Membership with the Law Society expires on December 31 each year.
Lawyers are responsible for ensuring that payment of their annual fee and indemnity fee, if applicable, is made before the deadlines outlined in Part 2, Division 3 of the Law Society Rules if they wish to maintain their membership after the expiry date.
Annual fees for practising lawyers are paid in two instalments, whereas annual fees for non-practising and retired members are paid in a single instalment.
Lawyers are notified by email when the invoice for their annual fee is available in their Member Portal account approximately six weeks before the due date. Your amount due can be found in the Annual Fee Billing invoice in your Member Portal account (under Invoices & Receipts). It is important that your email address with the Law Society is correct and up to date.
You can update your employment, mailing address and email address through your Member Portal account.
Amount due and due dates
All fees are outlined in Schedule 1 – Law Society Fees and Assessments. Note that the amounts outlined in Schedule 1 are before tax; Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies to all Law Society fees and assessments.
If payment for the upcoming membership year is made on or before November 30:
Member category | Indemnity coverage | Total due (GST included) | |
Practising lawyers | Full-time | Each instalment* of annual fee | $2154.08 |
Practising lawyers | Part-time | Each instalment* of annual fee | $1681.58 |
Practising lawyers | Exempt | Each instalment* of annual fee | $1209.08 |
Non-practising lawyers | N/A | Annual fee | $341.25 |
Retired lawyers | N/A | Annual fee | $131.25 |
*The annual fee for practising members is payable in two instalments. The second instalment is due on May 31 of the membership year.
If payment for the upcoming membership year is made between December 1 and 31:
Member category | Indemnity coverage | Total due (GST included) | |
Practising lawyers | Full-time | Each instalment of annual fee only + late fee | $2311.58 |
Practising lawyers | Part-time | Each instalment of annual fee only + late fee | $1839.08 |
Practising lawyers | Exempt | Each instalment of annual fee only + late fee | $1366.58 |
Non-practising lawyers | N/A | Annual fee + late fee | $383.25 |
Retired lawyers | N/A | Annual fee + late fee | $131.25 |
Pursuant to Rules 2-108(3) to 2-108(5), a late fee will apply if payment for the upcoming membership year is made after the deadline of November 30, or between December 1 and 31:
- Practising member: $150 + GST = $157.50
- Non-practising member: $40 + GST = $42.00
- Retired member: $0.00
For practising members, the late payment fee will also apply to the second instalment if payment is made after the deadline of May 31, or between June 1 and 30 of the membership year.
NOTE: As per Rule 2-117(1), any other outstanding due(s) must be paid before payment for the annual fee will be applied.
Reminders for practising members
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
The deadline for practising lawyers to complete and report 12 hours of accredited CPD — two hours of which must pertain to any combination of professional responsibility and ethics and practice management — is December 31 each year. Requests for CPD must be submitted through the Member Portal and failure to report completed CPD or to complete CPD by the deadline is subject to a late fee of $200 and $500 (plus applicable taxes), respectively. Membership may also be suspended in accordance with Rule 3-32(1).
To report your completed CPD or to check the number of hours of accredited CPD recorded, log in to your Member Portal account and select “Continuing Professional Development” under Education. For more information about CPD — including how to record your credits and ways to complete your CPD — go to Continuing Professional Development.
Annual Practice Declaration (APD)
Pursuant to Rule 2-8, a practising lawyer must complete and deliver an APD to the Executive Director in each calendar year. To complete your APD or to find out if you have any outstanding APDs, log in to your Member Portal account and select “Annual Practice Declaration” under “Online tools and reporting.”
Changing membership category or indemnity coverage after invoicing of annual fee
The invoiced amount is based on your current membership category and indemnity coverage. If you wish to alter your indemnity coverage, change your membership category to non-practising or retired or terminate your membership, submit the appropriate application as soon as possible and no later than 14 days before the due date to avoid the late payment fee. See dates below:
- November 16 – practising members (first instalment), non-practising members and retired members
- May 17 – practising members (second instalment)
If you send in the change application after the above dates, submit your payment for the annual fee (and late payment fee if issued) that has been invoiced to you based on your current membership category and indemnity as soon as possible. You will receive a refund on the excess amount paid once your application has been processed and approved.
Allow up to 14 days to process the change application.
Member card and practising certificate
Practising, non-practising and retired lawyers, as well as Canadian Legal Advisors, who have no outstanding Annual Practice Declarations may retrieve their printable member card from their Member Portal account under “My Profile.” The member card can only be accessed after payment for the annual fee and other outstanding dues, if applicable, have been processed by the Law Society.
These documents will not be supplied as physical documents by mail.
Important dates
Date | Events |
Mid-October | Receive notice for annual fee; invoice available in Member Portal |
November 16 | Last day for submitting a change application (membership category or indemnity coverage). If the change application is submitted after this day, the member must pay for the amount(s) that have already been invoiced first. A refund on the excess amount paid may be issued after the change application is processed and approved. |
November 30 | Due date for:
|
December 1 | Late payment fee applies |
December 31 | Membership expiry date Deadline for late payment (annual fee/first instalment + late fee) Deadline for CPD completion and reporting |
January 1 | Membership is ceased if no payment was made by December 31 |
Next calendar year | |
Mid-April* | Receive notice for second instalment of the annual fee; invoice available in Member Portal |
May 17* | Last day for submitting a change application (membership category or indemnity coverage). If the change application is submitted after this day, the member must pay for the amount(s) that have already been invoiced first. A refund on the excess amount paid may be issued after the change application is processed and approved. |
May 31* | Due date for second instalment of the annual fee |
June 1* | Late payment fee applies (second instalment) |
June 30* | Deadline for late payment (second instalment + late fee) |
July 1* | Membership is suspended if no payment was made for second instalment by the above deadline |
Invoices, acceptable payment methods and receipts
Your amount(s) due can be found in your Member Portal account under 'Invoices & Receipts'.
Members are responsible for ensuring payment is made on time. If your annual fee is to be paid by your employer or a third party, you may share your invoice with your law firm through the Member Portal or retrieve the invoice and send it directly to the payor. Law Society staff cannot share any invoice with a third party.
Payment (in CAD) can be made by:
- cheque or bank draft – payable to the Law Society of British Columbia;
- online banking – use your 6-digit member ID (add leading zeros if your member ID has four digits), NOT the invoice number, as your account number; or
- wire transfer – add $15 wire transfer fee to your total.
Refer to the payment option sheet for more information.
Credit card, Visa/Mastercard debit card and INTERAC e-transfers are not accepted.
Allow 3-5 business days from the date of payment for processing.
Your receipt will be available in the Member Portal (under Invoices & Receipts) once the payment has been processed.
Failure to pay by deadline
Membership will be ceased if payment is not received by the membership expiry date (December 31). Once membership is ceased, former members are not permitted to practise law in BC and will have to apply for reinstatement if they wish to become BC lawyers again.
Practising members only – membership will be suspended if payment for the second instalment is not received by June 30 of the membership year. Suspended lawyers are not permitted to engage in the practice of law in BC. Suspension will be lifted once all outstanding dues are paid.
Quick links
Law Society Rules Part 2, Division 3 – Fee and Assessments
Schedule 1 – Law Society Fees and Assessments
Law Society Payment Option Sheet
Membership category change to non-practising or retired, or terminating membership
Continuing Professional Development
Contact us
For questions related to annual fee, APD or membership changes, contact us at 604.605.5311 or registration@lsbc.org
For questions related to CPD, contact us at cpd@lsbc.org
Frequently asked questions
If you are employed by a law firm, you can opt to ‘share’ your invoice through the Member Portal. Log into the Member Portal and scroll down to Invoices & Receipts. Select the invoice you want to share and click the radio button. Once you do this, the Designated Representative at your firm will be able to see your invoice and include it with their firm invoice package.
If you are employed by a private company, crown corporation, government department or agency, you must download your invoice and forward a paper or electronic copy to your employer. Your invoice must accompany your payment, whether it is made by you or your employer.
Yes, you can post-date your cheque to November 30; however, your payment will not be confirmed until that date and no receipt will be visible on the Member Portal.
Please log in to the Member Portal to access your receipt. The receipt is available online 24/7.
You will receive a confirmation email once your payment has been processed.
Alternately, please log into your Member Portal account and scroll down to the Invoices & Receipts section. If the payment was received, your Annual Fee (or second instalment) invoice will be replaced by a receipt of payment. If the invoice is still outstanding, but you have recently submitted a payment, please allow 3 to 5 business days for processing and check the portal again.
We are unable to split invoices. If you have entered into a fee splitting arrangement with your employer, you can pay the amount you have agreed to pay and the employer can pay their portion separately. We will match up the transactions on our end.
The new firm invoice package is an online system that allows a law firm to make a single payment to the Law Society for all their lawyers’ annual practice fees. This new system is only available to Designated Representatives at law firms and not private companies or government agencies. Access to the system cannot be provided to administrative or accounting staff at firms or to private companies.
Individual members must first log into their Member Portal account and opt to share the invoice with their firm. Once this is done, the invoice will be visible to the Designated Representative who can add it to the firm package. When all the invoices have been shared, the Designated Representative can combine the invoices into a PDF package and make a single payment for the total of all included invoices. The payment must include a reference to the firm invoice package number so the Finance department can apply the payment to all members included.
A step-by-step guide is available at Firm invoice package user guide.