How to serve documents and complete an Affidavit of Service for a BC (Canada) Supreme Court family law process
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What the person serving the documents will need
Step-by-step instructions for the person serving the documents
Note: Mouse over any of the terms in green type to see a definition.
These instructions are intended only for an individual who is serving documents outside British Columbia (in another province or country) on behalf of a person, friend, or relative who started a court process in BC. If you are a party in the court process, you may not be able to serve these documents yourself.
What the person serving the documents will need
If you already know the person you are serving the documents on
- Two copies of the documents to be served
- The person's address, either at home or at work, or some directions about where to find him or her
- The person's telephone number, if possible (so you can call to arrange a time to serve the documents
If you do not know the person you are serving the documents on
- Two copies of the documents to be served
- a photograph of that person or a written physical description that will allow you to be sure you are giving the documents to the right person
- The person's address, either at home or at work, or some directions about where to find him or her
- The person's telephone number, if possible (so you can call to arrange a time to serve the documents)
If you do not know the person or have a photograph, ask him or her to show you photo identification when you serve the documents to prove that this really is the right person.
If the person you are serving admits that he or she is the person you need to serve the documents on, you can include that information in the Affidavit of Service but this admission alone is not enough identification, according to Rule 60(20) of the BC Supreme Court rules. You must use another way to identify the person as well (such as including a copy of the photograph you used to confirm that you were serving the right person).
Step-by-step instructions for the person serving the documents
- Give one copy of the documents to the person to be served, and save the other copy to attach to the Affidavit of Service.
- Make a note of the time, date, and place (street, city, and province/state) where you served the documents (you need this information to fill in the Affidavit of Service).
- Prepare the Affidavit of Service and take it with the attached copy of all documents to a commissioner of oaths to swear or affirm that the documents have been served. (You will have to pay a fee for swearing the Affidavit of Service.)
- The commissioner of oaths will sign the Affidavit and stamp and sign each court document that was served to identify it as an exhibit. To do this, the commissioner must stamp a statement that says something like this:
"This is Exhibit __ to the Affidavit of _______ (name) sworn before me in ________ (place) on _________ (date)
A commissioner for taking Affidavits in ________________________ (place)."
on the front page of every document that was served and then sign each exhibit. You can then send the Affidavit of Service to your relative/friend in BC, Canada as evidence that the documents were served on the other party.
Note: If you are serving documents for someone going through a court proceeding in BC, you must attach copies of the served documents to the Affidavit of Service. Each copy must be marked as "Exhibit [A, B, C, etc., depending on how many documents there are]" and must be signed by the commissioner before whom you swear or affirm the Affidavit of Service. If the documents are not attached, properly marked, and signed by the commissioner of oaths, the Affidavit of Service will not be accepted by the BC court, and you will have to attach them and have it sworn again.
How to complete the Affidavit of Service
To complete the form, choose from the following options:
- Print the blank form and fill it out using a typewriter or by hand (print legibly, using dark-coloured ink).
- Download the Word form and fill it out using a computer word processor.
Blank Affidavit of Service (Word) (PDF)
Instructions for completing the Affidavit of Service (PDF)
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