Protection Order Registry

The Protection Order Registry is a confidential database of all civil and criminal protection orders in British Columbia. It was created to help reduce violence against women, vulnerable adults, youth and children.

Protection orders issued in B.C. courts or by the police are entered into the registry. If you call the police to say your spouse has disobeyed a protection order, the police can phone a central number at any time during the day or night to get up-to-date information about your order. They can then act to enforce the order right away.

Requirement of a Protection Order

Protection orders are made by a judge in court or by police to help protect one person from another person. A protection order must contain a no contact, limited contact or other condition that offers protection in order to be considered a protection order.

An order is not a protection order if it does not name an individual and if its only condition is to protect property, assets or the community.

For more information about protection orders, please see information on protection orders.

Peace Bonds and Family Law Protection Orders

Peace bonds and family law protection orders are two types of protection orders. Peace bonds are issued in criminal court and protection orders are issued in civil court.

For more information, see For Your Protection: Peace Bonds and Family Law Protection Orders on Legal Aid BC's Family Law in BC website.

The guide is also in French, Chinese-traditional, Chinese-simplified, Punjabi and Farsi.

Registering a Protection Order Made in Another Province

Criminal Protection Orders

Criminal protection orders can be enforced anywhere in Canada. They include:

• Peace bonds
• Conditional sentence orders
• Probation orders that contain protective conditions

To register a criminal protection order from elsewhere in Canada:

• Visit your local police
• Show them a copy of your order
• Tell them about your situation

Using a Canada-wide computer system, police in any province or territory can confirm an order and then act to enforce its terms.

Civil Court Restraining Order

If you have a civil court restraining order made by a court elsewhere in Canada, you must apply to the British Columbia court for an order authorizing police to enforce it.

Staff at your nearest court registry will provide you with the information you need to register your order in B.C. They will ask for your identification so be sure to take it with you.

Victim Notification Program – Register to be informed of status of an accused or offender

If you are named as a protected party on a civil or criminal protection order you can register for victim notification.

Registering means you may be provided with on-going information about the status of the person charged or convicted of the crime, including:

• Whether or not they are currently in provincial jail
• When they may get out of provincial jail
• What community they may be in, and
• What conditions they may have to follow

The victim notification program is run by the Victim Safety Unit.

For more information, see Help Starts Here – Victim Notification, which also includes the application to enroll in the program.

For assistance registering, contact VictimLinkBC at 1-800-563-0808.