Scuba Diving Risk Assessment Template

Why a risk assessment isn't a legal waiver

It's an easy mix-up, and it happens because both documents deal with what could go wrong. A risk assessment is an operational planning tool -- it's how you actually identify and reduce risks in the first place, before anyone signs anything. A waiver is not that: a legal agreement establishing that a diver understands and accepts inherent risk, and protecting the operator from certain claims. One is paperwork for after an incident; the other is the work that reduces how often incidents happen. A dive operation needs both, and they shouldn't be confused for each other.

The four-part framework

• Hazard -- the specific thing that could cause harm ("strong current at the exit point," not just "current")
• Possible loss -- the realistic consequence if it happens, from minor injury to worst case
• Probability -- how likely it is, given the specific conditions, site, and team; qualitative (Low/Moderate/High) is enough for most operations
• Mitigation -- the specific action that reduces likelihood or severity ("brief exit point current and stage a safety diver at the exit," not "be careful")

Five hazard categories to work through

• Underwater hazards -- entanglement, overhead environments, surge, strong current, poor visibility, boat traffic at the surface
• Marine life -- unintentional contact, provocation, or defensive response; mitigation is almost always situational awareness and briefing, not avoiding the site altogether
• Barotrauma -- decompression sickness, ear/sinus squeeze, lung overexpansion injury; mitigation includes conservative profiles, adequate surface intervals, and confirming no diver is diving beyond their training or fitness
• Equipment failure -- regulator malfunction, BCD failure, computer failure, improper gear fit; mitigation is inspection, maintenance schedules, and redundancy where appropriate
• Toxicity -- oxygen toxicity on enriched-air or technical dives, and carbon monoxide contamination in fill air; mitigation includes gas analysis before diving and adherence to depth/PO2 limits

When to run this

Ideally: once per site or dive type as a standing reference you update as conditions change, and again per trip for anything day-specific -- current conditions, visibility, a diver whose training doesn't match the planned depth. The standing assessment feeds your briefing; the day-of check confirms nothing's changed.

Looking for the legal waiver instead?

If you're after the document divers sign acknowledging inherent risk before a trip, that's a separate, legal disclaimer -- not an operational planning tool. The two documents work together but serve different purposes, and neither replaces the other.