Once you finish a course or a dive series with us, your certification is stored permanently in MySSI, SSI's centralized digital system, which assigns every diver a unique Master ID linking their logbook and training records across every SSI center worldwide. That means the Open Water card you earn diving the reefs around Buka Buka Island works the same way at a dive shop in Raja Ampat, the Red Sea, or the Caribbean, with no paperwork to carry and no physical card required to prove it.
TL;DR
- Your certification is stored permanently in MySSI under one Master ID, accessible offline from the free app.
- Dive centers must process and email your digital card within 7 days of finishing the program.
- Records transfer automatically when you affiliate with a new SSI center. No printed logbook needed.
- SSI certifications meet ISO 24801-2 and are recognized by other agencies and operators globally.
- Lost a card? There is no physical card to lose. Digital retrieval replaces the old "SSI card replacement" problem.
What Happens to Your Certification the Moment You Finish a Course?
Our instructors log your completed dives and skills directly into the MySSI system before you leave the island. SSI's certification procedures require dive centers to process that paperwork and issue the digital card within 7 days of finishing the program. You don't wait for a card to arrive by post.
Once processed, two things happen automatically: SSI emails you a copy of the digital certification card and the card is stored permanently in your MySSI profile, viewable in the app or on the SSI website.
Each logged dive can carry up to 20 photos, so a wall dive at one of our sites or a pinnacle further out in the Togeans becomes a visual record tied to the date, depth, and site, not just a line of text.
How Does Your Digital Logbook Travel With You After Buka Buka Island?
Your logbook belongs to your Master ID inside MySSI, which is built specifically so your training history follows you across every affiliated center.
If you start a specialty course with us and want to finish it elsewhere, the process is straightforward:
- Affiliate with the new center inside the MySSI app.
- Complete any new required forms that center asks for (a Diver Medical Statement, for instance, stays valid for 1 year, so you may not need a fresh one).
- Grant access, and the new shop can instantly view your referral records and progress. No scanned PDFs, no calling the previous shop.
A paper logbook is a single physical object. If it gets left at a resort, soaked in a dive bag, or simply forgotten, the record is gone unless you've been meticulous about photographing every page. A digital logbook under one Master ID behaves more like a bank record than a notebook: the data sits on SSI's servers, not in your backpack, so losing the phone or the bag changes nothing about what's recorded.
Does Your SSI Certification Still Count If You Dive With a Different Agency or Operator Later?
Yes. SSI digital certifications are recognized by other major training agencies and dive operators worldwide as valid proof of experience and training level.
SSI's Open Water Diver certification meets the ISO 24801-2 verification standard, which is the benchmark set by the World Recreational Scuba Training Council for what a "certified diver" credential has to demonstrate. Any dive operator checking your card against that standard, whether they personally use SSI, PADI, or another agency, is checking the same baseline.
A diver who completes SSI Open Water certification with us on Buka Buka Island and later books a liveaboard through a different agency's shop in another country will have their card accepted the same way a locally-trained diver's would.
What If You Lose Access to Your Account or Need a Replacement Card?
The old anxiety around SSI card replacement, misplacing a laminated card and scrambling to get a reprint before a trip, mostly disappears with the digital system. There is no physical card to lose in the first place.
If you can't remember your login or lose access to the app:
- Your certification data still exists permanently under your Master ID.
- You can recover account access through the SSI website rather than requesting a new physical card.
- The digital card is always re-downloadable once you're back into your profile.
The practical lesson for anyone doing scuba diving certification online or in person: note down your Master ID and the email address you registered with. That pairing is what everything else is retrieved against.
What Personal Data Does the SSI System Keep, and Can You Delete It?
The digital system retains names, birthdates, medical information relevant to diving, certification history, and geolocation data generated through the MySSI app.
You keep access to all of it through the app at any time. If you want it gone, you can submit a formal request to have your personal information deleted from SSI's databases. The privacy policy only needs to be completed once per new training center, not every time you log a dive there.
Is This Relevant If You're Just Learning to Dive in Sulawesi for the First Time?
A first certification sets the Master ID that every future course, logbook entry, and dive center relationship builds on.
Courses are sold separately from your stay with us. An Open Water program booked during your time on Buka Buka Island is priced and arranged on top of the all-inclusive full-board rate, which covers meals, house-reef snorkeling, kayaking, and paddleboarding. Training dives for the course itself happen at reef sites around the island, a short boat ride out, not on the house reef, which stays reserved for complimentary snorkeling.
What you leave with is a verified, ISO-standard credential tied to a Master ID that any dive shop, anywhere, can check and build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does SSI ever issue a physical certification card anymore?
The system is built around the digital card by default. Physical cards exist as a request option through SSI but are not the standard output after course completion.
What's the best dive logbook app if you're already using MySSI?
MySSI functions as both your certification record and your logbook, so for SSI-certified divers there's no separate app needed. It handles dive logs, photos, and certification storage in one profile.
Will a dive operator outside Indonesia actually check your Master ID?
Operators typically check your digital card through the app or a quick lookup rather than the Master ID number directly, but the ID is what ties all your records together behind the scenes.
About Reconnect
Reconnect is a private island eco-resort on Buka Buka Island in the Togean Islands, Central Sulawesi, with an on-site SSI-affiliated, Blue Oceans certified dive center. Get in touch through reconnect.id.
