What is Admin Law?

Last Reviewed: July, 2023 Reviewed by: JES Contributors

In BC Small Claims Court, all cases start with filing a Notice of Claim form. To complete your Notice of Claims form you will need to fill out the following information.

Claimant

If you are the person starting the claim, you are called the claimant. You will need to fill out your full name and address. This address will be where the court will send you documents and notices. If you are suing in the name of an organization or business, be sure to include the full legal name. If your address changes while your case is active, be sure to Change your Address.

Learn More

Making a Claim Guide from the Government of BC

What Happened

This is where you will describe the incident that led to the claim. You will want to give a brief outline of the facts that occurred. Be sure to refer to documents that support your claim, like contracts, invoices, etc.

Some examples:

For a money claim:
- On or about Oct 3rd, I was hired by the defendant to do landscaping work for View Properties in North Vancouver. The work was completed on October 31st, and the defendant was invoiced for the total outstanding amount of $10,000. The invoice was to be paid by November 15th. No payments have been made by the defendant
For a personal injury claim:
- On July 20th, I was shopping at Green Foods at 5th Ave and Yew street Kelowna, when...
For a goods or services claim:
- On June 5th, I bought a 2015 Honda Civic from Theresa Silva, the defendant. The Honda was advertised to be in excellent working condition

Where and When?

You’ll need to specify the location where the claim occurred and the approximate date you discovered the claim. You don’t need to be specific, you can just name a city or town. For contracts, you can name where the contract was created.

How Much?

This is where you can specify how much you are claiming the defendant owes to you. Some examples:

For debts: Debt owed $6,000, plus interest
For property: Return my 2016 Toyota Yaris

Key Terms

The person filing the claim is called the claimant and the person replying to the claim is called the defendant. We also refer to participants in the lawsuit (i.e. claimants and defendants) as parties or the party

Steps to Starting a Claim in BC Small Claims Court:

1

STEP

Complete The Notice of Claim Form

2

STEP

File The Notice of Claim

3

STEP

Pay The Courts Fee

4

STEP

Serve The Notice of Claim

Time Alert

The defendant can also ask for a default order if the claimant does not respond to a counterclaim or a third party does not respond to a Third Party Notice

Age Limit

The defendant can also ask for a default order if the claimant does not respond to a counterclaim or a third party does not respond to a Third Party Notice

Get Help

The defendant can also ask for a default order if the claimant does not respond to a counterclaim or a third party does not respond to a Third Party Notice