Registration and Licensee Services

Annual fees

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. Lawyers are notified by email when the invoice for their annual fee is available in their Member Portal account in October.

Read more

Member cards and practising certificates

Practising, non-practising and retired lawyers, as well as Canadian Legal Advisors, may retrieve their printable member cards from their accounts in the Member Portal under “My Profile” when their payment for the annual fee and all other outstanding dues, if any, are processed by the Law Society, and they have no outstanding Annual Practice Declarations.

Practising lawyers in good standing may retrieve their practising certificates from their accounts in the Member Portal under “My Profile” when their payment for the annual fee and all other outstanding dues, if any, are processed by the Law Society, and they have no outstanding Annual Practice Declarations.

These documents will not be supplied as physical documents by mail.

Go to Member Portal 

Change contact information

Lawyers must notify the Law Society of any changes to their business address information. Prompt disclosure of this information is required under Law Society Rules 2-9 to 2-11.

Lawyers can submit changes to their business address information online through the Member Portal. To update your information, log in and select the appropriate option under "My Profile" in the navigation menu.

Go to Member Portal 

Membership category change and voluntary resignation

We explain what to do if you will no longer be engaged in the practice of law (short-term or long-term). This includes non-practising membership, retired membership and voluntary resignation.

Read more

Apply for compulsory professional liability indemnity coverage or claim an exemption

Every BC lawyer in private practice must pay the annual indemnity fee unless exempt.

Read more

Law corporation permit

The Legal Profession Act (LPA) permits lawyers to practice law or provide legal services through a professional corporation known as “law corporation.” Incorporation of a Law Practice requires several steps and must be done through both the Registrar of Companies and the Law Society of British Columbia. Before you begin, ensure you review the information provided on the law corporation page in full.

Read more

Law firm registration

We explain which firms must register, the information to be provided, and how to register.

Read more

Certificates of Standing and OIC forms

A Certificate of Standing is a detailed document issued to a member of the Law Society at their request that contains the complete details of a lawyer’s current membership status (e.g. category and indemnity) as well as their membership history, including any open complaints or investigations, practice restrictions, and any arrears or other financial difficulties.

BC lawyers who wish to be placed on file with the Ministry of Attorney General’s Order in Council (OIC) Administration Office must first submit the required form to the Law Society for authentication.

Click the link below to learn more about the processes.

Read more

Certificate of Authentication

Before submitting your documents to the Law Society for authentication, it is important that you check with the consulate or embassy of the destination country to determine what documents you need and what steps are required in order to use your documents in the destination country. The Law Society does not issue Apostille Certificates. If a Certificate of Authentication is required instead, follow the steps outlined on this page.

Read more

Forms

Forms for BC lawyers (status changes, compulsory professional liability indemnity coverage, law corporations) and students and lawyers outside BC.

Go to Forms