Court records and transcripts
Records of court proceedings in BC are accessed through court registries.
Court policy
The Court's ACC-2 Access to Court Records policy sets out the general guidelines for who can access which types of court records.
People may access information from court files or hear information when watching court proceedings that may be subject to a publication ban. This means they are prevented from publishing, transmitting or broadcasting that information. The Court’s BAN-1 Bans on Publication policy provides some examples of publication bans.
Accessing court records
This is an electronic service of the Ministry of Attorney General which provides online access to some court record information from the Provincial Court and Supreme Court. It also allows e-filing of some documents.
Accredited media may also receive copies of some court records as noted in NM 01 Accredited Media Access to Court Proceedings and Court Records.
NM 01 Accredited Media Access to Court Proceedings and Court Records
Contact the court registry about accessing court records. Some court registries also have public access terminals for viewing court records.
Please note that Integrated Judicial Services and the Office of the Chief Judge do not act as a registry for the Court, and do not process requests to access court records.
BC lawyers can access some court records in family and criminal cases through the digital Access to Court Materials platform (ACM). The Law Society uses the BC Wallet app to issue credentials to lawyers to access ACM. To get started, follow the steps and links on the ACM website.
Lawyers using ACM are required to sign an electronic undertaking, including to adhere to the terms of any applicable court access policies and publication bans. Before using ACM, lawyers must review the undertaking and the access policies to ensure they know the rules. Lawyers' use of the ACM program is subject to audit.
Access to Court Materials platform (Government of BC)
The records available vary by type
- Provincial Court Family Law Act<p>The main provincial law that deals with family law issues in BC.</p>, Family Maintenance Enforcement Act<p>A provincial law that deals with the enforcement of maintenance orders and arrears orders.</p> and Child, Family and Community Service Act records such as pleadings, orders and court summary sheets are accessible using the ACM program
- Criminal Informations, records of proceedings, digital audio recording system (DARS) recordings and DARS log notes are accessible using the ACM program
- ACM does not provide access to traffic matters, youth court matters, court records that have been sealed or in camera<p><span>A Latin term that indicates a hearing or portion of a hearing that restricts the public or press from taking part.</span></p> hearings
Transcripts
A court transcript is a written account of what was said during a court proceeding. In cases where the judge has read their decision in the courtroom, the judge's decision could also be transcribed as part of the proceedings.
Order court transcripts
Publicly accessible transcripts of court proceedings can be prepared upon request, for a fee. You will need to know:
Where the proceedings took place
The date of the proceeding
The court file number
You can order a transcript online. You can also contact the court registry where the matter was heard to get details about the company that prepares transcripts.