Info PADI converts to eCards 10 Jan 2023

[ScubaBunga]

I guess my certifications are all old enough to not show up as e-cards. Typically PADI. Put Another Dollar In. $48 for an AOW e-card? Are you kidding me? I've still got my plastic cards somewhere ... and shops have honored my pics of them on my phone or made the phone call. $48!!

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so just put all your cards in your cart - print that off - shows you have the certs. Should be accepted as proof.

 

[Kimela]

so just put all your cards in your cart - print that off - shows you have the certs. Should be accepted as proof.

Unfortunately, it doesn't show the cert numbers.

 

[BlueTrin]

Unfortunately, it doesn't show the cert numbers.

If only there was a way to take a picture and store it in a device, I wonder

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Funny story regarding photos of cards presented as proof of certification. I tried to use a PDF of scanned photos of my original PADI DM card from 2009. One side of the card has the PADI logo and says "Divemaster" while the OTHER side of the card shows my photo, name, cert number, and date. The dive operator looked at the PDF with those two images combined on the one PDF and said, "How do I know those two photos are from the same card?" Because the side with my photo, name, etc, did not always say PADI and Divemaster, he would not accept it. He assumed that it could easily be fraudulent and that those two photos were not in fact from the same card.

So be careful with photos of cards. I'm not sure if this applies to current PADI cards or not, but it is clearly an issue with older cards.

My SDI/TDI digital cards downloaded from their website or app all have everything on one image ... photo, name, certification, certification number, instructor, dive center, and agency. I pretty much use those exclusively and have never had an issue with those being accepted. In my above example, once I showed him one of my TDI cards (Advanced Nitrox), he was happy.

 

[Searcaigh]

So be careful with photos of cards. I'm not sure if this applies to current PADI cards or not, but it is clearly an issue with older cards.

All of my PADI cards are like that, there is no qualification stated on the side with my personal details.

My IANTD cards on the other hand do state the qualification with personal details.

 

[Kimela]

If only there was a way to take a picture and store it in a device, I wonder

I've done that - and so far, so good.

 

[brsnow]

Funny story regarding photos of cards presented as proof of certification. I tried to use a PDF of scanned photos of my original PADI DM card from 2009. One side of the card has the PADI logo and says "Divemaster" while the OTHER side of the card shows my photo, name, cert number, and date. The dive operator looked at the PDF with those two images combined on the one PDF and said, "How do I know those two photos are from the same card?" Because the side with my photo, name, etc, did not always say PADI and Divemaster, he would not accept it. He assumed that it could easily be fraudulent and that those two photos were not in fact from the same card.

So be careful with photos of cards. I'm not sure if this applies to current PADI cards or not, but it is clearly an issue with older cards.

My SDI/TDI digital cards downloaded from their website or app all have everything on one image ... photo, name, certification, certification number, instructor, dive center, and agency. I pretty much use those exclusively and have never had an issue with those being accepted. In my above example, once I showed him one of my TDI cards (Advanced Nitrox), he was happy.

The free padi e-cards that showed up the other day work the same as my SDI and SSI e-cards. Pretty simple

 

[Kimela]

Funny story regarding photos of cards presented as proof of certification. I tried to use a PDF of scanned photos of my original PADI DM card from 2009. One side of the card has the PADI logo and says "Divemaster" while the OTHER side of the card shows my photo, name, cert number, and date. The dive operator looked at the PDF with those two images combined on the one PDF and said, "How do I know those two photos are from the same card?" Because the side with my photo, name, etc, did not always say PADI and Divemaster, he would not accept it. He assumed that it could easily be fraudulent and that those two photos were not in fact from the same card.

So be careful with photos of cards. I'm not sure if this applies to current PADI cards or not, but it is clearly an issue with older cards.

My SDI/TDI digital cards downloaded from their website or app all have everything on one image ... photo, name, certification, certification number, instructor, dive center, and agency. I pretty much use those exclusively and have never had an issue with those being accepted. In my above example, once I showed him one of my TDI cards (Advanced Nitrox), he was happy.

I was just looking at my pictures of my cards. My AOW does NOT have that designation on the side that has my name and cert number, but my Enriched Air DOES! I got my AOW in 2010 and nitrox in 2011, so I guess they changed sometime in between.

 

[tursiops]

Funny story regarding photos of cards presented as proof of certification. I tried to use a PDF of scanned photos of my original PADI DM card from 2009. One side of the card has the PADI logo and says "Divemaster" while the OTHER side of the card shows my photo, name, cert number, and date. The dive operator looked at the PDF with those two images combined on the one PDF and said, "How do I know those two photos are from the same card?" Because the side with my photo, name, etc, did not always say PADI and Divemaster, he would not accept it. He assumed that it could easily be fraudulent and that those two photos were not in fact from the same card.

So be careful with photos of cards. I'm not sure if this applies to current PADI cards or not, but it is clearly an issue with older cards.

My SDI/TDI digital cards downloaded from their website or app all have everything on one image ... photo, name, certification, certification number, instructor, dive center, and agency. I pretty much use those exclusively and have never had an issue with those being accepted. In my above example, once I showed him one of my TDI cards (Advanced Nitrox), he was happy.

Yes, that is a problem with the PADI physical cards: the Specialty cards only give the specialty name on the front, with no diver name, and the back has the diver name, with no specialty name. So a photo of just the back is meaningless....almost. The back also shows a diver number, which can be used by a PADI Pro to look up your cert on DiveChek. Of course, if they have DiveChek, they don't need anything but your name and DOB, which are also on the back of the card.
The PADI Pro cards are slightly better: the Specialty Instructor cards just say Specialty Instructor (or Distinctive Instructor) on the front, but give the topic on the back, along with your name and Pro number and cert date. The instructor cards for cert levels (like DM, AI, OWSI, MSDT, IDC Staff, MI) say the cert level on the front, but NOT on the back, similar to the diver-level cards.

 

[tursiops]

I was just looking at my pictures of my cards. My AOW does NOT have that designation on the side that has my name and cert number, but my Enriched Air DOES! I got my AOW in 2010 and nitrox in 2011, so I guess they changed sometime in between.

Hmmm, my post following yours says the cert topic is not printed on the back. But you have a recent card that shows the cert name. Nice. I have no diver-level cards since 2008, so my post needs some updating...however, I do not have that info. Good especially that EANx cards can use a picture of the back and have all the requisite info, because that is the specialty card most folks need to show. I wonder if the other specialties now show the cert level on the back?