How Do I Change My Address for Service?

From Clicklaw Wikibooks
Jump to navigation Jump to search

An address for service is the address at which a party to a court proceeding agrees to receive correspondence in connection with the proceeding.

This address is very important, because the other parties are able to officially deliver or serve most documents on you just by popping them in the mail to that address, or attaching them in an email. If you move and don't change your address for service, you risk not finding out about important events in your case.

Supreme Court[edit]

In the Supreme Court, addresses for service are established by the claimant in their Notice of Family Claim and by the respondent in their Response to Family Claim. To change this address later, you must fill out a Notice of Address for Service in Form F10, file it in court, and send copies to the other parties at their addresses for service.

Starting September 1, 2023, all parties to a BC Supreme Court action, whether represented by a lawyer or not, must provide an email as well as a mailing address to allow ordinary service of materials. You can insist that the other side also file their Notice of Address for Service in Form F10 with an email address if they have not yet agreed to receive materials by email.

Provincial Court[edit]

In cases before the Provincial Court, almost every court form allows you to specify your address for service, and the most recent address for service will be considered your proper address for service.

However, as best practice, if you need to change your address for service, fill out a Notice of Address Change in Form 46, file it in court and serve copies on the other parties to ensure your most updated address is on the record. You don't have to personally serve the other parties; you can mail or email the form to their addresses for service.

Forms and more information[edit]

The forms are available online. See Legal Aid BC's Family Law website's online list of forms.

You can find more information about the procedure for serving documents from Legal Aid BC’s Family Law website and the information page on Serving Documents.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Negin Saberi, September 15, 2023.


Creativecommonssmall.png JP Boyd on Family Law © John-Paul Boyd and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.