Certification Card

[Pyramid65]

When the OW certification is complete, when do you get your card, that the day of your last cert dive or do you have to wait for it, if you have to wait, how would you dive the next day somewhere that requires proof of certification?

 

[tstormdiver]

It depends,... My shop can register & print the cards right there, in minutes. Some shops & instructors do not have that luxury & the registration must be sent in. This can take 2- 3 weeks. Most instructors are required by their agencies to have the registration within a few days of the course completion. In the mean time, the instructor can issue a temporary card that you can use to dive. The temp cards typically are valid for 30 days. Be aware that with a temp card, some dive operations may ask for additional ID to verify.

 

[Hawkwood]

It depends,... My shop can register & print the cards right there, in minutes. Some shops & instructors do not have that luxury & the registration must be sent in. This can take 2- 3 weeks. Most instructors are required by their agencies to have the registration within a few days of the course completion. In the mean time, the instructor can issue a temporary card that you can use to dive. The temp cards typically are valid for 30 days. Be aware that with a temp card, some dive operations may ask for additional ID to verify.

Spot on.

In the case of a PADI certification, the temp card is valid for 90 days.

Edit: You should also ask where the actual "card" is going to be delivered: to your address, to the "shop", to the Instructor. In the case of PADI, there are many options.

 

[tstormdiver]

Spot on.

In the case of a PADI certification, the temp card is valid for 90 days.

Hence why I put "typically",... gives me a little wiggle room.:blinking:

 

[pdhenry]

My LDS gave me the temp card when I turned in the rental gear a couple of days after certifying (I certified on a shop-organized trip to the FL keys), and the permanent card arrived at the LDS within about 10 days after that.

 

[oly5050user]

Spot on.

In the case of a PADI certification, the temp card is valid for 90 days.

Edit: You should also ask where the actual "card" is going to be delivered: to your address, to the "shop", to the Instructor. In the case of PADI, there are many options.

your padi training record log book can also be used

 

[WB2GLP]

I think the OP is working with an SSI shop in Jersey. SSI anyone?

 

[flots am]

When the OW certification is complete, when do you get your card, that the day of your last cert dive or do you have to wait for it, if you have to wait, how would you dive the next day somewhere that requires proof of certification?

There's a temporary certification card-page in your logbook that gets signed by your instructor when you're done.

Don't remember how long it's good for, but it's more than enough time for your plastic card to come in, especially since a lot of shops can print their own now.

flots.

 

[Fish in a Barrel]

I think the OP is working with an SSI shop in Jersey. SSI anyone?

I certified SSI a couple of years back. It was exactly the same as what people are describing for PADI. I got a temporary card and the real thing showed up a couple weeks later at my dive shop.

 

[tstormdiver]

I think the OP is working with an SSI shop in Jersey. SSI anyone?

I am an SSI Instructor. With SSI we are required to process cards within 48 hrs of the conclusion of the course. As stated earlier, our shop has a card printer & the registration is done online via SSI's ODiN Program. If the card has to be processed & mailed from SSI, it typically takes 5- 10 business days to come in the mail to the shop or the diver after processing. SSI's temp cards are printed from the profile set up in ODiN & can be printed on paper from that profile (PDF file) It has "Temporary Certification" over- printed on it. It has no expiration date written on it that I can see, but does have a QRC code that verification can be checked against.