Is certification necessary??

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Who gets your boat in your will?? I'll bet they'll enthusiastically support your plan.
 
A certification card shows others, dive boats, resort operators and shops, you have some knowledge. With a card (certification and credit) they will let you on their boats, rent you their gear and fill your cylinders.
Purchase your own compressor and never dive with a commercial operator and you'll be happy I'm sure.
 
haa! thanks for the replies guys! yeah I thought about the liability issue as well.. I live in New Jersey where there are more attorney's than cockroaches.. or are they the same?? (oops , did I say that) and yes somewhere along the way someone did tell me that shops might not fill my tanks, dive boats wont take you out, ect..seems like common sense , I just wasn't sure if there was a state, national or even international law.. and I really appreciate the strong response from you instructors that have chosen to earn a living in this sport/ hobby/ profession ..
 
Strong user name to thread topic correlation.

In all seriousness you can learn a lot here and elsewhere but formal training goes a long way. Not to mention a long lasting relationship that can develop between you and a good instructor.

Get the training it is worth the few dollars it costs.
 
I have been asked for my card on boats and resorts and state parks.

But I must say, I have never been asked for my card when I have taken tanks in to a shop for a fill of air.
 
Strong user name to thread topic correlation.

Haa! that's the name of my boat.. that's the name my wife give it when I came home and told her " honey .. I bought a boat" she asked what the proposed name was.. I told her " knot affordable" she said .. " no.. its Knot smart".. that was it ... it stuck
 
That's one of the key things - at some point you will be asked for a certification card if not advanced certification.

Knotsmart,

You are in NJ. If you want air fills or to dive dutch springs, round valley, or any of the dive boats you will need a cert card. The dive boats will probably require advanced training - as will the dive itself.
 
No laws and no *necessarily* really good reason other than as a practicality you need the cert card to get service from the scuba industry.

What you need to learn about the unique risks of recreational-depth-limit scuba can be downloaded in about 30 seconds, and it's pretty simple to grasp. Whether that's adequate to keep you safe, or equip you to be a good dive buddy if that's something you want to offer others, is another matter and very much dependent on the individual.

Coaching and supervision received during the formal training is also probably what a majority of certified students find most valuable about their certification instruction.
 
You can parachute without training as well........ [emoji56] ...

Jason didn't say without training, just certification. My first Scuba course was from a local dive shop before training agencies were established in my area. I doubt a dive shop would sell me a fill or a liveaboard would let me aboard with that card. My second, third, and fourth certifications were issued by the US Navy. I can usually get them accepted but it requires a lot of talking and showing copies of the certifications which are all wall-hangers. I finally got some friends to issue agency cards to me for convenience.

In reality, Jason's hypothetical friend/instructor would get a card issued for him.
 
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Boat? Is it ocean worthy? I did an ocean dive a few weeks back. The visability was 1 ft, 3 ft at best. On a wreck. Dives like that require training.

I exceeded my training. It was not smart...get some training (i.e. certification) and we can see about some local dives. Our check out dives are in a nice calm shallow area.
 
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