Spanish Law concerning Scuba Diving | Dive Medical

According to the Spanish Law regulating recreational diving activities, as a certified diver wishing to dive in Spain you will have to provide:

• Licence or Certification
• Dive Medical certificate stating you fit do dive. Read on about recent changes.
• Divers Insurance including hyperbaric treatment
• Dive computer, Knife, SMB and a whistle

CERTIFICATION for certified divers

As a certified diver, you will have to provide your Certification card. If you have a PADI certification, we will be able to look it up on the PADI database.

We have no access to any other certification institutions online such as BSAC, FEDAS, CMAS, SSI, ACUC, TDI etc. Digital proof of any certification is of course acceptable.

INSURANCE

Specifically including scuba diving and treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. A general travel insurance, your normal health insurance or any insurance cover that you may have on your credit card, often does NOT include scuba diving, unless specified in the small print. Please check your insurance details. If scuba diving is already included in any of your personal insurances, please print out the policy and bring it with you.

You don’t have to print out the whole document. The first page with your personal details and the policy information, plus the page where scuba diving is mentioned, will suffice. However, should you be unable to provide us with your insurance details, you can purchase your dive insurance with us the dive centre. The cost is minimal and it only takes literally few seconds to obtain. We work with Scuba Medic. If you like, check out their policy and international coverage to be able to compare with others.

• Day: 6,00€
• Week: 14,00€
• Year: 40,00€

MEDICAL CERTIFICATE | Dive Medical

In Spain, as in most European countries, a dive medical is required by law for any certified diver wishing to dive, or any person wishing to enroll in a course that leads to a certification.

However, the law has changed on the 1st of July 2020. Any diver can now declare himself fit to dive, IF all the questions on the first page of this MEDICAL DECLARATION can be answered with a NO.

Should you answer to any of the 10 questions with a yes, you will have to answer some additional questions on the second form. If they answers are NO, you are fit to dive. If any answer is a YES, you will have to present a dive medical signed by a professional doctor. On page 3 of this questionnaire, you will find the Diver Medical | Physician‘s Evaluation Form. You can print this one out, and present it with the rest of your declaration for your Doctor’s evaluation.

Please read the questionnaire and follow the steps.

Where to get Dive Medicals in the UK?

In case, you have to answer with a yes, any of the questions on the medical questionnaire, the best and quickest way to obtain your Fit to Dive Medical is to print out the medical declaration. Fill it out yourself and take it to your GP.  Your GP should be able to endorse the form for you. Maybe a phone call to your local practice will give you more detailed information. This particular issue is not regulated in the UK and each doctor may give you different options.

The above form is only one option. Any form will do, as long as it is endorsed by a qualified doctor.

Guidelines for your doctor

Diving Medical Guidance to the Physician can be accessed here, for your doctor´s information.

How do I get my Dive Medical in Menorca?

Should you wish to have your Dive Medical done here in Menorca, we are happy to arrange a visit for you. Our local hyperbaric doctor in Mahon is an experienced diver and the head of our hyperbaric chamber. He does speak English, so communication is not a problem. The cost is 70,00€ and the examination will take approx 30 mins per person. In Spain, the certificate is valid for one year, unless otherwise stated on the medical certificate itself. Always keep the original and hand in a copy if need be.

Appointments are usually weekdays (Monday to Friday) anytime between 17:00 and 20:00 hrs. They are located on top of Mahon harbour, so you may follow up your check-up with a dinner, enjoying the local cuisine and gazing at some magnificent boats moored in the harbour.

Dive Computer, Whistle, Knife, SMB

Further to these documents, all certified divers are required to dive with a DIVE COMPUTER (alternatively a combination of a watch and dive tables), Whistle, Knife and SMB. 

Should you not have your own dive-computer, you can rent one at the dive centre – 5,00€/Dive or 10,00€/Day.