PADI Instructors renew their membership annually.

Note: PADI Master Instructors retain their rating by being PADI Members in good standing. This rating may be rescinded or suspended if a Master Instructor is found in violation of PADI Standards during a Quality Assurance inquiry.