Free and Low-Cost Legal Help in British Columbia: Resources by Area of Law

Most legal problems start with practical questions: where do I go, what form do I need, and can I get help I can afford? This guide brings together the free and low-cost services, official information and forms that people in British Columbia rely on, organized by area of law, with a line on what each one is and who it is for.

It is general information, not legal advice. Each area ends with a link to our own service, if you would like to know how we can help. Every link was opened and checked on October 23, 2026, and phone numbers are as shown on each organization's own website that day.

If you are in danger or need help now

If you or anyone else is in immediate danger, call 911.

• VictimLinkBC: a free, confidential, multilingual line for victims of crime, with immediate crisis support for family and sexual violence, open 24 hours a day. Call or text 1-800-563-0808.
• Vancouver Police Department: to report a crime or concern that is not an emergency in Vancouver, call the non-emergency line at 604-717-3321. Outside Vancouver, use your local police non-emergency number.

Start here

If you are not sure where to begin, these services can explain your problem, tell you whether you qualify for free help, and point you to the right next step. Before you call, have ready a short timeline with dates, the names of everyone involved, copies of the key documents, any deadline you know about, and your household income if you want to check whether you qualify for free services.

• Clicklaw: BC's public legal information website, with plain-language guides and answers to common questions.
• Clicklaw's directory of legal help: a searchable list of organizations in BC that give legal help, sorted by topic. Most are free or low cost.
• Legal Aid BC: free legal representation for people with low incomes who have serious family problems, child protection matters or criminal charges, among others, and free legal information and advice for many more. Call 604-408-2172 in Greater Vancouver or 1-866-577-2525 elsewhere in BC.
• Access Pro Bono Summary Advice Program: free appointments of up to half an hour with a volunteer lawyer, for people with low and modest incomes.
• Access Pro Bono Legal Referral Service: matches BC residents with a lawyer, notary or designated paralegal for a free first consultation of 15 to 30 minutes; further work is at the professional's own rates. Call 604-687-3221.
• People's Law School: free plain-language guides and webinars on everyday legal problems in BC.
• Justice Access Centres: provincial centres in Abbotsford, Nanaimo, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria, with help by phone and video elsewhere, that assess what you need and refer you to mediation, limited legal advice and other services.
• Law Students' Legal Advice Program: free legal advice and, in some cases, representation from supervised UBC law students, for people in the Lower Mainland who could not otherwise afford a lawyer.
• Indigenous community legal workers: Legal Aid BC staff who give Indigenous people legal information and limited advice, and can go to court with them.
• Indigenous Community Legal Clinic: free legal services for the Indigenous community, run by UBC's Allard School of Law in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
• Mediate BC: a non-profit with rosters of mediators, for people who want to settle a dispute without going to court.
• Seniors First BC: information, legal advocacy and referrals for older adults, including help with abuse and financial exploitation. Seniors Abuse & Information Line: 604-437-1940 or toll-free 1-866-437-1940.

Check a lawyer or notary

• Law Society of BC lawyer directory: confirm that a lawyer is licensed to practise in BC.
• Law Society complaints: how to raise a concern about a BC lawyer's conduct.
• Society of Notaries Public of BC: the regulator of BC notaries.

The Legal Professions Act, passed in 2024, will bring lawyers, notaries and regulated paralegals under one regulator, but its main provisions are not yet in force. Until they are, the Law Society regulates lawyers and the Society of Notaries Public regulates notaries.

Probate & Estates

When someone dies, the executor named in the will, or an administrator if there is no will, gathers the assets, pays the debts and taxes and distributes what is left. These free sources explain the steps and supply the forms.

• After a death: wills and estates: the Province's overview of what to do with or without a will, and when a grant of probate or administration is needed.
• People's Law School: dealing with an estate: free plain-language guides for executors and family members.
• Supreme Court probate forms: the official forms for applying for a grant, including the notice of proposed application (Form P1).
• Wills Registry: the Vital Statistics Agency's registry of wills notices; a wills search is part of every probate application.
• Death certificates: how to order the certificates banks, insurers and government offices ask for.
• Doing taxes for someone who died: the Canada Revenue Agency's steps for the final and estate returns.
• Clearance certificate: how an executor asks the CRA, on Form TX19, to confirm the estate's taxes are paid before distributing.
• CPP death benefit: a one-time Canada Pension Plan payment; the executor applies first.
• Public Guardian and Trustee: estates: when the Public Guardian and Trustee may administer an estate, and its role where a beneficiary is a minor or an adult who needs help with decisions.

For more information, see our Probate & Estates service and our probate and estate guides.

Wills & Estate Planning

A will, a power of attorney and a representation agreement together decide who looks after your affairs if you die or cannot make decisions.

• People's Law School: preparing a will: free guides to making a will and planning your estate in BC.
• Wills, Estates and Succession Act: the law on making a valid will and on who inherits when there is no will.
• Power of Attorney Act and Representation Agreement Act: the rules for appointing someone to manage your finances, and your health and personal care, if you cannot.
• Advance care planning: the Province's free guide to planning future health care decisions.
• Nidus: a BC non-profit focused on personal planning for incapacity and end of life, especially representation agreements.
• Wills Registry: where you can record the location of your original will, so your executor can find it.

For more information, see our Wills & Estate Planning service and our wills and estate planning guides.

Real Estate

Buying, selling or owning property in BC involves public registries and taxes. These free official sources let you check things for yourself.

• Land Title and Survey Authority: BC's land title register, where you can order a title search showing who owns a property and what is registered against it.
• BC Property Connect: an LTSA service that lets owners keep track of updates to their property in one secure account.
• BC Assessment: look up the assessed value of any BC property, and how to ask for a review of yours.
• Property transfer tax and the first time home buyers' program: rates, exemptions and the rules after you buy.
• Home Buyer Rescission Period: the BC Financial Services Authority's summary of the three-business-day right to cancel a home purchase, and its 0.25% cost.
• Strata housing: the Province's guide to buying, living in and running a strata.
• New Homes Registry: check whether a new home has home warranty insurance and a licensed builder.
• Home owner grant, the speculation and vacancy tax and Vancouver's empty homes tax: the yearly grant and declarations that come with owning a home.

For more information, see our Real Estate service and our real estate guides.

Family Law

Separation affects parenting, support, property and sometimes safety. Many of these services are free, and some are available whether or not you go to court. If there has been violence or you fear for your safety, start with the help lines at the top of this guide.

• Family Law in BC: Legal Aid BC's plain-language information and step-by-step guides on separation, divorce, children, support and property.
• Family LawLINE: brief advice by phone from a family lawyer, for people who qualify financially. Call 604-408-2172 in Greater Vancouver or 1-866-577-2525 elsewhere in BC.
• Family justice counsellors: provincial staff who help separating families, including by mediating parenting and support issues.
• Family Justice Centres: free help across BC with parenting arrangements, guardianship and support.
• Rise Women's Legal Centre: family law services for women and gender diverse people who could not otherwise afford a lawyer.
• Getting ready for family court: the Provincial Court's guide to family cases.
• Supreme Court family forms: the official forms for family cases in the Supreme Court, including divorce.
• Federal Child Support Tables: the tables and a look-up tool for the basic child support amount.
• BC Family Maintenance Agency: helps families with a support order or agreement collect the support they are owed.

For more information, see our Family Law service and our family law guides.

Business Law

Starting and running a business in BC means registering with the Province and the CRA, keeping company records and meeting employer obligations. These free official sources cover the basics.

• BC Registries and Online Services: register a business name, incorporate, file annual reports and search company records.
• Small business resources: the Province's guides and supports for starting and running a business.
• Transparency register: what a private company must record about the individuals who control it.
• Register for a business number: how to get a CRA business number and accounts for GST/HST and payroll.
• Register to collect PST: whether and how your business must register to collect PST.
• Employment standards: minimum rules on pay, hours, leave and ending employment.
• WorkSafeBC coverage: who needs workers' compensation coverage and how to register.
• Pay transparency: pay rules for job postings, and which employers must report on pay gaps.

For more information, see our Business Law service and our business law guides.

Business Purchase & Sale

Buying or selling a business involves searches, tax clearances and employees, as well as the purchase agreement itself.

• Request business or organization records: how to get a company's summary, filing history and certificate of good standing.
• Personal property liens and searches: search for security interests registered against a business's equipment, inventory and other assets.
• PST when buying and selling a business: why a buyer should get a PST clearance certificate.
• Buying a business and selling a business: the CRA's rules on GST/HST, payroll and accounts when a business changes hands.
• Employees on a sale of business: the Employment Standards Branch's guide to section 97, under which employment is treated as continuous when a business is sold.

For more information, see our Business Purchase & Sale service and our business purchase and sale guides.

Litigation

Most disputes have a deadline, and the right forum depends on the type and size of the claim. Check your limitation date first: a claim started too late can fail however strong it is.

• Limitation Act: most claims must be started within two years after the day the claim is discovered.
• Civil Resolution Tribunal: BC's online tribunal for small claims up to $5,000, most strata disputes and some motor vehicle accident claims. Its free Solution Explorer explains your options before you make a claim.
• Getting ready for small claims court: the Provincial Court's guide for claims from $5,001 to $35,000.
• Supreme Court civil self-help: an online guide to starting or responding to a civil case in the Supreme Court.
• Court Services Online: search court file information and file documents electronically.
• Residential Tenancy Branch dispute resolution: how landlords and tenants resolve disputes over deposits, repairs, rent and evictions.
• Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre: free information for tenants. Tenant Infoline: 604-255-0546.
• BC Human Rights Tribunal: where you file a complaint of discrimination in work, housing or services under the BC Human Rights Code.
• BC Human Rights Clinic: free legal help with provincial human rights complaints.

For more information, see our Litigation service and our litigation guides.

Notarization

Documents for use outside Canada often need a notary's signature first, then authentication or an apostille. Before you book, ask the receiving country or organization exactly what it needs.

• Guide to the Authentication of Documents: the Province's program for authenticating BC public documents for use outside Canada.
• The Apostille Convention: since January 11, 2024, documents authenticated in Canada can carry an apostille, which member countries accept without a further consulate step.
• Authentication of documents: Global Affairs Canada's guide to finding the right authority for your document.
• Foreign representatives in Canada: find an embassy or consulate, for countries outside the Convention or that need a consulate step.

For more information, see our Notarization service and our notarization guides.

Laws and court decisions

Statutes change, so read the current version and check the "current to" date shown on the page.

• BC Laws: the official, free source of BC statutes and regulations.
• Justice Laws Website: the official source of federal Acts and regulations.
• CanLII: a free database of Canadian court and tribunal decisions.
• BC Courts judgment search: decisions of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of BC.

When to speak to a lawyer

Free information goes a long way, but some situations call for advice on your own facts. Speak to a lawyer if:

• a deadline is close, such as a limitation period, a court date or the end of a subject period;
• you have been served with court documents or a demand letter;
• money, property or your home is at stake;
• the other side has a lawyer;
• you are about to sign something you cannot easily undo, such as a contract, a separation agreement or an estate release.

If you are already working with us, our guide to the official sites, registries and forms our clients use shows where each one fits in your matter.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.