For dive centres

Liveaboard: check in before departure

On land a missing document is an annoyance. On a liveaboard it is a problem that cannot be solved for a week - nobody turns the boat around because a medical certificate is at the hotel.

What is different on a boat

Nothing can be chased up. Whatever is missing at departure stays missing for the trip. A guest who may not dive still spends the week on board.
No connectivity. Guests told to fill in on board often simply cannot, and your crew has no way to check anything.
More experience to establish. Current, night dives and depths beyond 30 metres call for different answers than a house reef: number of dives, last dive, experience with current, nitrox.
Groups rather than individuals. A liveaboard is usually a group, often booked through an agent - and the paperwork arrives in one batch or not at all.

The rule

Check-in belongs in the weeks before the trip, not on the dock. A link in the booking confirmation, a reminder ten days out - and at boarding the only question left is who is still missing.

The routine that works

At booking: send the check-in link, with a clear note that diving is not possible without complete paperwork.
Ten days out: remind everyone who is still missing something - not everyone, or the wrong people read it.
On departure day: the list shows who is green. Stragglers fill in at the dock while there is still signal.
On board: the records are available as PDFs even without a connection, including the emergency contacts your guides need.

The point most often forgotten

Insurance. On a liveaboard the nearest chamber is further away than at any shore-based centre, and an evacuation from the Red Sea or the Maldives is expensive. Ask for provider and policy number, not just a yes/no tick - in an emergency somebody needs the number, not the checkbox.

Frequently asked questions

When should liveaboard check-in be completed?

Before departure, ideally days ahead. Nothing can be chased up on board, and there is often no connectivity to upload anything.

What if a guest has no valid medical certificate on board?

They cannot dive and still spend the trip on the boat - the worst outcome for everyone. That is precisely why the check belongs on the dock and not at sea.

Can we process an entire travel group at once?

Yes. Groups can be created in one go and given a shared link; your list then shows at a glance who is complete and who is not.

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Your account takes a few minutes to set up and the first 20 guest check-ins are on us. No subscription, no base fee, no payment details required.

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