How Do I Start a Family Law Action in the Provincial Court?

Starting a court proceeding in the Provincial Court is fairly straightforward, but if your family law matter is at one of the Early Resolution registries you will need to follow a slightly different process than the one outlined below. At the time of writing, Victoria and Surrey are the only registries that follow the early resolution process, but that could change by the time you’re reading this, so please check the government’s Early Resolution Process webpage to make sure you're dealing with the correct procedure for the registry that you're in. That website also explains the steps involved in the Early Resolution process, which are not addressed here.

This page talks about the procedure followed by the majority of the Provincial Court registries, which are either Family Justice registries (currently Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo), or Parenting Education Program registries’’ (all other locations).

In most cases, you have to fill out a document called a Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter. and file it in the registry of the court closest to you.

There are no filing fees, and the court will tell you how to go about serving the other side.

You can get a copy of the Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter from the court registry for free. The forms are also available online. See Legal Aid BC's Family Law website's online list of forms.

You can even use the BC Government's new online form filing service which walks you through and automates much of the application process. See the online Apply for a Family Law Act Order tool. The version of the form that you can get from the court registry includes lots of information about how to fill it out.

If you are making a claim for spousal support or child support, you'll also have to fill out a form called a Form 4 Financial Statement. The court registry will provide you with this form, or you can find it online. Again, the form is fairly easy to fill out. However, there are certain documents that you must gather and attach to the form, including your last three years' worth of tax returns, your most recent paystub, and so forth.

If you are making a claim for guardianship of a child, you will also have to fill out a special affidavit in Form 5, and provide copies of recent police and Ministry of Children and Family Development records checks.

When to use the Provincial Court

The authority of the Provincial Court is limited and it can only deal with certain issues. You can use the Provincial Court when the things you need to deal with involve any of the following:

• guardianship of children,
• parenting arrangements for children,
• contact with a child,
• child support,
• spousal support,
• protection orders, and
• after 14 January 2024, orders dealing with ownership of pets (or companion animals as they're referred to in the Family Law Act).

When not to use the Provincial Court

The Provincial Court cannot deal with issues involving property or debts, with the sole exception of dealing with pet ownership (which is a new jurisdiction of the Provincial Court effective 15 January 2024). The Provincial Court cannot make orders under the Divorce Act, including divorce orders. If you need orders about property, debt, or divorce, you might think about starting your court proceeding in the Supreme Court, which can deal with all of these issues and all of the issues that the Provincial Court can deal with.

What happens next?

Once you've filed your Form 3 Application About a Family Law Matter, you'll have to have it served on the other person and get your process server to complete an Form 48 Affidavit of Personal Service. Once the other person has been served, they will have 30 days to file a form called a Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter, and, if either of you are making a claim for spousal support or child support, their Form 4 Financial Statement as well. The court will mail you a copy of these documents.

When the court receives the other person's Form 6 Reply to an Application About a Family Law Matter, the court will normally schedule a date for a Family Management Conference. In certain registries there may be other requirements that you must meet before the Family Management Conference. For example, you may be required to take the Parenting After Separation course or the Parenting After Separation for Indigenous Families course. The registry will let you know what steps you have to take.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Matthew Ostrow, September 19, 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."

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

(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 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.

(1) The assertion of a legal right to an order or to a thing; (2) the remedy or relief sought by a party to a court proceeding.

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.

Money paid by one parent or guardian to another parent or guardian as a contribution toward the cost of a child's living and other expenses.

A legal document required by the rules of court in which a party to a court proceeding involving child support, spousal support, the division of property, or the division of debt must describe their income, expenses, assets, and liabilities under oath or affirmation. The Provincial Court Family Rules and the Supreme Court Family Rules each have a form called Financial Statement. See "affirm," "oath," and "perjury."

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

A term under the Family Law Act which describes the arrangements for parental responsibilities and parenting time among guardians, made in an order or agreement. "Parenting arrangements" does not include contact. See "contact," "guardian," "parental responsibilities" and "parenting time."

Under the Family Law Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a guardian of a child, including a parent who is not a guardian, has with that child. Under the Divorce Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a married spouse has with a child. See "guardian" and "parental responsibilities."

A legal right to have and use a thing that is enforceable in court. See "possession."

Something which can be owned. See "chattels" and "real property."

With respect to courts, (1) the authority of the court to hear an action and make orders, (2) the limits of the authority of a particular judicial official, (3) the geographic location of a court, or (4) the territorial limits of a court's authority. With respect to governments, (5) the authority of a government to make legislation as determined by the constitution, or (6) the limits of authority of a particular government agency. See “constitution."

A sum of money or an obligation owed by one person to another. A "debtor" is a person responsible for paying a debt; a "creditor" is the person to whom the debt is owed.

A legal document required by the Provincial Court Family Rules to respond to a claim made in an applicant's Application to Obtain an Order. See "applicant," "Application to Obtain an Order," "claim" and "Counterclaim."