Do you need to go to Provincial (Family) Court or Supreme Court?

Figuring out which court you should go to is an important first step in any family law case. In BC, the Supreme Court and the Provincial Court handle some of the same types of cases. But procedures, time frames, the kinds of orders you can get, and costs are different. See the charts and text below for more information.

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Sometimes you don't have a choice

There are times when you don't have a choice about which court you go to. If your case has already been filed, or if you want to change an order that's already in place, you generally have to go back to the same court you started in. Get legal advice if you want to go to a different court.

If you want to use the federal Divorce Act, you must go to Supreme Court. If you want to use just the provincial Family Relations Act in your case, you must go to Provincial (Family) Court.

The other situations when you don't have a choice are listed in the table below.

Which court handles which issues?

You can go to either Provincial Court or Supreme Court if you want...	You must go to Supreme Court if...
child or spousal support	you have property you want the court to divide or protect
custody	you want a divorce or annulment
access	your case involves an adoption
to enforce a support order	your former partner lives outside BC*
guardianship	you need to use the Divorce Act in your case
a no-contact order	you want a restraining order that keeps the other party from selling property
*You may be able to go to Provincial Court if your former partner lives outside BC, but the law on this issue is not simple. Ask a lawyer about your particular situation. You can also read our fact sheet about interjurisdictional issues.

What are the courts like?

Provincial Court has...	Supreme Court has...
an informal atmosphere	a formal atmosphere
more locations	fewer court locations
less paperwork (than the Supreme Court)	lots of paperwork
fewer rules	many rules
lawyers representing people, but also many people representing themselves	mainly lawyers representing people
rules that let you give give spoken evidence about your case	rules that say you must give written evidence about your case (for example, an affidavit) to get a non-final order
no filing or trial fees	filing fees to start your case ($200) and then to apply for a non-final order ($80); significant trial fees
no ability to award costs	the ability to award costs

 

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The benefits of using both courts

In some situations, you may find it best to use both courts. You could get most of your orders in Provincial Court, and then just apply for your divorce order in Supreme Court. This approach might save you money and time, especially if you and your spouse agree on what should be done.

On the other hand, it could make things more complicated to have to deal with two different courts. It can also be a problem if you ask more than one court to deal with issues about custody and support.

If you need more help deciding where to file your case

For more information, see the rest of the resources (audio, video, and maps) in our multimedia section If you need to choose a court, or see Who can help?