Course Director

The highest and most respected professional rating

The PADI Course Director Training Course

PADI Course Directors are instructor trainers who conduct PADI Instructor Development Courses and other instructor-level training. PADI Course Directors hold the highest and most respected professional rating in recreational scuba diving. They are among the dive industry’s most influential opinion leaders and role models. Those who join this elite group of professionals pass through a stringent screening process that examines their experience and training just to get into the competitive and demanding Course Director Training Course (CDTC).


Get Credit

You may be able to earn college credit for the PADI Course Director Training Course.


What You Learn

During the PADI CDTC, you learn how to conduct PADI Instructor Development programs and gain experience in developing scuba educators. The PADI CDTC is conducted by PADI Office Staff.


What You Can Teach

After successful completion of the PADI CDTC you can teach the following PADI courses and programs:

  • PADI Instructor Development Courses (IDCs) and PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) programs
  • PADI IDC Staff Instructor courses
  • PADI Status Updates
  • After certification as a PADI Specialty instructor Trainer, you can also teach PADI Specialty Instructor Courses

At a glance, compare what you can teach when you continue your professional diver education.


The Prerequisites for This Course

To take this course, you must:

  • Be a renewed, teaching status PADI Master Instructor for at least the past six months
  • Have no verified Quality Assurance complaints for at least the past 12 months
  • Conduct all PADI certification courses and experience programs using methods consistent with PADI Standards and philosophy as outlined in the PADI Instructor Manual for at least the past 12 months.
  • Exclusively use the complete PADI System of diver education including all appropriate PADI training materials for at least the past 12 months.
  • Certified as a PADI IDC Staff Instructor
  • Have staffed at least two complete IDCs after being certified as a PADI IDC Staff Instructor
  • Certified as a current Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer
  • Experience working with a PADI dive shop or resort
  • Have a minimum of 250 logged dives
  • Meet all other requirements as specified by PADI at the time of application


Your Next Adventure

For more information about this or other PADI courses have a chat with one of our Team members.