Preparing for Transition under the New Societies Act
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This page from JP Boyd on Family Law—and other pages from this Wikibook that discuss BC family law litigation topics—are under editorial review to provide more thorough, current, and practical guidance. Since 2020, procedures, forms, and laws have changed significantly. While gross inaccuracies have been corrected, some details may still be outdated. These pages were not included in the 2024 print edition, and have been highlighted in orange where they appear in the navigation menu on this website. |
| This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Mary Childs, Michael Blatchford and Steve Carey in November 2016. |
All existing societies in BC are required to “transition” within a two-year period from when the new Societies Act came into effect on November 28, 2016. Transitioning involves filing an application online. Here are the steps a society should take to prepare for filing the transition application:
Optional preliminary step: Order a transition package
To file the transition application, you will need to submit an electronic version of the society’s constitution and consolidated bylaws. To put this material together, you may want to order a transition package from the Corporate Registry for $40. This step is optional.
A transition package for a society includes certified copies of any documents that the Registry has on file for the society, including the original constitution, the original bylaws, and any special resolutions amending the society’s constitution or bylaws. You can use the filings to create complete, consolidated versions of the constitution and bylaws (see steps 3 and 4 below).
You can order a transition package online.
Step 1: Consider whether to become a member-funded society
On transition, a society will be asked whether it wishes to designate itself as a member-funded society. A member-funded society is one that is funded primarily by its members to carry on activities for the benefit of its members.
To become a member-funded society, a society must meet a qualification test and get the approval of its members in a special resolution. If a society doesn’t adopt the member-funded society designation on transition, it will need a court order to do so later.
See the section “You will need to decide whether to become a member-funded society” for the issues to consider in whether to become a member-funded society.
Step 2: Ensure the society is up-to-date in its Corporate Registry filings
Ensure the society is up-to-date in its annual report filings with the Corporate Registry. If annual reports are outstanding, the society will not be able to transition.
Also ensure that the information on file with the Corporate Registry about the society’s directors and registered office is up to date. The most current directors and registered office information will be automatically included in the society’s transition application. If this information is inaccurate at the time of transition, it will need to be changed by making a separate filing after the society’s transition is completed.
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Under the new Act, it is no longer required that you provide the Corporate Registry with the residential address of each director. You can provide another address at which the director can usually be served with records during normal business hours (between 9 am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday). |
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 Transitioning an Existing Society: A How-to Guide for Non-profits in BC © Drew Jackson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.
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