is there a time limit to complete a padi certifications once started?

[espadin]

hello, with regards to PADI:

if you start the OW in 2014, are you constrained to attempt the AOW within say a year or are there set no time limits

if you start the AOW on vacation, but for some reason (i.e. flu) dont finish all the dives, is there a time limit till you can do the remaining? i tried looking this up on the padi website but didnt find anything related to time limits.

thanks
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[Pinecube]

There's no time limit between OW and AOW. As for starting AOW and finishing later, I'm not sure. I would guess that any reputable dive shop would let you finish the course if you were sick and couldn't complete it on schedule. After all, weren't we all taught not to dive while sick?
I've found the best way to learn about padi courses is by looking anywhere other than padi's website site. They only seem to list a handful of courses and have next to no information on requirements or what you actually learn in them.

 

[RJP]

Since you specifically ask about when you "begin OW" I will also point out that there is no time limit to complete OW, other than in the case of a referral. A referral - the process of providing training documentation to another PADI Instructor when a student diver is part-way through a course and wants to finish the course at another location - is only good for 12mo from the date of the last training segment.

For AOW, the instructor manual specifically states "Adventures in Diving program and Specialty Diver courses have no time limit." Though for AOW, do note that if you wish to complete the course with an instructor who is not familiar with your abilities the PADI Instructor Manual states "before beginning open water dive skills, assess the diver’s skills and comfort level inwater and generally assess dive knowledge." So you may be asked to do a checkout dive or at least some sort of inwater evaluation prior to an actual training dive where skills are required.

 

[Scott]

if you start the AOW on vacation, but for some reason (i.e. flu) dont finish all the dives, is there a time limit till you can do the remaining? i tried looking this up on the padi website but didnt find anything related to time limits.

From the instructor manual

Referrals expire 12 months from the date of the last training segment.Exception: Adventures in Diving program and Specialty Diver courses have no time limit.

The above is about referrals and not stopping and starting again with the same LDS. In that case there is no referral but the LDS may have you pay for the course again if it is dragged out a year or more. Best to ask.

Hopefully your instructor sent you home with some documentation other than a signed logbook.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Yes, as Scott said, the completion date for all programmes must be within 12 months, with the exception of adventure dive training records and specs. For OW, Rescue and DM, the 12 month rule applies. That being said, if you start one of these courses and leave it 10 months say, as an instructor I'd want to do a very thorough refresh anyway so its almost better to just start over.

In your case specifically, there is no time limit to complete your AOW - many divers stick with their OW licence for years before continuing to AOW. To complete your advanced course you will need to complete 5 'Adventure dives'. For each your instructor should log with you and give you a training record (you will be required to read the relevant chapters of the Adventures in Diving manual and complete the knowledge reviews and go through this with your instructor in addition to completing each dive). Deep and Navigation dives are mandatory, the other 3 are optional, but I always recommend that students take the PPB (peak performance buoyancy) and Night dives if possible. Whether you do this all with one LDS, or 5 separate ones whilst travelling/on holiday etc it does not matter. The instructor to complete your final adventure dive will sign you off as AOW. If its been a while in between your adventures dives though, Id expect the next dive centre in question would want to review your skills either with a refresher or check out dive before continuing the course - especially in the case of deep/night dives.

 

[RJP]

For OW, Rescue and DM, the 12 month rule applies.

Source? PADI Instructor Manual doesn't support this assertion. The only time limit listed is 12mo for a referral.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Source? PADI Instructor Manual doesn't support this assertion. The only time limit listed is 12mo for a referral.

Then its the same thing no? If a student starts a course, and does not complete at the time, they should be given referral documentation, on the basis it is completed within a 12 month period.

Or do you mean with the same dive centre? If a student was to start a skill intensive course like OW, Rescue or DM and have say, a break of 10 months before completion, they would need to repeat everything they'd done at the beginning anyway, therefore the start date would be reset. But I'm still under the impression that there is a 12 month limit on completion. I have no written source for this however. Earlier this year we had to ask about this for a customer who had completed only part of her DM training and needed to finish it. The answer came straight out of the mouth of a regional PADI manager.

 

[RJP]

Then its the same thing no? If a student starts a course, and does not complete at the time, they should be given referral documentation, on the basis it is completed within a 12 month period.

Or do you mean with the same dive centre? If a student was to start a skill intensive course like OW, Rescue or DM and have say, a break of 10 months before completion, they would need to repeat everything they'd done at the beginning anyway, therefore the start date would be reset. But I'm still under the impression that there is a 12 month limit on completion. I have no written source for this however. Earlier this year we had to ask about this for a customer who had completed only part of her DM training and needed to finish it. The answer came straight out of the mouth of a regional PADI manager.

According to the PADI Instructor Manual, the PADI regional manager is wrong.

Why would someone need to "repeat everything they'd done at the beginning anyway"? Sure, it would be unusual for someone to take 12mo for OW or rescue, and yes, if there was a referral situation that would only be valid for 12mo. But if the same instructor picked up where they left off with a student 13mo later, there's no expiration date for the requirements that the student had already fulfilled.

PS - I took more than 12mo for my DM program due to work demands and the winter coming along.

 

[tursiops]

From the PADI Training Bulletin, 2ndQ 2007:
"No Time Limits on PADI Courses
Q How long does a diver have to complete a PADI course?
A There is no time limit as long as the student diver resumes training with the same instructor, or with another instructor at the same dive center. A PADI Referral is valid for one year (12 months) from the last completed training component (except Adventures in Diving and Specialty Programs which have no time limit on referrals); however, this is not the case for course completion.
If there is a 12-month (or longer) break in training, have the student diver complete new administrative paperwork including a liability release, medical statement and Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding. Reassess and remediate where appropriate."

Note that the 12 months for a referral is from the date of the last completed training segment, not from the beginning of the course.

 

[TMHeimer]

I took about 18 months to finish DM (same shop) also due in part to logistics.