How do you get a diving certification? The difference between PADI, SSI and CMAS
If you’re thinking about taking up diving, one of the first things that confuses people is the whole certification question. One centre offers PADI courses, another shows SSI, and in Turkey the names CMAS and TSSF keep cropping up too. Naturally, the first question on your mind is: which one should I go for? It’s actually less complicated than it looks. All three systems share the same basic goal: teaching you to use the equipment, move correctly underwater and dive safely within the limits your training allows. The differences lie mainly in how the training is delivered, how the levels progress and the organisation behind each system.
What is a diving certification?
A diving certification is proof of the level of dive training you’ve completed. People often call it a “diving licence”, but “certification” or “diver certificate” is the more accurate term. It’s important to separate a try dive from being a certified diver. There are a great many centres offering try dives, especially along Turkey’s south coast. Even someone who has never dived in their life can join one under an instructor’s supervision. But going into the water with a tank once doesn’t make you a trained diver.
Things change when you want to get certified. Now you’re starting a proper course made up of theory, in-water skills sessions and open water dives. If you’d like to start with the basics of diving itself, have a look at our What is scuba diving? guide first.
What are PADI, SSI and CMAS?
We’re really talking about three different training systems here. PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is one of the dive training systems you’ll come across most around the world. Its entry level is called PADI Open Water Diver.
SSI (Scuba Schools International) is another big training organisation that operates worldwide. Its entry level is also Open Water Diver. CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques) is a little different. It’s a federation-based system. In Turkey, CMAS training is run through the Turkish Underwater Sports Federation (TSSF), and the levels go up in stars. That’s why, when you’re researching courses in Turkey, you’ll often see the term TSSF/CMAS 1 Star Diver.
The differences between PADI, SSI and CMAS
If you’re getting your first certification, there’s no need to overcomplicate the picture.
| PADI | SSI | CMAS / TSSF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry level | Open Water Diver | Open Water Diver | 1 Star Diver |
| Course structure | Theory + confined water + open water | Theory + confined water + open water | Theory + practical + open water |
| System | Private training organisation | Private training organisation | Federation-based |
| Digital learning | Yes | Yes | Varies by programme |
| Use in Turkey | Common | Common | Very common |
| Recognition abroad | Very common | Very common | International |
| Next steps | Advanced, Rescue, Divemaster, etc. | Advanced programmes, Stress & Rescue, etc. | 2 Star, 3 Star, instructor levels |
On the PADI Open Water course, the theory section is followed by skills sessions in a pool or similar controlled environment, and then you move on to four open water training dives. The depth limit at entry level is 18 metres. The SSI process isn’t very different: there’s academic training, confined water sessions and four open water dives, and again the entry-level limit is 18 metres. CMAS One Star is the entry level of the international CMAS system. This is where you may run into a bit of conflicting information online. CMAS’s general standard mentions 20 metres, but in Turkey the TSSF rules apply. For a TSSF/CMAS 1 Star Diver, the limit is a maximum of 18 metres, subject to the required buddy conditions, and night diving isn’t allowed at this level. So if you see “CMAS 1 star, 20 metres” somewhere, it isn’t necessarily wrong. When you’re diving in Turkey, though, what counts is the TSSF’s current rules.
Are the levels equivalent?
This is where things get a bit muddled. At the start, you can think of PADI / SSI Open Water Diver and TSSF/CMAS 1 Star as “entry level”. Beyond that, though, it isn’t right to line the systems up one to one. Saying something like “PADI Advanced is definitely CMAS 2 Star” can be misleading. Course content, the dive experience required and the requirements for moving up all differ. If you want to switch from one system to another, rather than guessing which level your certification matches, it’s much wiser to ask the dive centre or the relevant federation directly.
What to expect on your first diving course
On day one, you don’t strap a tank to your back and jump straight into the sea. First you need to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. The theory section covers pressure, equalising, using the equipment, air consumption, basic dive planning and safety. The aim isn’t to turn you into a physics professor. It’s to help you understand why you need to do certain things underwater, and why you need to steer well clear of others.
Next comes the practical side, in a controlled environment. Breathing from a regulator for the first time can feel a little strange. This is where you practise what to do if water gets into your mask, how to recover your regulator if it comes out of your mouth and how to control your buoyancy. It’s also the best place to make mistakes: your instructor is right there and the environment is controlled. Once this part is done, you move on to open water dives, putting what you learned in the pool or shallow water into practice in a real diving environment. The PADI and SSI Open Water programmes include four open water training dives, and the current CMAS One Star standard also calls for four open water dives. The course is complete once your instructor sees that you can perform the required skills safely.
How many days does it take to get certified?
It isn’t really accurate to give a fixed figure like “you can do it in three days” or “it takes four days”. The centre’s schedule, whether you’ve done the theory online beforehand, the weather and sea conditions, the size of the group and how quickly you get used to the water all have a direct effect on how long it takes.
Some centres can squeeze the course into a few days. There’s nothing wrong with that in itself. But what matters isn’t whether you finish in three days or five. If you can’t clear your mask properly or still can’t control your buoyancy, having a certification card in your pocket doesn’t mean much underwater. The underwater world is an incredibly beautiful place, but the margin for error isn’t as wide as it is on land. So if you ask me, when you’re choosing a course, it makes more sense to ask “how is it taught?” before you ask “how many days does it take?”
PADI, SSI or CMAS?
I think this is where people get more hung up than they need to. “Is PADI better?”, “Is CMAS more serious?”, “Is SSI valid abroad?” There are dozens of questions like these. But when you’re getting your first certification, there’s something more important than the logo on the card: the instructor. A good instructor won’t just give you enough knowledge to pass the exam. They’ll see where you’re struggling underwater, work on your buoyancy with you, explain why you use the equipment the way you do, and won’t push you on to the next stage before you’re ready just to keep to the schedule. That’s why, when choosing a course, I’d look at the centre and the instructor before the system.
Of course, the systems do have practical differences. If you’re going to keep diving in Turkey, you’ll come across TSSF/CMAS a lot anyway. It has a wide network of centres and instructors in Turkey, and the system runs through the federation. PADI and SSI, meanwhile, are the two names you’ll see most at dive centres abroad. Both have large worldwide networks and digital certification systems. While we’re at it, let’s clear up a small misconception about CMAS: it isn’t a system used only in Turkey. It’s an international organisation. And if you want to take things further later on, look at the training available where you are rather than the logo on your first card. Who runs the advanced courses? Can you find good instructors? When you want to move on to rescue, deep diving, navigation or professional levels, can you carry on within the same system? At the start, these things usually matter more than the brand on the card.
What to know before you get certified
You don’t need any previous scuba experience. That’s what the course is for. But swimming ability and health do matter. The general minimum age for PADI Open Water is 10. Participants under 15 receive a Junior Open Water Diver certification. Basic water skills, such as being able to swim 200 metres and stay afloat for 10 minutes, are also assessed during the course.
For SSI’s entry-level course, the minimum age is also 10, and there are different supervision rules for 10–14-year-olds. In Turkey, the TSSF lowered the minimum age for scuba diving from 14 to 12 in 2025.
Health isn’t something to brush aside with “we’ll only be swimming around for a bit” either. Before the course, you may be asked for a medical statement or whatever documents the system requires. If you answer yes to certain health questions on the form, you may need to be assessed by a doctor.
Do you need to buy equipment for your first course?
Usually not. On entry-level courses, it’s very common for the centre to provide the basic equipment, such as the BCD, regulator, tank, weight system and wetsuit. But make sure you ask before you sign up. Course packages vary from centre to centre when it comes to things like masks, fins, dive computers and suits. And personally, I don’t think it makes much sense to buy a full set of diving equipment before you’ve even done your first course. Diving isn’t a cheap sport to begin with, and you don’t yet know whether you’ll stick with it. Try out a few different bits of kit first. See which mask feels comfortable, which fins suit you and what kind of suit you prefer. Spending money after that makes far more sense.
Don’t choose a dive centre on price alone
Two centres in the same town can charge different prices for the same course. Your first instinct may be to pick the cheaper one, but deciding on dive training purely on price isn’t a great idea. When you call a centre, ask a few questions:
- Which system do you teach?
- How many students are there per instructor?
- Where do you do the open water dives?
- Is equipment included in the course price?
- How many open water dives are there in total?
- Is the theory taught face to face or online?
- Does the course have to be finished by a set day?
I think the last question is especially important. “Guaranteed certification in three days” isn’t an advantage in itself as far as I’m concerned. If you genuinely learn it in three days, fine. But being forced to learn in three days because the programme is three days long is another matter. The point of diving isn’t to get a card as fast as possible; it’s to know what you’re doing when you get in the water.
Where can you get certified?
You need to do your certification course at an authorised dive centre. On Advenway, our Dive Centres page lets you browse centres across Turkey by city and region. With our newly added dive map, you can also see centres and dive areas near you in one place.
If you’re looking for a course for the first time, start with the centres in your area, then compare which system they use, their instructors and their course schedules. And once you’re certified and the question becomes “so where do I dive now?”, our Kaş Dive Sites guide is a good place to start.
The verdict: which diving certification makes more sense?
For someone just starting out, the gap between PADI, SSI and CMAS isn’t as big as you might think. With all three, you learn first, practise in a controlled environment and then move on to open water. The names, cards and progression systems differ, but the basic goal at the start is very similar.
So don’t get stuck on “which certification is best?” Find a good instructor. Research the dive centre. Make a real effort to actually learn as you work through the course. If you’ll mostly be diving in Turkey, TSSF/CMAS is a strong option anyway. PADI and SSI are widespread both in Turkey and abroad, and CMAS is a system with international recognition too. In short, choosing the right system for your first certification matters, but choosing the right instructor probably matters more.