Before your first scuba lesson, you will be asked to fill in a short health form. The scuba diving medical questionnaire takes a few minutes, but one answer can decide whether you need to see a doctor before you get in the water. It pays to read it at home, not on the dock.
This guide is for anyone booking a course or a try dive. We explain what the form is, how its questions work, and how to plan your trip around it. We are a dive shop, not doctors, so nothing here is medical advice for your own health.
How does the scuba diving medical questionnaire work?
Quick answer: You answer 10 yes or no health questions. If every answer is no, you sign the form and can start training. A yes leads to follow-up questions, and where the form says so, you need a physician to examine you and sign an approval before you dive. Plan for any yes to mean a doctor’s visit.
What is the scuba diving medical questionnaire?
Its full name is the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire, and PADI uses it wherever its standards call for a medical screen. It was created by the Diver Medical Screen Committee with the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, DAN and the hyperbaric medicine division of the University of California, San Diego.
The form is a screening step, not an exam. In its own words, it “provides a basis to determine if you should seek out” a physician’s evaluation. You complete it as a prerequisite to a recreational scuba course, and you can download a copy from the PADI forms and paperwork page to take to your doctor.
How the diver medical form works, step by step
The current form has three pages and works in two steps. Most healthy people finish on page one.
- Page one: answer 10 yes or no questions about your health.
- All no: no medical evaluation is required. You sign the participant statement and you are done.
- A yes: most questions point you to a lettered box on page two with more specific questions. Three page-one questions go straight to a physician.
- Physician needed: take the form, including the Physician’s Evaluation Form on page three, to your doctor. The form says participation in a diving course then requires your physician’s approval.
Your doctor marks the result as approved or not approved. PADI notes that the evaluating physician cannot add limits or conditions, so an approval with conditions attached counts as not approved.
What the questions cover
The questions follow the body systems that diving puts under strain: breathing, circulation, ears and sinuses, and the nervous system. Here is how the main areas line up with the follow-up boxes.
| Area | Examples on the form | What a yes leads to |
|---|---|---|
| Lungs and heart | Asthma or wheezing that limits exercise, heart problems | Box A follow-up questions |
| Age over 45 | Smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, family heart history | Box B follow-up questions |
| Exercise capacity | Struggling to walk a mile in 14 minutes or swim 200 m/yd without resting | Physician’s evaluation |
| Eyes, ears and sinuses | Recent sinus or eye surgery, ear disease, balance problems | Box C follow-up questions |
| Recent surgery | Surgery in the last 12 months, or ongoing problems from past surgery | Physician’s evaluation |
| Nervous system | Recurring migraines, fainting, seizures | Box D follow-up questions |
| Mental health | Conditions needing treatment, panic attacks, addiction | Box E follow-up questions |
| Back, diabetes, digestion | Back problems, hernia, ulcers, diabetes, stomach or intestine problems | Box F or G follow-up questions |
Two notes on page one are absolute. If you are pregnant, or trying to become pregnant, the form says do not dive. If you are ill, avoid diving.
Fitness to dive: why a yes means a doctor decides
A yes is not a verdict that you can never dive. It means the decision belongs to a physician, not to you, your buddy or your instructor. No instructor can sign off a yes answer: where the form calls for a physician, in-water training waits until a signed approval is in hand.
Honesty matters most. DAN’s page on health status and fitness to dive says it is in your best interest to answer every question honestly, and to consult a physician when the questionnaire tells you to. DAN also suggests that a doctor who is unsure how a condition affects diving can check with them.
Plan ahead if you might answer yes
- Download the form and read it as soon as you book, weeks before you fly.
- If any answer could be yes, see your own doctor at home, who knows your history.
- Bring the signed physician’s form with you, plus a copy on your phone.
- If your health changes after the visit, tell your instructor before the course starts.
The exercise question also links fitness to swimming. If you are a weak swimmer, our page on whether non swimmers can scuba dive covers PADI’s swim and float check.
New students, returning divers and pro courses
New divers meet the form first, whether they start with our Discover Scuba Diving experience or the full PADI Open Water Diver course on Ambergris Caye. The form notes that it is mainly an initial screen for new divers, though it suits other divers as well.
If you are certified but have been out of the water a while, the scuba refresher course on Ambergris Caye starts with a pool session to review your skills. The PADI Divemaster course in Belize asks more: a current medical attesting to your diving fitness, signed by a physician within the previous 12 months.
Whatever your level, read our notes on dive insurance for a Belize trip before you travel. Our complete guide to learning to dive on Ambergris Caye lists every course, and current course prices are on our Water Sports page of PADI courses.
Who will review your paperwork
Courses at White Sands Dive Shop are taught by Elbert Greer, PADI IDC Staff Instructor, who owns and operates this 5 Star PADI Dive Facility in San Pedro. The shop is a PADI International Resort Association member, licensed by the Belize Tourism Board.
Our students notice the care Elbert takes with safety. Vivake K. Bhalla wrote: “Elbert Greer was an outstanding instructor with a lot of experience and useful tips. He was very friendly and fun, but equally very strict about safety.” More notes are in our letters from students Elbert has taught.
Scuba diving medical questionnaire: your questions answered
Does a yes answer stop me from scuba diving?
Not on its own. A yes can lead to follow-up questions, and where the form says so you need a physician’s signed approval before any diving.
Do I need a doctor’s note to scuba dive?
Only if your answers call for one. If you answer no to all 10 questions on page one, no medical evaluation is required.
Can my dive instructor approve a yes answer?
No. When the form calls for a physician, only a physician can approve you, and the approval cannot carry added limits or conditions.
Where can I get the diver medical form?
PADI offers it as a free download on its forms and paperwork page. Print it and read it at home well before your trip.
Can I dive while pregnant?
No. The questionnaire states that if you are pregnant, or attempting to become pregnant, you should not dive.
Send us your questions before you travel
Unsure about the form or your booking? Email Elbert at elbertgreer@fastmail.fm or phone 011 (501) 226 2405. He can explain the paperwork, while any medical question belongs with your own doctor.