Professional Association of Diving Instructors

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Professional Association of Diving Instructors

Abbreviation	PADI
Formation	1966
Headquarters	Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States
Region served	International
Membership	~128,000 dive professionals, 6,600+ dive centers and resorts
Leader	Drew Richardson
Parent organization	PADI Worldwide Corp.[1]
Affiliations	DSAT PADI AWARE Emergency First Response Current Publishing
Website	www.padi.com

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is a recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson.^[2] PADI courses range from entry level to advanced recreational diver certification. Further, they provide several diving skills courses connected with specific equipment or conditions, some diving related informational courses and a range of recreational diving instructor certifications. They also offer various technical diving courses. As of 2020, PADI claims to have issued 28 million scuba certifications. The levels are not specified and may include minor specialisations.^[3] Some of the certifications align with WRSTC and ISO standards, and these are recognised worldwide. Some other certification is unique to PADI and has no equivalence anywhere, or may be part of other agencies' standards for certification for more general diving skill levels.