About the Course
Dive Theory will dramatically expand your understanding of dive physics, physiology, equipment, decompression theory and dive planning.
Any diver can complete Dive Theory eLearning for personal enrichment. PADI Divemaster, IDC, IDC Staff and CDTC candidates may earn credit toward the dive theory exams. Ask your instructor for details.
Take This Course If You Want to
Learn How to
Why Learn About Dive Theory?

1
PADI eLearning®
- eLearning time commitment: 12-15 hours

2
With Your Instructor
- Prerequisites: None
- Total time commitment: 9-12 hours
- Minimum age: 10 years or older
How to Gift PADI eLearning Courses
You can now purchase PADI eLearning® and share it with the scuba diving gift recipient of your choice – it’s super easy. Share the fun in 3 simple steps:
More Info
Want to share the experience or give the gift of endless adventure? You can now purchase PADI eLearning® and share it with a recipient of your choice! Whether you are purchasing the course as a gift or need to assign the it to family members – it’s super easy.
- Once you purchase your eLearning course, you can log-in to your PADI account to access the course.
- From your Dashboard go to Student Details and Manage Your Courses.
- You can then decide to Start the eLearning yourself or ‘Share the course’.
- To share the course, simply click on ‘Share the Course’ and enter the email address of the recipient you wish to share the course with.
- The recipient will receive an email to create or log-in to their PADI Account to start the course.
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).
You can complete this course locally or as part of a PADI® Professional program elsewhere.
Choose a dive shop close to home if you:
- Do most of your diving locally
- Want to support your local diving community
- Are enrolled in a professional-level course with your local dive shop
If you are enrolled in a professional-level course elsewhere, contact your dive shop before enrolling in Dive Theory eLearning online.
PADI's online courses are designed to work on the browsers listed below. For the best experience, make sure your browser is up-to-date.
Chrome
Safari
Edge
Firefox
If you plan to be somewhere without internet access, use the PADI Training app to download course content and study offline. Content can be downloaded in small sections with a total file size of approximately 764 MB. When you get back online, upload your progress so you can resume your training right where you left off.
The PADI Training app is available for Android™ and Apple® iOS devices. For the ideal experience, devices should be no more than three models old and running with the most current OS (operating system).
If you want to learn more about diving equipment, enroll in an Equipment Specialist course. To deepen your knowledge of underwater ecosystems, take the Underwater Naturalist Specialty course. If you enjoy sharing your knowledge of all things diving, the PADI Divemaster course might be for you.