Diving certificates

With a class A diving certificate, a commercial diver can perform effortless and uncomplicated work down to a depth of 30 metres.

When considering if the work/diving operation is effortless and uncomplicated, the following factors must also be considered:

• weather conditions
• wave height
• underwater currents
• light conditions
• underwater visibility

Other factors that could affect the complexity of the job should also be taken into consideration. In some situations, the risks involved could require a higher level of competence.

In order to qualify as effortless and uncomplicated work, the diver must not use work equipment that can significantly change the buoyancy of the diver.

Examples of commercial dives where a class A diving certificate can be used:

• collection of samples from the seabed
• underwater photography
• underwater metrology
• underwater guiding
• dives in a basin equivalent to a swimming pool
• underwater inspection

Public safety diving

Class A diving certificates are a prerequisite for training as a public safety diver. Please see below.

Class B diving certificate is often needed for commercial dives down to 30 metres

In Norway, for many types of commercial dives down to 30 metres , a class B diving certificate will be required. See a more detailed description below of conditions that require a class B certificate.  

Valid medical certificate is required

Commercial diving with a class A diving certificate is only permitted if the diver has a valid medical certificate for commercial diving (in Norwegian).

The training for a class A diving certificate must ensure the diver has acquired basic theoretical knowledge and practical skills to be safe underwater.

The training must cover systematic HSE and Norwegian regulations concerning inshore commercial diving. In addition, the training for class A diving certificate must include practical safety training.  

The safety training must include:

• diving theory
• diving physiology
• first aid
• decompression tables
• communication systems
• underwater hazards
• risk assessment
• introduction to the use of hyperbaric chambers
• practical diving
• use of diving equipment (self-contained and surface-supplied)
• use of common and simple work equipment
• maintenance and repairs
• surface procedures
• basic diving supervision
• marking of the dive site

The training must cover both self-contained and surface-supplied diving with air as breathing gas. The training must have a duration of at least 7 weeks.

The Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) recommends the following minimum practice times in water:

• 500 minutes and 15 dives at a depth of 0–20 metres
• 150 minutes and 5 dives at a depth of 20–30 metres

The training for class A diving certificates is primarily provided by diving schools. Training providers can adapt the training program to the needs of various occupational groups like scientific diving or diving activities for film and media purposes.

  Requirements for diving schools and provisions concerning the issuing of diving certificates can be found in Sections 8-3 and 8-4 of the Regulations concerning Administrative Arrangements.  

With a class B diving certificate, commercial divers can dive to a depth of 50 metres and use power tools.

A class B diving certificate is required for commercial diving

• involving ship husbandry
• near a remote-controlled underwater vehicle
• in or near aquaculture cages
• less than 10 metres away from pillars, quays, pipelines, constructions and facilities
• anywhere else there might be a risk of entanglement

A class B diving certificate is also required

• when using a catch bag with a weight in water above 2 kg
• for work with hydraulic, pneumatic or other power tools such as
  • dredgers,
  • underwater jetting equipment,
  • ejector pumps,
  • cranes, hoists, winches
  • lifting equipment, lift bags, etc.

The risks involved in the diving operation could also require a class B diving certificate for commercial dives where a class A certificate would normally be sufficient.

Valid medical certificate required

Commercial diving with a class B diving certificate is only permitted if the diver has a valid medical certificate for commercial diving (in Norwegian).  

The training for diving certificate class B shall be based on the training for diving certificate class A.

The training shall provide the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to dive and work safely to a depth of 50 metres.  

The safety training must cover:

• the risks that diving to 50 metres can entail
• physical and medical prerequisites
• surface-supplied diving
• training dives to increasing depth, down to 50 metres
• complications in connection with diving
• the use of hyperbaric chambers, wet bells and hot-water suits
• operational conditions (both the dive itself and related activities)
• diving equipment (includes band masks, light diving helmets and standard diving suit equipment)
• regular types of work equipment, such as hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical power-tools
• regular types of breathing gas (e.g. air and nitrox)
• diving supervision

The training must have a duration of at least 9 weeks.

The training for a class B diving certificate should focus primarily on how the diver should safely perform various types of jobs under water.  

The Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) recommends the following minimum practise time in water (including the training period for the class A diving certificate):

• 2200 diving minutes in total
• at least five dives and 150 minutes bottom time at depth in the range 39–50 metres

In Norway, this type of training is primarily provided by commercial diving schools.  

A diving supervisor is responsible for planning and managing a commercial diving operation in a safe and sound manner.

The diving supervisor is essential for the diver’s safety, both in terms of planning and risk assessment to prevent accidents, and if an unwanted incident occur.

A diving supervisor must:

• have relevant experience as a commercial diver
• have completed and documented safety training in accordance with the regulations (see below)
• have a class A or class B diving certificate (the certificate must cover the diving activity the person will be supervising)
• be able to safely lead the diving operation, including
  • planning
  • risk assessment
  • management of the diving operation
  • handling diving accidents (including accident site management, brief and debrief)
• ensure the diver’s safety
• be proficient in and have experience with the use of communication systems, including
  • voice communication
  • communication using line signals

Employer’s responsibility

The employer must ensure that the diving supervisor is well suited for the task.

The Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) recommends that the person who has the role of diving supervisor should:

• be at least 24 years old
• have at least two years of relevant experience as a commercial diver
• be able to document at least 200 relevant commercial dives

The employer can use this as a starting point to assess whether a diver is well suited to be a diving supervisor, but all regulatory requirements must also be met.

The diving supervisor does not need a medical certificate.

Training in diving supervision requires:

• Norwegian diving supervisor course
• refresher course every five years

Requirements for the documented training as a diving supervisor

The diving supervisor training course must have a duration of at least two weeks with approximately equal distribution between the theoretical and the practical part of the training. One week in this context refers to a full work week of 40 hours, including any necessary breaks.

Documented safety training for diving supervisors must be completed at a commercial diving school in Norway.

The theoretical part of the diving supervisor training shall cover safety training in:

• organisation and management
• mapping hazards and risks, risk assessment, planning, and implementation of measures
• emergency response
• diving medicine and lifesaving first aid
• lessons learned from the evaluation of previous diving accidents
• communication
• accident site management
• human behaviours in stressful situations, including emotional first aid
• good operational practice

During the practical part of the diving supervisor course, each participant must take part at least once in a practical exercise in the role of diving supervisor. This exercise must include:

• planning and risk assessment of a diving operation
• managing a diving operation
• handling a diving accident, including accident site management, brief and debrief

Refresher course – requirements for the content of the training

The refresher course, which must be completed every five years, must have a duration of at least three days.

This course should build on:

• documented safety training for class A and class B diving certificates
• the training in the diving supervisor course

The course must cover:

• evaluation of past diving accidents
• lessons learned from incidents (including the diving supervisors’ own experiences)

Each participant must take part at least once in a practical exercise in the role of diving supervisor. This exercise must include

• planning of and risk assessment for a diving operation
• managing a diving operation
• handling a diving accident, including accident site management, brief and debrief

The refresher training must also include a theoretical exam on

• relevant diving regulations
• basic diving medicine
• the use of diving tables
• reporting requirements

To perform public safety dives and search for persons presumed dead, the following is required:

• Class A diving certificate
• Public safety diver training with a duration of at least 2 weeks

Public safety diving requires competence in the tasks public safety divers perform and the hazards they may be exposed to.

In addition, divers must have completed documented training in the use of power-tools in connection with commercial diving.  

For public safety dives deeper than 30 metres, diving certificate class B is required.

Medical certificate is required in addition to diving certificate

Public safety diving with a class A (or class B) diving certificate is only permitted if the diver also has a valid medical certificate for commercial diving.

The enterprise, e.g. a fire and rescue service, can provide the training themselves. The Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) recommends that the training is provided in collaboration with a commercial diving school.

A public safety diving curriculum has been developed by commercial diving schools and Norsk redningsdykkerforum.

Use of power-tools in connection with public safety diving

If power-tools are used, the public safety diver must have documented training in use of the equipment.

Public safety divers must also be trained in the specific work equipment they will be using. 

This training can be provided by the enterprise itself, but it must be documented.

A standby diver must be ready to immediately provide assistance to intervene or aid the diver in an emergency situation. The standby diver shall be placed at the surface, fully dressed but with the mask off, ready to enter the water within one minute or sooner.

The standby diver is part of the basic crew for a diving operation. Standby diver and diving supervisor are two separate roles during the diving operation and in an accident situation.

In a basin equivalent to a swimming pool with a depth up to six metres, the standby diver does not have to be dressed.

In public safety dives and training for public safety dives, the standby diver may be in the water if this is deemed safe, provided there is a diving supervisor and a tender on the surface.

Standby diver tasks

The standby diver shall

• take part in the inspection of the seal and functionality of the diving equipment before the dive begins
• take part in the inspection to ensure the lifeline or umbilical is securely fastened to the diver
• be ready to provide immediate assistance to intervene or aid the diver in an emergency situation
• be placed at the surface, fully dressed but with the mask off, ready to enter the water within one minute or faster
• have at least 15 minutes of bottom time available without any previous dives that limits his function as  a standby diver

The standby diver must have a valid diving certificate for the depth and work operation being performed. This means that if the work requires a class B diving certificate, the standby diver must have a class B diving certificate. 

For public safety diving, the standby diver must be qualified as a public safety diver, see above.

Tenders must:

• be responsible for the lifeline, both during the diving operation and during an emergency situation
• maintain communication with the diver using line signals
• be aware, at all times, of the length of the diver’s umbilical
• as much as possible, monitor the diver’s actions and movements
• monitor all activities in the area and inform the dive supervisor of them

The tender must have knowledge about diving and the diving operation he participates in.  

In addition, the tender must be familiar with:

• the regulatory requirements for commercial diving (Regulations concerning the performance of work)
• safety procedures
• line signals and how to use them

Divers with a class A or class B diving certificate are qualified for this role, but it is not required that the tenders have a valid diving certificate.

The tender’s qualifications must be assessed against the conditions of each individual diving operation.

The training standards for tenders are equivalent to several weeks of training.

For work that requieres class A diving certificate and work requiring professional training as a public safety diver, divers may use

• former diving certificate class R

The following diving certificates may be used for work requiring a class B diving certificate:

• former diving certificate class I
• former diving certificate class II
• former diving certificate class III

The former diving certificate class S is no longer accepted as a valid diving certificate. 

What to do if you only have an older, class S, diving certificate?

Divers with a class S diving certificate can obtain a class A diving certificate by completing a conversion course.

The conversion course must include the same content that is required for class A, but may have a shorter duration. However, the duration cannot be shorter than 4 weeks. The course must be completed at a commercial diving school.

Diving instructors providing practical training shall, as a minimum:

• have the same type of diving certificate as the training aims to qualify for
• have at least one year experience from the type of diving they provide training for
• be fit to carry out instruction work
• have basic knowledge of relevant regulations
• know emergency procedures and emergency response measures

In this context, practical training refers to instruction in or under water.

Diving instructors providing practical training of recreational divers must have either:

• a class A diving certificate, or
• safety training in accordance with recognised European standards for training recreational divers

The diving instructor must be able to document their safety training.

Recreational diving instructors providing practical training must, as a minimum:

• have the same type of diving certificate as the training aims to qualify for
• have at least one year experience from the type of diving they provide training for
• be fit to carry out instruction work
• have basic knowledge of relevant regulations
• know emergency procedures and emergency response measures

In this context, practical training refers to instruction in or under water.

These rules also apply to freelance diving instructors. 

Recognised standards for recreational diving instruction

The following European standards for recreational diving instruction are recognised:

• Recreational diving services — Requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers — Part 3: Level 3 — Dive leader (NS-EN ISO 24801-3)
• Recreational diving services — Requirements for the training of scuba instructors — Part 1: Level 1 (NS-EN ISO 24802-1)
• Recreational diving services — Requirements for recreational scuba diving service providers (NS-EN 14467)

In the training of recreational divers, it is sufficient that the diving supervisor has been trained in accordance with recognised European standards for the training of diving supervisors.