Your PADI certification never expires, but if it’s been 6-12 months since your last scuba dive and/or the thought of assembling your dive gear makes you nervous, a refresher is a good idea. It’s better to be over-prepared and dive safely than risk a problem because you forgot something important. For just a knowledge review, complete PADI eLearning™. To get comfortable in the water again, also schedule time for an in-water refresher with a PADI Dive Professional.

PADI ReActivate is a fully personalized scuba refresher program – you’ll only have to cover the areas where your dive skills and knowledge need review. Move quickly through topics you know well, then dive deeper where your knowledge may have lapsed. Progress at your own pace, with as much (or little) guidance as needed from a PADI Professional to restore your mastery of fundamental scuba diving skills. A scuba refresher is an in-water dive skill review in a pool or confined water setting.

If you’re not a habitual diver (or have less than 20 lifetime dives), but you’re planning to scuba dive soon, you may want to take a refresher course before your next open water dive. Scuba diving requires specific skills and knowledge that can lapse if not practiced regularly.

Spend more time exploring the underwater world at your dive destination by completing your PADI ReActivate Scuba Refresher eLearning program in advance online and your in-water skill session with your local dive shop.

To receive an updated, ReActivated dive certification card, you’ll complete an in-water session with a PADI Dive Instructor, reviewing any skills you may have forgotten and performing fundamental dive skills: ascents and descents, assembling a scuba unit, and how to address common problems underwater.

A scuba diving refresher is the in-water skills component of the PADI ReActivate program under the guidance of a PADI Professional. In this session, you will review essential dive skills to get comfortable in the water again. Your PADI Pro will tailor the review to your specific needs. Here are some of the questions and skills that may be reviewed in a PADI Refresher:

• How many scuba dives have you made, and in what conditions and environments?
• When and where were your last scuba dives?
• What dive skills do you want to practice?
• How did your last scuba dives go? What would help you to improve them?

Next, the PADI Professional will watch you set up your dive gear, followed by pre-dive safety checks. Can you remember BWRAF (BCD, Weights, Releases, Air and Final okay)? Try using the saying ‘Breakfast With Rice And Fish’ to recall the correct order. Once in the water, you’ll demonstrate dive ascents, dive descents, mask clearing, mask removal and mask replacement, buoyancy control (neutral buoyancy, hovering, maintaining buoyancy while swimming), and alternate air source ascents to ensure you’re prepared if an out-of-air situation should occur.