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Planning, Pricing & Recording Underwater Work: A Guide for Clients and Divers

By DiverHire Team

A practical guide for first-time clients hiring a diver and first-time divers taking
paid work. Written as questions both sides actually ask, with researched answers.

Research basis & disclaimer. Figures below are real-world reference points gathered
from commercial dive companies' published rates, industry bodies (OSHA, DAN, ADCI),
and diving forums (June 2026). They are illustrative and vary widely by region,
water body, season, vessel/structure, and diver. Nothing here is legal, safety, tax,
or insurance advice — diving is inherently dangerous and paid underwater work is
regulated. Verify local rules and your own coverage before any job. Sources are listed
at the end.

How to read the tags: [CLIENT] = mainly for people hiring · [DIVER] = mainly
for divers taking work · [BOTH] = read regardless.

Part 0 — The five things to understand before anything else

1. [BOTH] Paid underwater work is usually "commercial diving" in the eyes of the law.
In the US, the moment a diver is paid to work underwater (hull cleaning, inspection,
photography for hire, salvage), the job falls under OSHA's Commercial Diving Operations
standard (29 CFR 1910, Subpart T) — there is no general recreational exemption. A
PADI/NAUI "Open Water" card does not, by itself, make someone a legal commercial diver.
The main carve-out is narrow scientific diving. Hull cleaning, inspection, and
for-hire media are not scientific diving. Canada (DCBC), the UK (HSE), and Australia
(ADAS) have their own "diving at work" regimes with the same spirit. (See Part 3.)

2. [BOTH] A "working dive" is a small operation, not a solo swim. Commercial standards
assume a team and forbid working alone: OSHA's SCUBA rule requires a standby diver
available whenever a diver is in the water, and the working diver must be either
line-tended from the surface or in continuous visual contact with a buddy. Solo paid
diving is outside the standard. (See Part 5.)

3. [BOTH] Conditions decide everything — feasibility, time, safety, and price. Depth,
water temperature, visibility, current, contamination, and overhead/confined spaces each
change what's possible and what it costs. A "two-hour job" in clear 70°F water can be a
multi-day, multi-person operation in cold, black, or contaminated water. (See Part 4.)

4. [DIVER] Your recreational dive insurance probably excludes paid work. Standard
recreational DAN dive-accident coverage explicitly excludes commercial/professional
diving. Doing paid work on a recreational policy can leave you uninsured for the exact
thing you were doing. Professional/commercial coverage is a separate product. (See Part 6.)

5. [BOTH] Write it down — before, during, and after. A clear scope up front and a dive
log + photos/video afterward protect both parties: they prove condition, prove the work
was done, and settle disputes. (See Part 7.)

Part 1 — For clients: scoping and hiring

[CLIENT] What information does a diver need from me to give an accurate quote?

The single biggest cause of bad quotes and no-shows is a vague request. Give the diver:
- Water body & location — lake, river, ocean/saltwater, marina, pool, pond. Salt vs.
fresh and current/tide matter.
- Depth — even a rough "the dock is in ~10 ft, the bottom drops to ~25 ft."
- Water temperature & season — drives the diver's exposure suit and safe bottom time.
- Visibility — "usually murky, maybe 2–3 ft" vs. "clear." Low visibility slows or
prevents photo/inspection work.
- The goal / deliverable — "20 listing photos + a 60-sec video," "tell me if the
pilings are rotten," "find my lost outboard," "scrape the hull."
- Access — boat ramp, private dock, ladder, shore entry; parking; gate codes.
- Known hazards — boat traffic, strong current, intakes/pumps, electrical, debris,
alligators/wildlife, "the prop might still be powered."
- Dates & flexibility — weather and tides move dives; flexible windows get better
pricing.
- Permits / ownership — is it your private waterfront, or public/regulated water that
needs permission?

[CLIENT] What makes a job cost more?

Roughly, in increasing order of cost driver: greater depth, cold water, low/zero
visibility, strong current (limits work to slack tide), contaminated water
(sewage/chemical — needs sealed suits, surface-supplied air, and decon), overhead/confined
spaces (under hulls, inside pipes), urgency/emergency call-outs, travel distance to a
remote site, and larger/heavier work (big vessels, salvage). Each can multiply both the
crew size and the hours. (See Part 4 for why.)

[CLIENT] Will I be charged for travel and setup, not just time underwater?

Usually yes, and that's normal. Independent divers and dive companies commonly bill trip /
mobilization charges, minimum call-out fees (e.g. a 1-hour minimum), equipment
surcharges, and time for setup/teardown — not only the minutes a diver is on the bottom.
One published rate sheet, for example, lists a flat $50 trip charge on small jobs, a
1-hour minimum on inspections, and a per-diver equipment surcharge (~$35) on top of
the hourly rate (DS Diving). Ask for an itemized quote
so there are no surprises. (See Part 2 for the diver's side of this.)

[CLIENT] What are realistic price ranges? (illustrative — verify locally)

- Recreational hull/prop cleaning (private boat): commonly ~$2.50–$8 per foot of
vessel length depending on size, growth, paint age, and region; routine cleanings on a
3–4 week cycle sit at the low end
(The Hull Truth,
DS Diving).
- Light commercial diving labor: roughly $45–$150/hour per diver; specialized
hazmat/nuclear work $100–$200+/hour
(PayScale).
- Inspections: about $165–$200 per hour per diver, often with a 1-hour minimum
(DS Diving).
- Underwater real-estate photo/video: priced like a specialty photo shoot plus dive
time; expect a half-day minimum, weather/visibility contingency, and a few days'
turnaround for edited media.
- Crews: commercial jobs frequently carry a 3-diver minimum because the standards
require a team (diver + standby + tender/supervisor), so "just a quick look" can still be
a multi-person charge.

[CLIENT] Why might a diver insist on a team, a calm-water window, or shutting off equipment?

Because the rules and physics require it. A standby diver and surface tending are safety
requirements, not padding. Divers will ask you to lock out / shut off intakes, pumps, and
propulsion, control boat traffic around the dive flag, and schedule around slack
tide in current. These keep the diver alive and are non-negotiable on a safe operation.

[CLIENT] Who owns the photos/video, and can I use them in my listing?

Clarify this up front in writing. By default, in most jurisdictions the photographer/
videographer owns the copyright; you're buying a license to use the images. For an MLS
listing or ads, agree explicitly on usage rights (where and how long you can use them)
and confirm there's no extra fee for commercial/marketing use. (See Part 6.)

[CLIENT] A good job posting includes:

Title · water body & city · depth (best estimate) · water temp/season · typical visibility
· the goal/deliverable · access & parking · known hazards · dates/flexibility · 2–5 site
photos (the dock, the boat, the water) · whether it's private or permitted water · budget
range. The more of these you give, the faster and more accurate the bids.

Part 2 — For divers: pricing & billing

[DIVER] Hourly, day rate, or fixed price — which should I use?

- Per-unit / fixed (per foot of hull, per piling, per anode, per vessel-foot for
salvage) is standard for repeatable, scopeable jobs. Example published rates: hull
cleaning $5–$8/ft by length, piling inspection $35/pile, zinc/anode replacement
$20/anode, shallow salvage $190/vessel-foot
(DS Diving).
- Hourly per diver suits open-ended or investigative work (inspections, search &
recovery): e.g. $165–$200/hr per diver with a 1-hour minimum
(DS Diving).
- Day rate is common for mobilized commercial jobs and contracts (e.g. on the order
of ~$1,000/day per person for some municipal work, higher for specialized work)
(ScubaBoard).
- Day rate is the commercial norm for surface-supplied / team operations; per-unit and
hourly dominate light/consumer work.

[DIVER] What is actually billable beyond bottom time? (Bill for all of it — clients expect it.)

- Mobilization / demobilization — loading, transport, rigging, setup, teardown.
- Travel time and mileage — "portal to portal" or a flat trip charge (e.g. ~$50
on small local jobs); per diem + lodging for remote multi-day work.
- Surface and standby time — a working dive needs a standby diver and a tender topside;
their time is real labor.
- Minimum call-out — a 1-hour (or half-day/full-day) minimum so a 20-minute job is still
worth showing up for.
- Equipment surcharge — gas, suit, and gear wear, e.g. ~$35/diver.
- Depth / hazard premiums — deeper, colder, contaminated, or confined work bills higher
(see below).
- Decompression / surface-interval time — if the plan incurs deco or mandatory
intervals, that's billable time on the clock.
- Consumables & disposal — anodes, patch materials, hazmat decon and waste disposal.
- Finder's fee — for search & recovery, a negotiated percentage of recovered value is
common (DS Diving).

[DIVER] Should I charge more for deep, cold, or nasty conditions?

Yes — and it isn't gouging; the cost and risk genuinely rise:
- Depth: more gas, shorter no-deco windows (or deco obligations), possibly
surface-supplied air instead of SCUBA, and a higher safety burden. Premiums commonly kick
in past recreational depths and again past ~100 fsw.
- Cold: drysuit + thermal undergarments, shorter safe bottom times, more crew rotation,
warming/surface-interval needs.
- Contaminated water: encapsulating (often vulcanized) drysuit, full-face mask or
helmet, surface-supplied air, a decontamination station, and hazmat training — a different
(higher) tier of job entirely (U.S. Navy SUPSALV CWD guidance).
- Zero visibility, current, overhead/confined: all slow the work and raise risk — price
the time and team the conditions actually demand, not the ideal-conditions estimate.

[DIVER] Deposits, payment terms, cancellations?

- Deposit/retainer is reasonable, especially for jobs needing mobilization or materials;
it covers your travel if the client backs out.
- Weather/visibility clause: dives get scrubbed by conditions. Agree in advance what
happens — reschedule free, keep the trip charge, etc.
- Change orders: scope grows once you're in the water ("while you're down there, can
you also…"). Quote additions before doing them.
- Payment terms: clear up front — on completion, net-15/30 for commercial clients,
milestones for big jobs.

[DIVER] What to put in a simple work agreement

Scope & deliverables · price and exactly what's billable (travel, mobilization,
minimums, surcharges) · deposit · cancellation/weather policy · payment terms · who
provides/operates equipment · site access & client safety obligations (intakes off, boat
traffic controlled) · liability/assumption-of-risk · for media: image ownership & usage
license.

Part 3 — Certifications & the legality of paid diving

[BOTH] Is getting paid to dive legally "commercial diving"?

In the US, yes — paid underwater work is covered by OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Subpart T
(Commercial Diving Operations); the community and regulators consistently read "paid to work
in the water = commercial diver"
(ScubaBoard hull-cleaner thread,
OSHA Commercial Diving). There is no broad
recreational exemption; the notable carve-out is scientific diving (research, not
for-hire services). Other countries regulate "diving at work" similarly: Canada — DCBC,
UK — HSE Diving at Work Regulations, Australia — ADAS.

Legal caution (not legal advice). This is the single most-misunderstood point for new
divers. A recreational certification does not authorize for-hire underwater work, and
doing it anyway can mean no insurance coverage, personal liability, and regulatory
exposure. Rules vary by country, state, and province — confirm what applies to you before
accepting paid work.

[DIVER] What certifications actually map to what work?

- Recreational (PADI/NAUI/SSI Open Water → Advanced → Rescue → Divemaster): training for
recreational diving. Recreational depth limits are typically ~18 m / 60 ft (Open
Water), ~30 m / 100 ft (Advanced), and a recreational ceiling around 40 m / 130
ft. These are not commercial work authorizations.
- Commercial (ADCI in the US, DCBC in Canada, HSE in the UK, IMCA offshore, ADAS in
Australia): the credentials actually expected for paid underwater work; commercial dive
school is a multi-month, several-thousand-dollar investment and includes surface-supplied
diving, tending, and dive-physics/medicine.
- Supporting tickets commonly expected: current first aid / CPR / emergency O₂
provider, and a commercial dive medical (fitness-to-dive).

[CLIENT] How do I vet a diver?

Ask for: the certification level and agency (and whether it's commercial vs.
recreational for the work involved), proof of insurance that covers commercial diving,
recent relevant experience, and how they'll run the dive safely (team, standby,
shutting off your equipment). Red flags: no insurance, plans to dive solo on a paid job,
or a purely recreational card for clearly commercial work.

Part 4 — Conditions reference: what changes the job

| Condition | What it means | Effect on the dive |
|---|---|---|
| Water temperature | Thermal protection is recommended below ~80°F (27°C); a drysuit is the norm below ~60°F (15.6°C), and essentially required below ~50°F (10°C) (DAN, TDI/SDI). Hypothermia = core below 95°F (35°C). | Cold shortens safe bottom time, forces drysuits + warm undergarments, adds crew rotation and warming intervals → more time and cost. |
| Depth | Recreational limits ~18/30/40 m (60/100/130 ft). OSHA caps SCUBA at 130 fsw, requires a decompression chamber ready beyond 100 fsw or outside no-deco limits (OSHA 1910.424). | Deeper = more gas, shorter no-deco time or deco obligations, narcosis, often surface-supplied air, bigger safety setup. |
| Visibility | "Black water" / near-zero viz. | Work slows dramatically; photo/inspection may be impossible; navigation and safety rely on touch and lines. |
| Current / tide | OSHA requires line-tending in currents over 1 knot (OSHA 1910.424). | Work often limited to slack-tide windows; scheduling tightens; tending required. |
| Contaminated water | Sewage/chemical/biological. Needs encapsulating (vulcanized) drysuit + full-face mask/helmet, surface-supplied air, and a decontamination plan (U.S. Navy CWD guidance). | A distinct, higher-cost specialty requiring hazmat training and gear; not a job for general divers. |
| Overhead / confined space | Under hulls, inside pipes/tanks, wreck penetration. OSHA requires line-tending in enclosed/confining spaces (OSHA 1910.424). | No direct ascent to surface → much higher risk, special procedures and training. |
| Weather / sea state | Wind, waves, storms, lightning. | Routinely scrubs or reschedules dives; build a weather clause into the agreement. |

Part 5 — Running the dive safely (operations)

[BOTH] What's the minimum safe setup for a working dive?

Commercial practice (and OSHA's SCUBA rule) assumes a team, not a lone diver:
- A standby diver available whenever a diver is in the water.
- The working diver is line-tended from the surface or in continuous visual contact with a
buddy — i.e. no solo working dives.
- Line-tending is mandatory in currents over 1 knot and in enclosed/confining spaces.
- A reserve breathing-gas supply carried by each diver, valve closed pre-dive.
- A decompression chamber ready for dives beyond 100 fsw or outside no-deco limits.
(OSHA 1910.424)

Larger commercial operations add a designated dive supervisor / person-in-charge and a
topside tender. On a small consumer job a single freelancer may work with one surface
helper — but the safety floor (someone topside, a standby capability, no true solo, traffic
control) should never be skipped.

[CLIENT] What do I have to provide or control on-site?

- Shut off and lock out intakes, pumps, thrusters, and propulsion before the diver
enters.
- Control boat traffic around the dive flag (and obey it yourself).
- Disclose known hazards — debris, electrical, currents, prior entanglements.
- Safe access to the water and a place to stage gear.
- A topside point of contact for the whole dive.

Pre-dive safety checklist (diver)

Site & hazard assessment · intakes/props locked out · dive flag up & traffic controlled ·
gas checked + reserve closed · suit/thermal matched to water temp · plan within no-deco
limits (or deco + chamber arranged) · standby diver & topside tender briefed · emergency
action plan (nearest chamber, O₂ on site, recall signal) · entry/exit and turn-around
pressure agreed.

Part 6 — Insurance, liability & media rights

[DIVER] What coverage do I need?

- Dive accident insurance that covers commercial/professional diving. Standard
recreational DAN coverage excludes commercial diving; you need DAN's (or another
insurer's) professional/commercial product, not the recreational plan
(DAN World FAQ,
DAN Europe commercial).
- Commercial general liability (third-party injury/property damage) and, for advice/
reports, professional liability (E&O).
- Equipment / inland-marine cover for your gear; consider workers'-comp/Jones-Act
exposure for crewed commercial work.

[BOTH] Who's liable if something goes wrong?

Liability depends on contract and jurisdiction, but in general the diver carries the
operational risk (and should be insured for it), while waivers/assumption-of-risk
clauses shift acknowledged inherent risks to the signer and document that the activity is
dangerous. They do not erase a diver's responsibility to work safely. The platform that
introduces the parties is typically not a party to the dive. Put responsibilities in writing.

[CLIENT]/[DIVER] Media: who owns the photos/video?

Default in most jurisdictions: the creator owns the copyright; the client gets a usage
license. Spell out: where/how long the client may use the images (MLS, ads, social),
whether commercial/marketing use costs extra, and any property/privacy considerations.
Agree the deliverable explicitly — e.g. "≥20 edited stills + one 60–90s video, delivered
within 5 business days."

Must-haves before any job

- Diver: signed scope + price terms · commercial-diving insurance in force · client has
agreed to safety prep (intakes off, traffic control) · deposit (if applicable) · weather/
cancellation clause.
- Client: itemized quote (what's billable) · proof the diver is insured for commercial
work · agreed deliverable + timeline · agreed image-usage rights (for media) · who controls
site safety.

Part 7 — Recording the work (protects everyone)

[DIVER] What should I log on every dive?

A standard dive log entry: date, location/site, max depth, bottom time, water
temperature, visibility, gas/air used (start/end pressure), exposure suit, current/
conditions, tasks performed, and any incidents. Logs prove experience, support your
no-deco/repetitive-dive planning, and back up billing.

[DIVER] What's the difference between the dive log and the billing log?

- Dive log = the safety/experience record (depth, time, conditions).
- Work/time log = the billing record (arrival, mobilization, in-water time, standby,
teardown, departure) — this is what justifies the invoice. Keep both.

[BOTH] What goes in a good inspection report?

For hull/dock/seawall/piling inspections, deliver more than "looks fine":
> Identifying info (vessel/structure, location, date, diver) · conditions (depth, viz, temp)
> · systematic findings by area (corrosion, marine growth, cracks, missing fasteners,
> anode condition, scour/undermining) · measurements where relevant (anode %, growth
> thickness, crack size) · photos/video keyed to each finding · an overall condition
> rating · recommendations & priority (monitor / repair / urgent). Professional
> underwater inspections pair high-resolution photo/video (and sometimes sonar) with the
> written findings (BES Group).

[BOTH] Why recording matters

Before/after photos and a dated log prove the condition of the asset, prove the work
was done, and are the fastest way to settle a dispute or support an insurance/listing
claim. For a realtor, the underwater media is the deliverable; for a hull cleaning, the
before/after is the proof of value.

What to record on every job (diver quick list)

Dive log (depth/time/temp/viz/gas) · time log for billing · site & hazard notes ·
before/after photos · deliverable media or inspection findings · client sign-off /
completion note.

Sources

Regulatory bodies referenced for non-US jurisdictions: DCBC (Canada), HSE (UK Diving at Work Regulations), ADAS (Australia), IMCA (offshore), ADCI (US contractors), AAUS (scientific diving).

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