Choosing a safe mermaid school or instructor

Anyone can buy a tail. Teaching people to use one safely takes training, judgement and a lot of watching. Before you book with anyone, including us, it is worth a few minutes of checking.

This guide shows you how to confirm an instructor's certification, what to ask, and which answers should make you walk away.

Why it matters

A tail ties your legs together, and much of mermaiding happens on a held breath. Royal Life Saving Society Australia warns that tails can increase the risk of drowning. Divers Alert Network adds that a breath-hold blackout can come without warning, often near or just after the surface.

Good instruction manages both risks. Poor instruction can make them worse, for example by treating breath-holding as a game. The difference is not always visible on a glossy social media page.

Step 1: check the certification

A mermaid instructor should be able to tell you, straight away, which organisation certified them and at what level. Then you can check it yourself.

Checking an MFI instructor

Mermaid Federation International (MFI) publishes its instructors on its website.

Go to mfimermaid.com and open Mer-Community, then MFI Instructors. (The similar "Mermaid Instructors" page, under Mer-Profession, describes the instructor courses rather than listing people.)
Instructors are grouped by level, from the most senior down: Master Mermaid Instructor Trainer (MMIT), Mermaid Instructor Trainer (MIT), Master Mermaid Instructor (MMI), Mermaid Instructor (MI), and Recreational Mermaid Instructor (RMI).
Each entry shows a photo, a name and a line giving the level and country, such as "MI, Singapore".
There is no search box. Scroll, or use your browser's find function to look for the name.

Many mermaids use a stage name, so ask the instructor which name to look for. The list does not show membership numbers or renewal dates. If you want to confirm someone's current status, ask MFI through the contact page on its site.

When we checked in October 2026, the list named about 190 instructors in 14 countries. MFI's site explains that each new instructor is examined by two Mermaid Instructor Trainers, with assessments that include teaching, personal skills, and class safety and rescue.

Checking a PADI instructor

PADI's free Pro Chek lets anyone look up a PADI professional. It shows their name, their highest core professional rating, their current status, and the year they last renewed their PADI membership. A current status matters: a lapsed membership means they are not teaching as a PADI member.

Other organisations

Ask to see the instructor's certificate, then check with the organisation that issued it. If someone's only credential is that they own a lot of tails, or that a tail shop "trained" them, keep looking.

Step 2: ask the right questions

About supervision

Who watches each student in the water? With several students and one instructor, ask how every breath-hold is supervised. Divers Alert Network is clear that dedicated one-to-one supervision is critical, even in a pool, and that a lifeguard alone is not enough.
Is there a lifeguard as well? Useful, but a lifeguard watches the whole pool, not you.

About progression

Is there a swim test before deeper water? Ask what it is.
Where do beginners learn? It should be a pool, or water where you can stand, at least to start.
How deep do lessons go, and why? A good instructor has a clear answer.

About health and consent

Do they ask about your health before you start?
For children, do they ask for a parent's consent, and does an adult need to be at the pool?

About the gear

Are tails and fins checked before each lesson?
Do students learn to take the tail off themselves before swimming in it?

About emergencies

What happens if a student gets into trouble? An instructor should be trained in rescue and able to describe their plan without hesitating.

About breath-holding

How is breath-holding taught? Listen for calm, normal breathing, short holds, and coming up when you feel the urge. Anything involving fast, deep breaths beforehand is a warning sign.

Red flags

Walk away, or at least ask hard questions, if you see any of these:

Deep water in the first lesson, with no swim test.
Breath-holding contests, or "who can stay down longest" games.
Coaching to over-breathe before going under. See Breath-holding and shallow-water blackout.
Beginners in the sea. Royal Life Saving Society Australia does not recommend tails in open water at all. See Pool or open water?
One instructor and a crowd doing breath-holds at the same time.
The instructor filming or photographing while students are underwater, with no one else watching.
Tails nobody can get out of quickly, or no practice taking them off.
No health questions before the first lesson.
Vague answers about certification, or a level that does not match what they teach.
Pressure to buy a tail before you have finished learning.
Promises of long breath-holds fast. Breath-hold time builds slowly and safely, or not at all.

Choosing for a child

Everything above applies, with a few additions. Ask how the instructor adapts lessons for children, how long sessions last, and where you can watch from. Make sure a tail used at home or on holiday is one your child can remove alone. Our guide for parents goes into more detail.

Our answers

We think you should ask us everything on this page. Here are our answers.

Question	Our answer
Who certified the instructor?	Aliyah is an MFI Mermaid Instructor, listed on MFI's site as "MI, Singapore", and a member of MFI's Technical Committee. She is also a PADI Mermaid Instructor (PADI No. 524890), which you can check on Pro Chek.
Who watches each student?	Aliyah does. Lessons are mostly one-to-one and never more than four, and every breath-hold is watched, one student at a time, in the shallow end. In lessons, a separate photographer takes the photos, so her eyes stay on the water, not on a camera.
Is there a swim test?	Yes, before any course that leaves standing depth. Each course page lists it. Aliyah's rules come first.
Where do lessons happen?	In a pool in Singapore. We share the location once you have booked.
Do you ask about health?	Yes. MFI requires a health declaration before any course, and we ask on every path. Under 18s need a parent's consent, and an adult must be at the pool for children under 16.
Do students learn to remove the tail?	Yes, before swimming in it. Tails, fins and masks are lent and checked.
Is safety tested?	On the MFI path, at Advanced (M1) and Master (M2) level, MFI tests rescue skills, including a rescue tow, alongside a written exam passed at 75% or above. Aliyah keeps mermaid work within a safe depth for the pool being used.
Do you sell tails?	No. Nothing is for sale at present.

Our two mermaid paths

Both are recognised certifications, and both put safety first.

MFI builds safety into how it teaches, from the first lesson. Beyond the testing above, it has safety specialties of its own, such as Guardian of Mermaid Safety for those who watch over performers, and Photographer of Mermaid Safety for underwater shoots. Aliyah and MFI's community perform at events across Asia, so certification opens the door to a real community.
PADI is the world's best-known diver training organisation. Its mermaid courses are performance-based, so you move on once you have mastered a skill, and its instructors teach skills and guidelines meant to prevent problems and reduce risk. Its certifications are recognised internationally.

Any questions we have not covered? Ask us. A good school is happy to be checked.

What to do next

Read Never alone, the first rule of mermaiding.
Keep our safety checklist handy.
Explore the paths: MFI Mermaid, PADI Mermaid and Underwater Dance.

General information, not a substitute for instruction or medical advice. If you have a health condition, check with your doctor before getting in the water.