Career guide

How to become a commercial diver

To become a commercial diver you pass a diving medical, qualify at a school that the country you will work in accepts, and then build logged experience, usually starting as a tender. There is no single international diver card: HSE, ADCI, DCBC and ADAS each run their own scheme, and IMCA lists the ones it accepts offshore. Here is the route in order, what each body asks at each step, and the diving jobs open now.

Every rule on this page names the body that sets it, and every job figure is counted from live listings. Checked against the sources on 26 October 2026.

At a glance

Minimum age: 18 for ADCI cards and under the Australian standard; no one under 18 offshore in the UK
Upper age limit: None set by HSE, ADCI or ADAS, if the medical standard is met
Education: High school or equivalent for ADCI; HSE sets no minimum
Before training: A diving medical; in Great Britain from an HSE Approved Medical Examiner of Divers
Training: An approved school; ADCI asks for at least 625 hours of formal instruction
First job: Tender/diver, ADCI's entry-level designation on a dive crew
Swimming test: Not set by HSE, ADCI, DCBC or IMCA; schools set their own entry checks

How to become a commercial diver, step by step

Check the medical before anything else HSE advises completing the initial medical questionnaire at the earliest possible stage, countersigned by your GP, to see whether anything in your history rules diving out. Before training starts you pass an examination by an HSE Approved Medical Examiner of Divers. The certificate lasts up to 12 months and is renewed every year with a fitness test.
Decide where you will dive The qualification follows the country: HSE in Great Britain, ADCI cards for US contractors, DCBC in Canada, ADAS in Australia. For offshore work abroad, IMCA accepts only the national certificates on its list, and national law comes first where it names its own. Commercial diving guide
Bring a work skill Employers hire for the job under water as well as the diving. HSE says construction divers may need welding qualifications and archaeology divers a degree in archaeology. The National Careers Service gives welding as the background for offshore underwater engineering on pipelines and cables.
Qualify at an approved school In Great Britain, a course at an HSE Diver Competence Assessment Organisation. For ADCI, at least 625 documented hours at a school whose curriculum meets ANSI/ACDE-01-2015; ADCI itself accredits no school. Recreational cards such as PADI do not count. HSE says to ask the schools for course costs. Commercial diving guide
Hold first aid and CPR OSHA requires every dive team member to be trained in CPR and first aid, and an ADCI tender/diver needs valid CPR and first aid certification. HSE expects every diver on a commercial offshore project to be qualified in first aid.
Start as a tender The tender/diver dresses and tends the diver, keeps a hand on the umbilical, maintains the equipment, runs the decompression chamber and dives when the supervisor says so. The ADCI entry-level card is valid for two years, and a diver at an ADCI member company must hold a card within 90 days of starting.
Log every dive In Great Britain the law requires every diver on a diving project to keep a daily record of their diving for at least two years after the last entry. ADCI counts only working dives of at least 20 minutes bottom time, done in the 24 months before the card is issued.
Step up Offshore surface supplied work in the UK needs the HSE Top-Up. An ADCI Air Diver card needs 100 field days and 30 surface supplied working dives. Saturation comes after surface supplied experience in every scheme, and supervisor roles have their own route. Commercial diving guide

The roles divers start in and move to

In the order most divers meet them. The job titles link to the live listings where any are open.

Tender The entry role on a dive crew: part of the diver's surface support team before, during and after each dive, as DCBC describes it. ADCI calls it the tender/diver and expects the holder to dive or stand by when directed.
Commercial Diver jobs 2 live A qualified diver doing the work: inspection, construction, repair or salvage under water. HSE lists offshore oil and gas, civil engineering, marine projects and fish farming among the places the work is.
Air Diver Surface supplied air diving. ADCI awards the Air Diver card after at least 100 field days and 30 working dives as an air diver, surface supplied only.
SAT Diver jobs 1 live A closed bell or saturation diver, working deeper than 50 metres on mixed gas and living up to 28 days in a chamber complex, by HSE's description. ADCI asks for 200 field days, 100 working dives, 10 bell runs and 30 working days supporting bell or saturation operations.
Life Support Technician Runs the chamber that supports divers in saturation. ADCI requires its LST exam and at least 100 field days as an assistant life support technician; IMCA certifies LSTs for offshore work.
Dive System Technician Maintains the diving system on a vessel or site. IMCA publishes guidance on diving technician competence but does not approve or certify the training or the person.
Diving Supervisor In charge of the diving operation. UK law allows only a competent and, where appropriate, suitably qualified person to act as supervisor. IMCA certifies offshore supervisors after hours as a trainee supervisor, on the recommendation of their company, applied for through the sponsoring contractor.

Inland and inshore, or offshore

HSE describes two main careers. Offshore diving supports the oil and gas industries and is usually contract based. Inland and inshore diving supports civil engineering, marine projects and fish farming, in docks, harbours, rivers and lakes. Scientific, archaeological, media and recreational instruction are classes of their own, and police and armed forces divers are chosen from people already in the service.

Which school course you pick decides which of these you can do. DCBC advises anyone who wants underwater construction or maintenance, inshore or offshore, to train as an unrestricted surface supplied diver: the restricted certificate rules out welding, cutting, high-pressure jetting, explosives and power tools unless the diver is specially trained.

Where the work is and the qualification it asks for, as HSE and DCBC state them
Work	Class	Qualification
Offshore oil and gas	Offshore	HSE Surface Supplied with Top-Up, or Closed Bell; DCBC Unrestricted Surface Supplied or Closed Bell
Civil engineering and marine construction	Inland/inshore	HSE SCUBA or Surface Supplied; DCBC Unrestricted Surface Supplied
Fish farming and aquaculture	Inland/inshore	HSE SCUBA or Surface Supplied; DCBC Occupational SCUBA or Restricted Surface Supplied
Inspection, archaeology, film and emergency services	Inland/inshore and others	DCBC Occupational SCUBA or Restricted Surface Supplied; HSE lists some recreational qualifications for scientific and media work

What the diving medical can rule out

HSE calls professional diving a very demanding career that needs a high degree of physical and psychological fitness, kept up for as long as you dive. Its list of conditions that may stop or restrict diving includes mental health problems such as depression, panic attacks and claustrophobia, asthma and other lung disease, heart problems, epilepsy, blackouts, severe motion sickness, severe migraine, ear, nose and sinus problems and diabetes. A diver who is pregnant should not dive.

The examiner can pass you with restrictions, for example on depth. You can appeal a refusal or restriction in writing to HSE within 28 days. In Australia the medical is to AS/NZS 2299.1, which sets 18 as the minimum age and no upper limit while the diver stays fit.

What does not count

Five things competitors and forums often get wrong, as the bodies themselves state them.

A recreational card. ADCI does not recognise NAUI, PADI, YMCA, CMAS or other open water certificates, and says scuba is not designed to prepare anyone for commercial diving.
A worldwide ticket. IMCA accepts only certificates issued and verifiable by a national government or its appointed body, and national law comes first where it names its own.
Military diver training, for offshore work under the IMCA code. IMCA does not recognise qualifications developed for other purposes.
An IMCA diver card. IMCA certifies diving supervisors, life support technicians and diving system inspectors, not divers.
An expiry date on an HSE qualification. HSE qualifications are valid indefinitely, but the contractor still judges whether you are competent for the job.

The step up to saturation

No scheme takes a new diver straight to saturation. ADAS puts it plainly: be realistic, nobody goes straight into oilfield saturation diving. Each scheme asks for surface supplied experience first.

What each scheme asks before closed bell or saturation diving
Scheme	Before closed bell or saturation
HSE	Experience with surface supplied diving equipment and techniques; the assessment organisations set the exact prerequisites
ADCI	200 field days as an air or mixed-gas diver, 100 working dives and 10 bell runs, and 30 working days supporting bell or saturation operations
DCBC	At least one year of experience as an unrestricted surface supplied diver, then further training
IMCA	Training that covers the IDRCF closed bell diver training standard

Diving jobs open now

3 diving jobs open right now, from the live listings. The newest:

Aqua Stage Staff Offshore 27 Sep Offshore Maritime 27 Sep View role SAT Diver United Arab Emirates Offshore · 3 weeks ON/OFF (extra 14 days of quarantine) rotation 27 Sep Offshore · 3 weeks ON/OFF (extra 14 days of quarantine) rotation Maritime 27 Sep View role Commercial Diver Germany Offshore · 2-4 weeks ON/OFF rotation 27 Sep Offshore · 2-4 weeks ON/OFF rotation Maritime 27 Sep View role

Commercial Diver jobs 2 SAT Diver jobs 1

Questions people ask

How do you become a commercial diver with no experience?

Pass a diving medical, qualify at a school the country you will work in accepts, and start as a tender. ADCI's entry-level tender/diver card needs no diving experience, only at least 625 hours of formal training, a high school education or equivalent and an age of 18. Experience then comes from logged working dives.

ADCI: International Consensus Standards, 6.5 edition

How long does it take to become a commercial diver?

ADCI requires at least 625 documented hours of formal instruction for the entry-level card. HSE, DCBC and ADAS do not state course lengths; the schools set them. The next ADCI card, Air Diver, needs 100 field days and 30 working dives on top.

ADCI: classification requirements and card fees

How much does it cost to become a commercial diver?

The schools set the training price, and HSE says to ask them directly. The bodies state their own card fees: ADCI charges $75 for the entry-level card and $175 for an Air Diver card.

ADCI: classification requirements and card fees

What qualifications do you need to be a commercial diver in the UK?

A qualification on HSE's list of approved diving qualifications for the class of diving, a valid certificate of medical fitness to dive, and the competence for the job, which the diving contractor judges. Offshore surface supplied diving also needs the HSE Top-Up.

HSE: diving training and qualifications

Do you need to be able to swim to be a commercial diver?

HSE, ADCI, DCBC and IMCA set no swimming test of their own; schools run their own entry checks. HSE does say diving needs a high degree of physical fitness, tested again at each annual medical.

HSE: careers in diving

Is there an age limit for commercial divers?

HSE sets no lower or upper age limit, but no one under 18 is accepted for offshore work in the UK. ADCI issues no card to anyone under 18 and sets no maximum age if the medical standard is met. ADAS notes divers over 50 working offshore.

HSE: diving FAQs

What does a dive tender do?

Tends the diver continuously, helps them dress in and out, keeps at least one hand on the umbilical, maintains the diving equipment, operates the decompression chamber, and dives or stands by when the supervisor directs, as ADCI lists the duties.

ADCI: International Consensus Standards, 6.5 edition

Do you need a degree to be a commercial diver?

No. ADCI asks for a high school education or equivalent, and HSE sets no minimum. HSE notes that some work needs its own qualification, such as welding for construction or archaeology for archaeological projects.

HSE: careers in diving

Is commercial diving dangerous?

HSE names decompression illness and bone necrosis among the hazards. Following accepted diving procedures reduces them to a small risk, it says, but they can still occur.

HSE: careers in diving

How do you become a saturation diver?

Build surface supplied experience first, then train as a closed bell diver. HSE requires surface supplied experience, DCBC at least a year as an unrestricted surface supplied diver, and ADCI 200 field days, 100 working dives and 10 bell runs for its Bell/Sat card.

DCBC: types of occupational diving

How do I become a diving supervisor?

With experience and the supervisor qualification for the operation. ADCI's Air Diving Supervisor card needs its exam, 200 field days, 50 working dives and 30 days as assistant supervisor. IMCA certifies offshore supervisors after logged hours as a trainee supervisor and a recommendation from their company.

IMCA: diving supervisor certification

Sources

At a glance

Minimum age: 18 for ADCI cards and under the Australian standard; no one under 18 offshore in the UK
Upper age limit: None set by HSE, ADCI or ADAS, if the medical standard is met
Education: High school or equivalent for ADCI; HSE sets no minimum
Before training: A diving medical; in Great Britain from an HSE Approved Medical Examiner of Divers
Training: An approved school; ADCI asks for at least 625 hours of formal instruction
First job: Tender/diver, ADCI's entry-level designation on a dive crew
Swimming test: Not set by HSE, ADCI, DCBC or IMCA; schools set their own entry checks

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