Diving regulations by country
Pick a jurisdiction. Every hub separates law, codes, guidance and our own explanation, and shows when its sources were last checked.
How to read this page: four kinds of statement
- Law Law / regulation
- Legislation: Acts, regulations and statutory instruments. It has the force of law in its jurisdiction.
- ACOP / code Approved Code of Practice or code with legal status
- A code the law itself gives special status (for example an HSE Approved Code of Practice). Following it is one way of complying; alternatives must be at least as good.
- Guidance Regulator or industry guidance
- Guidance, industry codes and standards. No legal force by itself, although clients, contracts or regulators may call it up.
- Explanation Marine Deep explanation
- Our own plain-English explanation. It is not a requirement and not legal advice.
Every law, code and guidance statement links to its primary source. Read the source before relying on it: our summary is not a substitute.
Jurisdiction hubs
- UK commercial diving regulations
The Diving at Work Regulations 1997, the five HSE Approved Codes of Practice, diving operation records, notification, qualifications and medicals, each linked to its primary source.
- International diving industry guidance: IMCA and DMAC
What IMCA and DMAC publish for offshore diving: the D018 code, DESIGN documents, auditing guidance, supervisor, LST and inspector certification, and DMAC medical guidance.
- US commercial diving regulations: OSHA and Coast Guard
OSHA's commercial diving standard (29 CFR 1910 Subpart T, and 1926 Subpart Y for construction) and the US Coast Guard rules (46 CFR 197 Subpart B): scope, personnel, procedures, equipment and records.
- Norway diving regulations: Havtil and the Working Environment Act
Petroleum-sector manned underwater operations under Havtil's HSE regulations, and inshore/land-based diving under chapter 26 of the Regulations concerning the performance of work.
- Canada diving regulations: federal, offshore and British Columbia
Federal Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations Part XVIII, the Canada Oil and Gas Diving Regulations and WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation Part 24, with their CSA Z275 references.
- Netherlands diving work regulations (Arbobesluit)
Diving work (duikarbeid) under the Dutch Working Conditions Decree: medical examinations, the dive team, registration, logbooks, notification and compression chambers.
- Australia diving work regulations (WHS Regulations Part 4.8)
The structure of Part 4.8 (Diving work) of the Work Health and Safety Regulations, and the Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme (ADAS).
Coverage
Explanation Marine Deep's explanation, not a requirement.
Not yet covered: Ireland and New Zealand. Their regulators' pages could not be verified during the launch research. We will add hubs once the primary sources are monitored. We do not publish a hub from secondary sources.