Legal Records
The BC Archives is home to many private and court records that are accessible to the public. If you have any questions about our collections or services, please contact us.
Private Records
As legislated in the Museum Act (2003), the Royal BC Museum and BC Archives is the archival repository for the province of British Columbia. We collect archival records from private individuals, families, institutions and organizations that are historically significant to the province. We have over 20,000 boxes of private records, some dating back to the 1700s.
Private records are available can be searched online. Please see our search collections page for instructions on how to use these databases.
Access to and use of private records at the BC Archives may be subject to restrictions. Please visit our access restrictions page for more information.
To learn more about how we acquire records, or to submit an archival donation request, please see:
Court Records
Court records include divorce records, probated estate records, wills, court orders and judgements, case files, bankruptcy records, cause books, bench books, registers and more.
Court records marked for permanent retention are transferred to the BC Archives at the end of their retention period when they are no longer actively used by the court registry. The retention periods and final disposition for court records is outlined in the approved records schedule for Court Services.
Prior to the 1980s, however, there were no record schedules—each court maintained its own records and independently determined their retention. Therefore court records from the 1980s and earlier are not consistent and may not be available.
To help you with your research, we’ve created guides to help you locate the specific court record(s) you are looking for.
Order Court Records
The most commonly requested court records at the BC Archives are probated estate files, wills, court orders (including divorces) and judgments.
To access one of the above-mentioned records, we require certain information. We’ve listed the information required for each type of court record below.
If you are ordering a reproduction of a court record for legal or similar purposes, please confirm with the requesting agency whether you need the record certified before placing your order. Certification is often required to verify that the copy was created from the original.
To submit your request, please contact us.
To access active court records, please contact the Court Registry where the case was filed.
Divorce Orders
Divorce order reproduction requests can be made via our online form. To provide access to a reproduction of a divorce order, we require the following information:
For divorce orders before January 1983:
- Names of parties involved
- Date of divorce (approximate date is sufficient)
- Court registry (e.g., Victoria; preferred but not mandatory)
For divorce orders after January 1983:
- Names of parties involved
- Date divorce was granted
- Court registry (e.g., Victoria)
- Case file number
- Accession and box number (if available)
- Volume and folio number (if available)
If the divorce was granted after January 1984 and you don’t have the information listed above, contact the Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings in Ottawa. Note that the Central Registry only provides this information to a party to the divorce or their legal representative.
Note that the BC Archives cannot issue divorce certificates. Divorce certificates cannot be issued for pre-June 1986 divorce actions as a decree absolute divorce order (available at the BC Archives) has the same legal status as a divorce certificate.
For divorce actions initiated after May 1986, the divorce order will need to be presented to the court registry where the divorce took place who will issue a certificate verifying that the divorce is final.
Probated Estate Files or Wills
To request access to or a reproduction of a probated estate file or will, we require the following information:
- Record type (probate or will)
- Name of the deceased
- Date of death
- Court registry where estate was probated (.e.g., Victoria)
If available, please also provide:
- Case number
- Accession number
- Box number
- Volume and folio number
- Link to online description
Get Legal Records Support
For answers to Frequently Asked Questions see our FAQ.