BSAC instructor grades: from Assistant Diving Instructor to National Instructor
How BSAC instructor training works: each step, its entry rules and ages, and the crossover route for other agencies' instructors.
In this guide
- What it is: BSAC's volunteer instructor ladder, from your first one-day course to National Instructor.
- What you need first: Sports Diver (or equivalent) and age 16 or over.
- What you'll learn: Teaching theory and open-water lessons, then dive management and training other instructors.
- What's next: Your diver grade sets how high you can go, so Dive Leader and First Class Diver unlock the top steps.
The ladder
- Assistant Diving Instructor: the one-day Instructor Foundation Course (IFC). Sports Diver, 16+.
- Theory Instructor: a ten-minute classroom lesson plus a 60-question paper. IFC, Dive Leader, 18+.
- Assistant Open Water Instructor: the one-day Open Water Instructor Course. IFC, Dive Leader, 16+.
- Practical Instructor: a 45-minute open-water lesson plus a rescue drill. Dive Leader, IFC, Open Water Instructor Course, 18+.
- Open Water Instructor: yours once steps 1 to 4 are done.
- Advanced Instructor: for Open Water Instructors who are Advanced Divers. A two-day course, then a 60-question theory paper and two days of practical assessment.
- National Instructor: for Advanced Instructors who are First Class Divers and Instructor Trainers, with a Pass or Merit in the First Class Diver theory exam in the last three years. It ends with a four-day national exam.
Coming from another agency?
The Instructor Crossover is a BSAC Open Water Instructor Course. Bring BSAC membership, proof of your open-water instructor grade, an oxygen administration qualification and active teaching in the last 5 years (inactive longer, and you sit the Practical Instructor Exam too). It's for teaching in BSAC clubs.
Paid instructing
When divers pay for training, the HSE says the Diving at Work Regulations 1997 apply: a diving project plan, and staff divers with an in-date HSE medical certificate. More in other agencies and the HSE rules.
Source: All scuba instructor training courses, IFC, Theory Instructor, Practical Instructor, OWI, Advanced Instructor, National Instructor and Instructor Crossover, BSAC, checked October 2026; Recreational divers paying for an instructor, HSE, checked October 2026.
Governing body: British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC). It sets the UK safety standards and training awards for scuba diving, so it's the official place to find out more. PADI and SSI run their own courses too.
Typical prices, checked October 2026. The club or coach sets and bills the price.
The club map lists some of the UK clubs for this sport. It is a starting point, so check with the club before you travel. To have a coach found for you, use the enquiry form.
