[2][3] NAUI primarily serves as a recreational dive certification and membership organization, providing international diver standards and education programs.

NAUI is headquartered in Riverview, Florida near Tampa with dive and member instructors, resorts, stores, service and training centers located around the world.

[citation needed] Two-year dive teacher Neal Earl Hess contributed to its "The Instructors Corner" column to inform readers about scuba.

[10] It was the world's first civilian training program to certify recreational divers and soon began granting Provisional Certification to instructors across the country.

[6] Hess, Blakeslee, Auxier, and Tillman met in August 1960 to discuss and organize NAUI's first Instructor Certification Course.

[6] In October 1961, NAUI was incorporated in the State of California as a non-profit educational organization, with Al Tillman as the President and Neal Hess as the Executive Secretary.

[6] NAUI's first elected Board of Directors included Al Tillman, John C. Jones, Jr., Neal Hess, Garry Howland, Jim Auxier, and James Cahill.

The association's conduct of business relied on volunteers and the board regional leaders, all administered out of Al Tillman's home.

[6] Skin Diver Magazine published the "NAUI Page" as a regular feature to help the organization grow, to accumulate a salary and, later, to provide office space.

[citation needed]The first International Conference on Underwater Education[17] was held in 1969 at Santa Ana College, where it served as a venue for NAUI members from all over could meet and exchange ideas.

[6] In 1997, NAUI Worldwide headquarters was moved to Tampa, Florida[19] and included Board of Directors members from Europe and Asia for the first time.

GDI was implemented to "empower individuals to preserve and conserve the ocean planet with the common goal of taking action to protect the environment.

"[29] With stagnant progress, it was not until July 2015 that NAUI renewed its commitment to the Initiative, unveiling its first manager, Sam Richardson, who entered the full-time position with over 10 years of non-profit experience.

Aqualung inventor Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau was on the original Board of Advisers of NAUI, as was Albert R. Behnke, a pioneer of diving medicine.

He played frogman "Mike Nelson" in the American television series Sea Hunt, which popularized scuba diving as a recreational sport.

[33][34] NAUI has numerous corporate alliances with organizations, such as Walt Disney World Resort, The Florida Aquarium, NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, and the Fire Department of New York.

[64] NAUI began publishing the only decompression manual with a full set of RGBM tables in 2000 for air, nitrox and trimix for both open and closed-circuit diving.

Recreational RGBM no-calculation tables were published in 2001 exclusively for NAUI for sea level through 10,000 feet, no-stop diving.

[66][67] The Malaysian Sport Diving Association (MSDA)] officially adopted NAUI standards for use in their diver training in Malaysia.

[68][failed verification] NAUI is the diver training organization of choice of NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas (USA).