Local Laws and Regulations

Medical Certificates
Under Spanish Law, every recreational diver needs to hold a medical certificate, renewable every two years. Equally every dive student wishing to take part in a dive course must provide a medical certificate stating their fitness to dive. Medical certificates should be kept in your log book, which you should bring to the centre before your dive.

Dive Insurance
By Spanish law, you are required to have dive insurance. Often this is covered by your travel insurance, but if not, we can arrange this for you. We are unable to take you for a dive unless you have insurance. If you are participating in a course with us, you are covered by our insurance, but if you are coming for a fun dive, you will need your own.

Minimum Age
The new legislation concerning children and diving states that a child must be over 12-years-old to partake in the entry level Discover Scuba Diving Course, and that a child can be no younger than 14-years-old to begin an Open Water Diver course.

Certification
Unless you are to be taking part in a beginner level diving course with us, we require that every diver holds a valid recreational diving certificate, regardless of the number of years of independent experience, by law you are required to hold a valid dive certification. Examples include PADI Open Water Diver, CMAS One Star or BSAC One Star, but any entry level diver certification will suffice. Remember to bring your card with you.

Shore Dives
There has been a great deal of discussion recently about whether dives from shore are permitted under Spanish law. The law here is quite simple: Shore dives are permitted, but there must be a boat in the water at all times to act as emergency cover and assist as necessary. (Chapter II, Art.15, paragraph 4)

Diving inside the Natural Marine Parks
Many of our favourite dive sites along the coast are within a natural marine park called "Acantillados de Maro - Cerro Gordo". This requires us to have permits from the Junta de Andalucía to dive there. Without this permit, dive centres can not dive within the marine park, although there are a number of other procedures also required to be allowed permission.

Credentials of the dive centre or dive school
Before you sign up to dive with any dive centre, please ensure that they are legal to operate. You are within your rights to ask for any or all of the following documentation:
Dive centre licence
"Estacion de carga de aire" - Legally approved air filling station
Proof of insurance
Legal working contracts of the employees
Numero Turismo Activo
The permits to dive within the Natural parks
Member, owner or affiliate of a recompression chamber within 1 hour travel
Register number all boats (which signifies that they are checked regularly)
Boat cover on all dives by a qualified boat handler
Oxygen, mobile and register of divers on all dives
All Instructors hold the rating Instructor Nacional
Qualified guides (Each employee should be able to openly demonstrate their level of certification)
Does the management insist on a medical?
Is the equipment in good, safe working order?
The above list is not exhaustive, but if the above points are in order you can be more confident that you are in the hands of a law abiding centre.
View our credentials here.
 
 
Recompression Chamber
Under Spanish Law you are required to be affiliated to a Recompression Chamber within 1 hour of your centre. We have an affiliation with the Clinica El Angel in Málaga.