The British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency is responsible for the registration of births, marriages, and deaths in British Columbia. These registrations, submitted to Vital Statistics Registrars and registered by the Chief Executive Officer, began in 1872 after British Columbia became a province of Canada, but do include some events which took place prior to 1872 and registered later.
Birth, marriage, and death registrations contain valuable information for research in genealogy, social history, sociology, and demography. However, the information recorded on registration documents has varied over the years. Historical marriage registrations may show the age and birth place of the bride and groom, information about their parents, the occupation of the bride and groom, and the signatures of the couple and the witnesses. Historical death registrations may contain the decedent's occupation and medical information relating to the cause of death. It is important to note that these are not certificates but the original registrations of a birth, marriage or death which contain greater detail than certificates. Certificates are only issued by the
BC Vital Statistics Agency.
The BC Archives has copies of the historical registrations on microfilm. Those wishing to purchase copies of the reels should contact the
Vital Statistics Agency.
The registrations have been indexed and can be searched on the BC Archives website
genealogy indexes. The online indexes were developed in co-operaton with the Vital Statistics Agency and with the assistance of several genealogical societies. For information about available date ranges and updating see the
Annual Release Information.
Additional records
World War Two Overseas Casualties (1940-1945): The 2001 release of death registrations included four new reels containing World War Two overseas casualties. The 3,423 names appear in the deaths index.
Colonial Marriages (1859 to 1872): A separate Colonial Marriage Index contains summarized information from certified copies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia pre-confederation marriage records submitted to the Colonial Secretary by clergy. Copies of the records are available on microfilm.
Baptisms (1836-1888): The Baptisms Index contains information from microfilmed copies of baptismal registers submitted to the Vital Statistics Agency. There is no access to the microfilm through the BC Archives. Those interested in viewing original entries are referred to the appropriate church as identified on the individual records.