The Provincial Court publishes policies to help people understand how to access courthouses, court proceedings, and court records.

The Court is committed to using plain language that is easy to understand and improves access to justice. The Court is putting that commitment into action by combining and updating ten separate access policies, a practice direction and notices into one clear, easy‑to‑read Access Policy with a user‑friendly design. As a result, the Court will retire the access policies, practice direction and notices listed below on May 5, 2026. The new Access Policy will take effect on May 5, 2026.

Most of the access rules have not changed. The new Access Policy covers more topics and provides more information. It explains:

• Courthouse access 
• Attending hearings (in‑person, remote, and hybrid) 
• Rules about conduct during hearings, including remote hearings
• Phone and electronic device rules, including restrictions on taking photos or making recordings 
• Media access and requests 
• Access to court records and audio recordings 
• Types of publication bans

We are sharing the new Access Policy as a PDF ahead of time so other organizations have a chance to review it before it comes into effect. If you are updating your links, once it is in force, the Access Policy will be available at provincialcourt.bc.ca/AccessPolicy.

The policies, notices and practice direction that will be retired when the new Access Policy takes effect are: 

• ACC-0 Access Policies Introduction
• ACC-1 Access to Court Proceedings
• ACC-2 Access to Court Records
• MED-1 Media Accreditation Policy
• NM 01 Accredited Media Access to Court Proceedings and Court Records
• BAN-1 Bans on Publication
• Notice 10 Recording of Proceedings Before Judicial Case Managers
• Notice 21 Remote Attendance in the Provincial Court
• FAM 02 Searching a Registry File Rule 174 Provincial Court Family Rule

The Use of Electronic Devices Policy will be moved into Appendix C of the new policy.