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.

You will have to prepare a Notice of Motion to bring an application to correct an order in the Provincial Court and a Notice of Application and affidavit to correct an order in the Supreme Court. The notice will simply say that you're applying to correct the order of judge or master 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.

In the Provincial (Family) Court, the application will be made under Rule 18(8) of the Provincial Court Family Rules, which gives a judge the authority to correct "a clerical mistake or omission in an order."

In the Supreme Court, 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 correct a "clerical mistake" in an order resulting from "an accidental slip or omission." This rule also allows the court to amend an order to decide an issue which should have been decided but wasn't. The scope of the Supreme Court rule is a bit broader than the Provincial Court rule.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by JP Boyd, March 24, 2013.

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."

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 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."

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.

Since January 2024, these provincially-appointed judicial officials of the BC Supreme Court are now called associate judges. They serve a similar role as justices of the BC Supreme Court, but have limited jurisdiction. Associate judges are 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. See "interim application," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

(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."

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

To change or alter a pleading or document that has already been filed in court or given to the other party. The resulting document is a separate document from the original and is called, for example, the "Amended Notice of Family Claim" or the "amended separation agreement."