Lawyers practising in British Columbia now have expanded online access to court documents and audio recordings through the Access to Court Materials (ACM) portal.

ACM is a secure, online system that allows lawyers in good standing with the Law Society of British Columbia to view some court documents and listen to some court audio from their own offices so long as they have a right to access that material under our access policy. 

That policy was updated on May 5. Please see the new Access Policy that replaces the former Access to Court Records policy.

What ACM already offers

The ACM system is designed to make it easier for lawyers to access documents without having to attend a courthouse or contact court registries.

Before this update, ACM provided access to these Provincial Court materials:

• Adult criminal informations, records of proceedings, court audio recordings (DARS) and courtroom log notes

• Family Law Act and Child, Family and Community Services Act documents, such as orders and court summary sheets

• Microsoft Teams live links for accessing virtual hearings

New material now available

ACM has recently been expanded to include additional access. Lawyers can now also access:

• Court audio recordings (DARS) and log notes for Family Law Act Family Law Act and Child, Family and Community Services Act matters

• Youth court informations, records of proceedings, court audio (DARS), and log notes

• Release orders for youth and adult criminal matters, and adult probation and conditional sentence orders

This expansion gives lawyers more access to court records using one centralized system.

Important notes on family and youth court materials

When the Access Policy or a statute requires lawyers to have written authorization or a court order to access materials, they may be directed to contact the court registry about access.

Access to youth court documents is time limited. If a lawyer is trying to access these documents after the time limit, they will be directed to contact the court registry about access.

Expanding online access is one of the ways the Court has worked with the Court Services Branch to improve access to court information. We encourage BC lawyers to try the ACM portal to save time and travel.  

Instructions for lawyers to access ACM