British Columbia
Public access: 120 years
Official Records Office
BC Vital Statistics Agency
Issues certified birth certificates. For records within 120 years, you must be the registrant or an immediate family member.
Visit official site ↗How to Get Records
- 1
Search the BC Archives Genealogy collection online first — records older than 120 years are fully public and freely searchable.
- 2
If the record is within the 120-year window, contact BC Vital Statistics Agency and demonstrate your relationship to the registrant.
- 3
Request a certified copy by mail or online. You'll need the person's full name, approximate birth date, and parents' names.
- 4
For records not yet digitized, BC Archives can search microfilm holdings by appointment.
Resources
BC Archives Genealogy Search (Royal BC Museum)
Search digitized BC birth, marriage, and death registrations. Records older than 120 years are freely searchable.
BC Vital Statistics Agency
Order certified copies of BC birth certificates.
FamilySearch — British Columbia
Free access to BC vital records collections.
Tips
- •BC civil registration began in 1872. Earlier records are church-based — Anglican, Catholic, and Methodist records are often held at the BC Archives.
- •The BC Archives online search covers births from 1872 onward, with the 120-year public access rule applied dynamically.
- •For ancestors in pre-Confederation BC (before 1871), Hudson's Bay Company records at Library and Archives Canada may help.