How Do I Make a Priority Parenting Matter Application in the Provincial Court?

When to make an application

You can make an application any time after an Application to Obtain an Order has been filed.

If the registry the action is filed in is a Family Justice Registry (currently Kelowna, Nanaimo, Surrey, or Vancouver (Robson Square) registry), you may have to meet with a family justice counsellor before you can make your application. Note that the Victoria registry also has a unique court process as of 2019. Read the Victoria Early Resolution and Case Management Model section in the chapter Resolving Family Law Problems in Court.

Where there is a genuine emergency, however, you can make your application without having to first see the family justice counsellor, and without having to give notice or very much notice to the other side.

How to make an application

The only court form you will need is a Notice of Motion (Form 16). The form is available online. See the Provincial Court Forms section. Your Notice of Motion tells the court the orders that you want the court to make.

You must file your Notice of Motion in the court registry where the Application to Obtain an Order was filed. The staff may book a date for the hearing of your application right there. If the court registry for your matter is a family justice registry (currently Kelowna, Nanaimo, Surrey or Vancouver (Robson Square) registry), staff may need you to go to a first meeting with a family justice counsellor and the other side before booking the date. The hearing date will be written on your Notice of Motion.

You must serve the filed Notice of Motion on the other side at least seven days before the date set for the hearing, along with a copy of any documents you intend to use at the hearing.

The rules

• Rule 12: How to make an interim application
• Rule 13: The rule about affidavits
• Rule 5: The Family Justice Registry rule

For more information

You can find a more complete discussion of the interim application process and the different timelines and deadlines in the chapter Resolving Family Law Problems in Court within the section Interim Applications in Family Matters, bearing in mind the information in the section describing the new Victoria Early Resolution and Case Management Model.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Samantha Simpson, June 11, 2019.

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."

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 Provincial Court Family Rules to start a court proceeding which sets out the relief sought by the applicant against the person named as respondent. See "action," "applicant," "pleadings," "relief" and "respondent."

(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.

A court proceeding in which one party sues another for a specific remedy or relief, also called a "lawsuit" or a "case." An action for divorce, for example, is a court proceeding in which the claimant sues the respondent for the relief of a divorce order.

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.

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."

An application, also called an "interlocutory application," made after the start of a court proceeding but before its conclusion, usually for temporary relief pending the final resolution of the proceeding at trial or by settlement. In family law, interim applications are useful to determine issues like where the children will live, who will pay child support, and whether spousal support should be paid on a rough and ready basis. See "application" and "interim order."