How Do I Fix an Error in an Order?

If you've found a mistake in an order that has been entered in court, whether an order of the Provincial Court or of the Supreme Court, you must apply to court to correct the order. Applications like these are limited to clerical errors or omissions; applying to correct an order is not a short cut to an appeal of the order!

Applications to correct orders are usually limited to things such as misspellings, incorrect dates, or bits of the oral order that were left out of the written order.

Provincial Court

You will have to prepare an Application for Case Management Order in Form 10, which will be used to bring an application to correct the terms of an order made under the Provincial Court Family Rules. See Legal Aid BC's Family Law website's online list of forms, or use the online Apply for a Family Law Act Order tool which will lead you through the steps and prepare a form you can then print out and file.

Filling out Form 10

In section 8 of the Form 10 Application for Case Management Order, select the option "settling or correcting the terms of an order made under the rules".

In section 9 of the form, use the wording suggested in the BC Provincial Court's Family Law Act Orders Picklist, which contains standard wording for orders of the Provincial Court. The standard language for correction of an order reads:

Pursuant to Rule 62(q), the Order of the Honourable Judge (name) dated (date) is amended as follows:

(a) The following term is deleted: (insert the term to be deleted)

(b) The following term is added: (insert the new term)

The application must be made with notice to the other party. If the other party agrees to the order, you can apply by consent and you can choose to have the application reviewed by a judge with or without attending a court appearance. To give notice, serve each party with a copy of the application.

The application will be made under Rule 170 of the Provincial Court Family Rules, which gives a judge the authority to correct "a clerical mistake or omission in an order."

Supreme Court

You will have to prepare two forms to apply to correct an order in the Supreme Court:

1. a Notice of Application in Form F31, and
2. an Affidavit in Form F30.

The notice of application will simply say that you're applying to correct the order of judge or associate judge so-and-so, made on such-and-such a date. The affidavit will simply discuss the problem in the order and provide some proof about what the order ought to say, such as the court clerk's notes from the original hearing. Ask the registry to see the clerk's notes.

The Slip Rule

The application will be made under Rule 15-1(18) of the Supreme Court Family Rules, also called the slip rule, which gives the court the authority to:

1. Correct a "clerical mistake" in an order resulting from "an accidental slip or omission."
2. Amend an order to decide an issue that should have been decided but wasn't.

The scope of the Supreme Court rule is a bit broader than its counterpart in the Provincial Court Family Rules.

These applications are normally brought before the same judge that made the order being reviewed, but if that's not possible or convenient, another judge of that court can hear it and make necessary changes.

A useful case to read is O.K. v. I.C.M., 2023 BCSC 1893, which illustrates the application of the "slip rule" under Rule 15-1(18) to do two different things:

• The court corrected a mathematical error in the awarded amounts for spousal support.
• The judge also addressed an oversight concerning a child's passport issue in the original order. The judge added a term for the surrender of the passport, since not doing so was an oversight, and to do so served the court's original intention.

More information

You can find more information about how the slip rule is applied in BC Supreme Court by reviewing the brief notes about Supreme Court Civil Rule 13-1(17) in The CanLII Manual to British Columbia Civil Litigation, which is freely available online. The Supreme Court uses the slip rule in both family law and civil proceedings, and you can learn how Rule 15-1(18) of BC's Supreme Court Family Rules is used by seeing how its counterpart in the Supreme Court Civil Rules (Rule 13-1(17)) has been used.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Maryam Sodagar, September 21, 2023.

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.

Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most of the trials in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and has no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."

A court established and staffed by the provincial government, which includes Small Claims Court, Youth Court, and Family Court. The Provincial Court is the lowest level of court in British Columbia and is restricted in the sorts of matters it can deal with. It is, however, the most accessible of the two trial courts and no fees are charged to begin or defend a family law proceeding. The Family Court of the Provincial Court cannot deal with the division of family property or any claims under the Divorce Act. See "Divorce Act," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

(1) In law, an unintentional act or failure to act arising from a misunderstanding of the true state of affairs, from ignorance, or from an error not made in bad faith. (2) In contract law, an unintentional misunderstanding as to the nature of a term agreed to in a contract that may justify setting aside all or part of the contract. See "bad faith" and "contract."

A mandatory direction of the court that is binding and enforceable upon the parties to a court proceeding. An "interim order" is a temporary order made following the hearing of an interim application. A "final order" is a permanent order, made following the trial of the court proceeding or the parties' settlement, following which the only recourse open to a dissatisfied party is to appeal. Failing to abide by the terms of an order may constitute contempt of court. See "appeal," "consent order," "contempt of court," "decision" and "declaration."

An application to a higher court for a review of the correctness of a decision of a lower court. A decision of a judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia can be appealed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. A decision of a judge of the Supreme Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. See "appellant" and "respondent."

A request to the court that it make a specific order, usually on an interim or temporary basis, also called a "chambers application" or a "motion." See also "interim application" and "relief."

In law, a person named as an applicant, claimant, respondent, or third party in a court proceeding; someone asserting a claim in a court proceeding or against whom a claim has been brought. See "action" and "litigant."

(1) Agreement, or (2) the giving of permission for a thing to happen or not happen.

A person appointed by the federal or provincial government to manage and decide court proceedings in an impartial manner, independent of influence by the parties, the government, or agents of the government. The decisions of a judge are binding upon the parties to the proceeding, subject to appeal.

In law, a failure to do something, whether the failure was intentional or unintentional.

A legal document required by the Supreme Court Family Rules to bring an interim application, setting out the relief claimed by the applicant, the grounds on which that relief is claimed, and the date on which the application will be heard. See "applicant," "grounds," "interim application" and "relief."

A provincially-appointed judicial official of the BC Supreme Court with limited jurisdiction, usually charged with making interim decisions before final judgment in a court proceeding, and certain decisions after final judgment, including the assessment of lawyers' bills and the settling of bills of cost. Until January 2024, associate judges were referred to as masters. See "interim application," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

A legal document in which a person provides evidence of certain facts and events in writing. The person making the affidavit, the deponent, must confirm that the statements made in the affidavit are true by oath or affirmation. Affidavits must be signed in front of a lawyer, a notary public or a commissioner for taking oaths, who takes the oath or affirmation of the deponent. Affidavits are used as evidence, just as if the person making the affidavit had made the statements as a witness at trial. See "deponent", "affirm," "oath" and "witness."

(1) Information which establishes or tends to establish the truth of a fact, or (2) the conclusion of a logical argument. See "evidence" and "premises."

In law, any proceeding before a judicial official to determine questions of law and questions of fact, including the hearing of an application and the hearing of a trial. See "decision."

(1) A central office, located in each judicial district, at which the court files for each court proceeding in that district are maintained, and at which legal documents can be filed, searched, and reviewed, or (2) a courthouse.

(1) In law, a court proceeding; a lawsuit; an action; a cause of action; a claim. (2) A historic decision of the court; case law. See "action," "case law, " "court proceeding," and "precedent."

A payment made by one spouse to the other spouse to help with the recipient's day-to-day living expenses or to compensate the recipient for the financial choices the spouses made during the relationship.

A person who is younger than the legal age of majority, 19 in British Columbia. See "age of majority."

In law, (1) a written argument, or (2) a memorandum of law. A brief is usually presented to a judge as a summary of an argument or the law on a particular issue. Curiously, briefs are rarely brief.