In order to apply for a divorce in British Columbia, you must submit your original, long-form marriage certificate to the court registry with your Notice of Family Claim (pictured). A certified copy is also acceptable. Wallet-sized versions of certificates are not acceptable.
If you were married in BC, a marriage certificate would have been registered and then mailed to you approximately three weeks after the date of your wedding.
ORDERING A NEW MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE IF YOU WERE MARRIED IN B.C.:
You will need to know the following information to order a new marriage certificate:
- Date of marriage;
- City of marriage;
- The full legal names of you and your spouse before you got married (meaning, before either of you may have changed your last names); and
- The city of birth of you and your spouse.
If you have lost your marriage certificate, there are three ways you may obtain a new one:
- Online: https://ecos.vs.gov.bc.ca/
- In Person: go to any Service BC counter. You do not need to fill out an application, but you will need to provide the information listed above.
- By Phone: call the Vital Statistics Agency at 250 952 2681 in Victoria or 888 876 1633 elsewhere in B.C. You will need a credit card to pay over the phone.
Ordering a new copy of your marriage certificate costs $27.00. Once your request is received it takes 2-5 business days to process and mail out a new marriage certificate.
If you were married outside of B.C.:
- If you were married in another province or territory in Canada, you should contact the office that deals with vital statistics there;
- If you were married in another country, you will need to contact the office that deals with marriage records in that country.
If your marriage certificate is in a language other than English:
If your marriage certificate is in a language other than English, you must obtain a certified translation. Be sure that you receive an Affidavit of Translation from the translator to file with your original marriage certificate. Click here for a list of translators in BC: https://stibc.org/