Genealogy
I’m interested in my family history – can you do some research for me?
We cannot undertake general research on your behalf. You are welcome to visit the archives to do your own family research, or you can hire an Independent Research Agent to conduct research for you. For more information about genealogical resources, please see the Genealogy Research Guide.
Can you help me find a living person?
No. BC Archives staff cannot provide contact information. Check on-line telephone listings, city directories and telephone books to try to locate a living person in BC.
Vital Events
How can I view or get copies of birth, death and marriage registration records for British Columbia?
Contact or visit one of the locations that holds or has access to microfilm copies of publicly released vital event registration documents. There are many of these across BC and throughout the world. They include public libraries, genealogical societies, university and community college libraries, and local Family History Centres of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
You can come in to the BC Archives to view microfilm copies of registrations in the reference room. You can make self-serve copies of registrations for a small fee. You can also send us a
written inquiry, to request a copy of a registration record. There is a fee for each registration.
I used to be able to get an electronic copy of a birth, death and marriage registration by email. Why can't I do that anymore?
Vital Event registrations are not [formally] part of the BC Archives collections. Microfilmed copies are deposited with us in accordance with legislation by the Agency who is solely responsible for registering all births, marriages and deaths for the Province of British Columbia. Microfilmed copies are also purchased by
other agencies within BC including the Cloverdale Branch of the Surrey Public Library.
In early 2007 the BC Archives removed the link to VitalChek, a third-party US-based service provider who sold electronic copies from microfilm. The hyperlink was removed following several years of complaints about the services they provided to researchers. The BC Archives was unable to act on any of these specific complaints and felt it misleading to continue to host this service on our website.
Requests for certified copies of registrations or certificates of vital events must still be requested directly from the Vital Statistics Agency.
Why are only historical vital event records available? Why are the dates of available records different for each index?
Under the authority of section 39(4) of the
Vital Statistics Act, the Ministry of Health has the authority to release historical vital statistics registrations for genealogical purposes. Birth registrations are available 120 years following the date of birth, marriage registrations are available 75 years after the date of marriage, and death registrations are available 20 years after the date of death. These time frames are consistent with the protection of privacy provisions in the
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (section 36) governing disclosure of personal information for historical or archival purposes.
I can’t find the name I’m looking for in the Vital Event indexes online. Why?
See
Search for tips on searching, but be aware that the online indexes only have entries for records that have been released to the public. Check the date range for each index to make sure it covers the period you are interested in. If the event did not take place in British Columbia, you probably won't find an entry for it. There are special instructions to assist in finding aboriginal registrations, and some events were simply never registered.
I’m looking for an Aboriginal name in the Vital Events index. Any tips?
Aboriginal names are recorded on registrations and in the indexes in various ways, which can make searching for them more difficult. Early records do not have standard spellings. Registration recorders spelled names according to how they sounded to them – which could differ greatly from one recorder to another. Try putting “unknown” in the surname search field.
Many of the early registrations of Aboriginal names contained only one European name, either just a surname or just a given name. Try putting "unknown" in the index for either the surname or given name.
A large number of early Aboriginal marriage registrations contain only one European given name for both the bride and the groom (e.g. John Unknown and Mary Unknown). If the name of the father of the bride and/or the groom was shown on the registration, we have put those names in the index as the surname of the respective bride and groom (e.g. John, son of Peter, became John Peter, and Mary, daughter of Casimir, became Mary Casimir). If you know the surname of the father of the bride or groom, you can try putting them in the surname entry field.
It may be easiest to search Aboriginal Vital Event records by the name of community or reserve, leaving given and surname fields blank. You could search for all records from a community, or restrict the search to a year or range of years. If all else fails, searching through the microfilm reels of Aboriginal registrations may be the only way to find a record.
Note: The only persons excluded from registration under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act of 1872 were Chinese and Aboriginals (referred to in the legislation and registrations as Indians). This was changed by an amendment in 1897 (SBC 1897, c. 33, s. 3), which stated that the Act would apply to all races including all Aboriginals, Chinese and Japanese. However, the Act was amended in 1899 (SBC 1899, c. 8, s. 3) to once again exclude Aboriginals from provincial registration. This continued until the Act was amended again in 1916 (SBC 1916, c. 73, s. 3.2) to authorize the registration of Aboriginals, which began in 1917 with Indian Agents submitting registrations monthly. In 1943 this system was formalized with a special form for "Indian death registrations". Special forms for "Indian registrations" were discontinued after 1956.
Were all vital events that occurred in BC registered?
Historical vital events present special problems for genealogical research. In the early years, the duty of reporting events fell principally on parents, clergymen, or the occupant of the house where a death occurred. As a result, the completeness of records varied considerably, and some events were never registered at all.
The first Vital Statistics Annual Report in 1873 explained:
"There are many obstacles in the way of obtaining complete Returns, chiefly arising from the great distance from Registry Offices at which a large portion of the population reside; the want of cheap and speedy means of communication; the migratory habits of the people of the Mining Districts; and the difficulty of disseminating requirements of the Vital Statistics Act over a Territory so vast and sparsely settled."
Why are some surnames or given names in the Vital Event indexes listed as “Unknown”?
Some registrations contained only one name for an individual, either the surname or given name. In such cases we inserted the word "unknown" in the index for the missing given or surname. If you have trouble finding a record, try using each name that you know (surname or given name) in either the surname or given name field, alternating and leaving the other name field blank. You can restrict your search by confining it to a year, range of years, or a community name.
There is no microfilm number on the vital event index listing I need. Why?
Registration records listed in the indexes that do not include microfilm numbers are late registrations that have yet to be microfilmed. There are also a small number of marriage registrations listed in the index with microfilm numbers that are not currently available to the public on microfilm. These are also late registrations, which will be released at some point in the future. If you encounter these situations, please contact British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency for more information.
Why are some vital event registration records listed twice in the indexes?
If a registration has been amended, both the original and amended registrations are often included in the index.
I think there’s an error in one of the vital event indexes. Whom should I contact?
These indexes are based on data supplied by the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency. The data has been extracted from historical indexes and early computer tapes that have undergone major coding changes and conversions over time. As a result, inconsistencies or incomplete data may be found in some instances.
The Agency makes every attempt to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the indexes, but some errors in transcription or interpretation are possible. The information in these automated indexes is provided only for the purpose of locating registrations and should not be taken as authoritative. The final authority for all information is the registration document itself.
They update the indexes periodically to improve the quality of the data. If you find an error, inconsistency or incomplete record, please inform the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency by e-mail (HLTH.VSGene@gems3.gov.bc.ca) or through their website's contact page at British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency.
Why are some vital events that took place outside BC listed?
Today, the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency only registers events that occur within the province. However, the historical indexes do list some earlier events that occurred outside of the province (e.g. 3,423 deaths of British Columbians overseas during World War Two - see below). Some of those events were registered, and can be found on microfilm. In other instances, when a record was found to be for an out-of-province event, the registration was deleted and the documents no longer exist. These deleted registrations were included in the indexes in the hope that they might provide valuable research clues.
Do you have registrations of World War Two Overseas Casualties?
Yes. The 2001 release of vital events records included documents related to the deaths of 3,423 British Columbians in World War Two. The microfilm for this special category of death registrations was not previously available through the British Columbia Archives. An index for the overseas casualties has been created and merged with the deaths index. Though the deaths occurred in the years 1940 to 1945, they are not on reels of film that have been released previously for those years. The new reels for overseas casualties are now available at the BC Archives or through the Genealogical Society of Utah.
Archives, libraries, societies or individuals who have already purchased copies of film for those years will need to acquire the four new reels for overseas casualties. You can purchase copies of the microfilm (four reels) from the Vital Statistics Agency by following the links in the paragraph on the main vital events page titled "microfilm copies".
You can search the overseas casualties microfilm reels by: names of individuals by using a partial match in the "place" field for the country for people killed in action on land (most common are England, Holland, Hong Kong, India, Italy, France, and Germany) by using the terms "overseas" or "at sea" in the "place" field, or by browsing reels of film, if special difficulties are encountered. To do that, retrieve BC Archives reel numbers B14424, B14425, B14426, and B14427 or GSU reel numbers 2231494, 2231495, 2231496 and 2231497.
Where can I find information about vital event records in other provinces?
See Genealogy Resources for British Columbians. It has a description of vital events records in other Canadian provinces and territories.
Can I get my adoption records at the BC Archives?
The BC Adoption Registry is maintained by the Vital Statistics Agency. The Ministry of Children and Family Development also has an adoption web site.
How can I get a copy of a birth, death and marriage registration that has not yet been released publicly?
Contact the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency for information on how to obtain these records.
Are certificates the same as vital event registrations?
Birth, death and marriage certificates are not the same as registrations. Registration records may contain more information than appears on a certificate. Certificates contain information from original registration records. You can buy certificates for Vital Events that took place in British Columbia from the
BC Vital Statistic Agency.
Where can I get a certified copy of a vital event registration?
At the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency. You will need to provide all the information from the index for the registration you want, except the GSU microfilm number. The address is: