Medical certificate for over 40's in Spain

[Jim Morris]

I am going to Cala D'or in Mallorca and have a medical cert that I used last year in Port Pollensa, Mallorca. I have however been told once you are over 40 the medical certificate needs to be renewed every year.

Does anyone know if that's correct?

 

[KeithG]

It will help to split this into 2 questions:
- do I need a medical certificate?
- if I need a medical certificate, how current must it be?

If you can answer No to all of the standard PADI medical questions then you will not need a certificate. You will have to fill out a form with the NOs. Some places will then require a doctor to endorse your NOs. Other places trust your NO answers and let you dive without a doctors endorsement (similar to the model used by many US dive ops).

If you answer YES to any question then you will need a medical cert. It is good for 2 years until you turn 40 then it must be annual.

Best bet is to check with your dive operator to see how they interpret the rules.

 

[Sunn]

Medical certificate has to be less than 1 year old, that's the rule for cmas affiliated organizations.

Or else the divecenter will use the medical padi statments, it depends on the divecenter and on the persons.... I have sometimes been diving without showing or signing anything...


just for your info : Los mejores sitios de buceo en Mallorca

 

[drbill]

Jeez... I know twenty-somethings who are less fit than many in their 40s

 

[kelemvor]

I am going to Cala D'or in Mallorca and have a medical cert that I used last year in Port Pollensa, Mallorca. I have however been told once you are over 40 the medical certificate needs to be renewed every year.

Does anyone know if that's correct?

You should contact the operation you'll be diving with and ask them. While some organizations have standards, they aren't all the same. Also, the diving operation may have their own rules in addition to or in place of an organization's standards. If you call and ask, you'll get an answer from the people who are enforcing whatever rules (if any). I've read about operations that require doctor's notes that are current within a few days on this site. I've dived with dive operations that don't ask for any paperwork. It really is a mixed bag of requirements out in the world.

Many people just answer "no" on medical questionnaires (especially repeated ones) instead of repeated doctor's visits for the same thing. Not that I'm suggesting you should do that.

 

[Schwob]

It will help to split this into 2 questions:
- do I need a medical certificate?
- if I need a medical certificate, how current must it be?

If you can answer No to all of the standard PADI medical questions then you will not need a certificate. You will have to fill out a form with the NOs. Some places will then require a doctor to endorse your NOs. Other places trust your NO answers and let you dive without a doctors endorsement (similar to the model used by many US dive ops).

If you answer YES to any question then you will need a medical cert. It is good for 2 years until you turn 40 then it must be annual.

Best bet is to check with your dive operator to see how they interpret the rules.

I think that is the US or "Americas and maybe Asia" version.
In much Germany i.e. it seems to differ.
Below 18 and above 40 one should renew the dive doctor's issued med. fit to dive cert. every year. Otherwise it's good for 2 to 3 years.
Also, for example, if you are over 40 or have high blood pressure you have to do (every time) an (observed) EKG test on an ergometer or such ideally until your pulse is way over what's recommended for your age... The point of it is I think to see if arteries etc. are still elastic enough to deal with diving or some such thing, less to qualify a minimal fitness, although there probably is a point where too bad is too bad.

Egypt I think requires (or at least some places there do) a (dive doctor's) certificate that is less than 1 year old.
Sorry, no real idea about Spain, edit: but I'd venture a guess it may be similar to how it is in Germany.
Tauchtauglichkeitsuntersuchung – Wikipedia

 

[Searcaigh]

When I dived in Spain a few years ago all I had to show was my DAN insurance and I'm well over 40.

 

[JMBL]

Dived in Spain in June : needed a medical certificate less than a year old (I'm 47). To the best of my knowledge, it's been the custom like forever. Started diving in 1990 in L'Escala.

 

[Sunn]

The reason is that european laws do not permit a total discharge of responsability, like they do in Asia or Africa with the padi form...

 

[Caudiver]

Theorically a medical certificate is compulsory for diving in Spain. This does not depend on your age (you need it been 18 or 95 years old) and it has to be renovated every two years . Once said this, I do not remember last time a Diving Center ask me to show mine.