Open Water Referral / Checkout Dives

Complete Your Certification While Diving Key Largo!

We have both SSI & PADI Dive Instructors on staff and can complete your certification with either training agency! Not SSI or PADI, don't worry! Scroll a bit further down for more info!

***SUPER DUPER EXTREMELY IMPORTANT***
All Referral Students must arrive for check in between 1130am - 1145am on their scheduled course start date. As always, there's paperwork to complete, student medical AND boat liability waivers to fill out/verify, rental gear to issue, payments to collect, etc. In order to have time to complete everything before the boat departs and not be rushing or miss anything, we need to have you arrive no later than 1145am. 

SSI Checkout Dive Costs

Includes: All rental gear, seat on afternoon dive boat (weather permitting), Instructor evaluation of all required skills, processing your online certification (if applicable), issuing digital certification card (if applicable)
Not Included: gratuity for Instructor & boat crew (see our "Trip Advice From The Pros" page under the About Us tab for some great additional info!)

1-2 Dives     1 Day     $255 + tax
$150 + tax, non-refundable deposit due at time of reservation. Balance of $105 + tax due on arrival

3-4 Dives     2 Days   $385 + tax
$150 + tax, non-refundable deposit due at time of reservation. Balance of $235 + tax due on arrival

Only need 1 dive? No worries, you get a bonus!
Checkout dives are paid at the same daily rate BUT you get to join in the 2nd dive as a bonus FUN dive with the same Instructor and your rental gear for no additional charge ($204 FREE)!

PADI Checkout Dive Costs

Includes: All rental gear, seat on afternoon dive boat (weather permitting), Instructor evaluation of all required skills, processing your online certification (if applicable), issuing digital certification card (if applicable)
Not Included: gratuity for Instructor & boat crew (see our "Trip Advice From The Pros" page under the About Us tab for some great additional info!)

Dives 1 & 2 ONLY     1 Day     $255 + tax
$150 + tax non-refundable deposit due at time of reservation. Balance of $105 + tax due on arrival

Dives 3 & 4 ONLY with Sea Dwellers processing certification     1 Day     $255 + 95 PIC fee + tax
$150 + tax non-refundable deposit due at time of reservation. Balance of $200 + tax due on arrival

Dives 3 & 4 ONLY with shop of origin processing certification     1 Day     $255 + tax
$150 + tax non-refundable deposit due at time of reservation. Balance of $105 + tax due on arrival

Dives 1 - 4 with Sea Dwellers processing certification     2 Days     $385 + $95 PIC fee + tax = $480 + tax
$150 + tax non-refundable deposit due at time of reservation. Balance of $320 + tax due on arrival

Dives 1 - 4 with shop of origin processing certification     2 Days     $385 + tax
$150 + tax non-refundable deposit due at time of reservation. Balance of $235 + tax due on arrival

Only need 1 dive? No worries, you get a bonus!
Checkout dives are paid at the same daily rate BUT you get to join in the 2nd dive as a bonus FUN dive with the same Instructor and your rental gear for no additional charge ($204 FREE)!

*NOTE* PADI charges a processing fee of $95 for all certifications called a PIC fee, this fee is charged to the shop that submits the certification at the time of processing. If SEA DWELLERS will be processing your certification for referral checkout dives, the PIC fee will be included in the cost of your checkout dives and that is the ONLY reason it is a different price from the SSI checkout dives. SEA DWELLERS charges $255/$385 for checkout dives depending on if you are joining us for 1 day or 2 days regardless of which agency we are certifying through, the additional fees go DIRECTLY to PADI.
Please verify with your shop of origin if they charged you for a PIC fee. If you informed them that you would be completing your checkout dives elsewhere, they should NOT have charged you the PIC fee, if they did, it was probably an accident and we would recommend that you request a partial refund for that fee. The other option if your shop of origin charged you a PIC fee despite you doing your checkout dives elsewhere AND they won't refund the fee, is for us to complete the checkout dives and fill out your training packet then you return the entire completed student packet to the shop of origin for them to process your certification and issue your certification cards. We can also do it that way if you simply want your certification officially issued by your shop of origin because you just want it done that way. 

***SUPER DUPER REALLY IMPORTANT***
Referral students completing checkout dives are expected to arrive prepared to be able to demonstrate each of the required skills. The Instructors will provide a detailed briefing on how they will ask you to show skills for evaluation but there will be no teaching of skills done during the checkout dive process, we are only evaluating. We DO offer, allow and encourage students who want to brush up a bit more on their skills, or just have a practice run in the pool with an Instructor to join a pool session prior to the afternoon checkout dives. If you would like to take advantage of this option, you would need to let us know at the time of reservation OR check with us to see if we have space available for the morning pool session PRIOR to arrival. Pool sessions are limited to no more than 8 students, the cost is $120 + tax and check in time is 730am - 745am.
(Pro tip: if you are pretty confident in your ability to do the skills without the pool session but want to double check 1 or 2 of them, ask your instructor during a quiet moment to remind you which steps they are looking for you to execute in a particular skill. Please keep in mind though, that while our Instructors are usually more than happy to share their knowledge and experience with you and help out however they can, we DO have time constraints and sometimes, they won't have that extra few minutes to spend because they are REQUIRED to be doing something else.) 

• PADI Students: Student Referral Paperwork from your dive center/instructor – completely filled out and within 12 months of your class start date.
• SSI Students: Verify that your dive shop/Instructor has certified you as a referral diver in SSI's online system BEFORE you leave their shop. 
• Medical Questionnaire – completely filled out and dated within 12 months of your class start date. IF your answers indicate that a medical evaluation is required, you MUST bring the completed and signed release with the medical provider's signature ON THE RELEASE with you to check in. If your answers indicate that a medical evaluation is NOT required, don't worry about printing out the release in advance, you will fill one out in the shop on arrival. **Honesty on the medical release is CRITICAL, False answers can be potentially fatal** *IF you are required to seek evaluation, the medical provider MUST sign the 3rd page of the medical release or we will NOT be able to accept it. If the medical provider's signature is not on the actual release, you do NOT have a valid medical release. Notes, letters, emails, etc., will NOT suffice and you will be considered to have a failed medical. Please see our cancellation policy for more information* 
• Dive Logbook – with pool & confined water sessions pages completed and signed off by your previous instructor.
• Timing device/watch/dive computer – It’s required to have some type of device to keep track of your time underwater.
• Your boat liability waiver filled out with "STUDENT" selected on ALL 3 certification questions. Anything other than "STUDENT" selected will require a new waiver to be filled out (the lawyers get very prickly about this one). The link to the BOAT waiver can be found in all confirmation emails as well as the bottom right corner on our website home page (if you are on a mobile device, turn your phone sideways and it'll pop into view).

• Check with your dive shop or Instructor of origin to verify they can accept a universal referral from the training agency at the shop of origin signed by a PADI or SSI instructor. If so, bring the universal referral form from your shop or origin, complete your checkout dives with us, then return the completed universal referral form to your shop/Instructor of origin for processing!