British Columbia's new family chambers process is now in effect

As of October 1, 2026, Order in Council 264/2026 has rewritten Rule 10-6 of the Supreme Court Family Rules. Chambers applications now follow a serve and file model where parties exchange materials before the hearing is scheduled.

Different timelines apply to variation applications. These include applications to change, suspend or terminate a final order or arbitration award; set aside or replace a filed agreement; or change or set aside a parenting coordinator determination.

The new procedure involves the following steps:

1. Serve the application – Serve the unfiled Notice of Application (Form F31), supporting evidence, and any relevant filed agreement, determination or award. Variation applications, contempt applications and applications under s 231(2) of the Family Law Act must be personally served.
2. Respond to the application – A Respondent who wishes to respond must serve an unfiled Application Response (Form F32) within 5 business after service. The response period is 21 days for a Rule 11-3 summary trial, increased from 8 business days, and 14 days for variation applications.
3. Serve reply affidavits – Reply affidavits are due within 3 business days of being served with the response, or 5 business days for summary trials and variation applications.
4. Set the hearing – Once every response has been served or its deadline has passed, file the  Notice of Hearing of Application (Form F31.1), together with the Notice of Application and any original affidavits not already filed.
5. Give notice of the hearing – File and serve Form F31.1 at least 4 business days before the hearing, or 7 days for variation applications. For applications estimated to take over 2 hours, the registrar fixes the hearing date. The notice must then be filed and served within 7 days after that date is fixed, and at least 14 days before the hearing.
6. Respondent files – Once the notice of hearing has been filed, respondents file the materials they served. This must be done before the hearing.

The old minimum service periods of 8, 12 and 21 business days before the hearing no longer apply.

Deadlines and new forms:

• Application and petition records: must be delivered no earlier than 5 business days, and no later than 4 p.m. 2 business days, before the hearing. Previously, the window was between 3 and 1 full business days before the hearing. Record indexes must be served, and original reply affidavit filed, by the same 4 p.m. deadline.
• New hearing notice Form F31.1, Notice of Hearing of Application, has been introduced.
• Revised forms: Forms F17, F31, F32, F75 have been replaced or affected by the new forms, including the Notice of Hearing of Petition, Forms F82.2 to F82.4, and Form F94.1

Rescheduling an adjourned application: Where an application has been adjourned generally, file a Notice of Hearing of Application instead of a Form F17 requisition to reset the hearing. 

Other important changes:

• Guardianship applications: serve an Affidavit (Form F101) with the other application materials.
• Contempt applications: The separate 7-day notice period no longer applies.
• Transitional arrangements: The order contains no transitional provision. Contact the registry to confirm how it will handle applications that were already under way on October 1.

By Lawyers family law publications have been updated to reflect these significant changes to practice in British Columbia.