FAQ

The BC Archives is the provincial archives. We are mandated to acquire, preserve and make publicly accessible the documentary heritage of the province of British Columbia. The purposes of the BC Archives are defined in two pieces of provincial legislation: the Museum Act (SBC 2003, c. 12) and the Information Management Act (SBC 2015, c. 27). 

Under the Information Management Act (SBC 2015, c. 27), non-digital records created by the BC government and BC’s courts that are to be retained permanently may be transferred to the BC Archives. Government records make up the vast majority of our holdings. We also acquire and have records created by private (i.e., non-government) individuals, families, groups, businesses, and communities, as well as a library collection; this responsibility aligns with the stated purpose under the Museum Act “to secure, receive and preserve… archival and other materials that illustrate the natural or human history of British Columbia.” 

The BC Archives’ holdings come in various formats. These include: 

• 110,000 boxes of textual records 
• 181,000 maps, technical and architectural drawings 
• Over 5.5 million photographs 
• 27,000 sound recordings 
• 12,600 film and video titles 
• 11,100 works of art 
• 85,000 library publications 

For more information about materials at the BC Archives, see What We Have. 

The BC Archives has a large collection of materials, and there is more than one way to begin your research. 

You can search our online catalogues to see what materials we hold. There are three databases you can search: the Collections Search (for archival records), the Genealogy Search (for births, marriages, deaths, and baptisms), and our Library Catalogue (for the Archives Library).

We also maintain research guides, which provide search strategies for a variety of topics. See Guides, Indexes and Inventories.

You can find our contact information at Contact. 

For our Hours of Operation, see Hours – BC Archives. 

No appointment is needed to visit the BC Archives. However, there are situations where we might require advanced notice to serve you best (for example, to order materials located offsite, or to review records for restrictions).  
 
To make the most of your visit, please review the information in Plan Your Visit before you arrive. 

The BC Archives has a large collection of materials in many formats. It is possible that there are resources at BC Archives relevant to your search topic; finding them in our vast holdings can require time, patience, and some skill.  

To start your search, we suggest searching our databases and reviewing any Guides, Index and Inventories that might be relevant.  

You can also submit a reference request to get help from our staff in searching our collections, accessing our holdings, and requesting reproductions. Due to the volume of inquiries we receive, we cannot conduct extensive research on behalf of clients. 

If you need additional support with your research or locating records, consider hiring a professional researcher. 

It is possible that we do hold the materials you are looking for, even if your searches so far have not returned results. There are several reasons why search results might not come up, including: variants in spellings and names/keywords used over time; errors in machine transcription; and materials being described at the level of records groups, rather than at the item level. 

If you are having trouble finding results in our databases, you can try: 

• Using the search tips in Genealogy search how-to and BC Archives Collections Search how-to 
• Trying variations in spelling and different keywords, including historical and outdated terminology, and using wildcards in your search  
• Broadening your search
• Getting in touch with us by sending a reference inquiry (Needs a page)

The BC Archives has many resources that are useful for family history research. See Family History (Genealogy) for a description of our holdings and tips for getting started.

One valuable resource for genealogists is the Genealogy Collection, which makes records from BC’s Vital Statistics Agency available to the public. Records include birth, marriage, death and a small number of baptismal registrations. For help searching this database, see How-to: BC Archives Genealogy Search. For information about what vital events registrations the BC Archives holds, see BC Archives Research Guide-Vital Events Registrations.

The BC Archives does have various records relating to Residential Schools. These include records of religious congregations that worked at the schools, photographs, newsletters, annuals, government records (including lands records, vital events records, coroner’s inquests and inquiries, and more), sound recordings of survivors, and publications. 

For more information about Residential School records at the BC Archives and how to access them, see Residential School Records.

If a file or item has been digitized and made available online, the access copy will appear as a thumbnail image in the online record descriptions (for archival material) or as a link in the catalogue record (for vital events records and library items).  

Not all of our holdings have been digitized and made available online. To access our physical collections, you can plan a visit in person or request reproductions (copies) of the records be sent to you. 

The BC Archives is the provincial archives. We are mandated to acquire, preserve and make publicly accessible the documentary heritage of the province of British Columbia. The purposes of Many of our records are located in offsite storage and need to be ordered onsite. Some of our materials have access restrictions. You can prepare for your research at BC Archives by verifying records’ locations and checking whether any restrictions apply (and contacting [email protected], if necessary). For more information on preparing for your visit, see Plan a Visit. 

If you are looking to access large numbers of records, we would appreciate advanced notice to prepare for your visit; for large records requests, we require at least a few weeks’ notice. 

Yes! Many of our records have been digitized and are available online. You can access these by searching our collections. Materials that have been digitized will appear as images in the search results or as hyperlinks to catalogue records. 

For help with accessing records and navigating our tools and resources, you can send us a reference request by email, letter, fax, or phone. We can also copy records on your behalf for a fee; see Royal BC Museum and Archives Price List for current prices. 

If you are conducting an in-depth research project and are unable to visit in person, you may want to consider hiring a private researcher. 

It is free to visit the BC Archives and create your own copies of materials using a camera, phone, or by scanning microfilm to an external hard drive. Downloading access copies from our Collection Search database is also free. 
 
For records that have not been digitized, the BC Archives can create reproductions of records on your behalf for a fee. For the current list of prices, see Royal BC Museum and Archives Price List. 

Record locations are generally noted in the online record descriptions. Please ensure you check all higher levels of description to see if the location is noted.  
 
If you cannot find information about the record’s location, you can contact [email protected]. 

Records held at BC Archives may have enhanced access protocols for different reasons. 

Records can contain sensitive information that is protected by provincial or federal laws. For example, government records and court records may contain personal information that is protected from release by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RSBC 1996, c. 165) or by the Youth Criminal Justice Act (SC 2002, c. 1). Records may also be fragile, light sensitive, or located in specialized storage, and therefore have enhanced preservation considerations. To learn more about access protocols for records at the BC Archives, see FOI and Access Restrictions. 
 
It may still be possible to gain access to materials where restrictions apply. To learn how, visit Services-Request FOI or Restricted Records.  

Access protocols are noted in the online record descriptions under “Restrictions on access”. Please ensure you check all higher levels of description to determine the access protocols for the records you want to access. Records that are open for public access typically state that no access restrictions apply. 

The Archives Library is a non-circulating library, meaning the holdings can only be accessed onsite in the BC Archives Reference Room. You cannot take our library holdings home with you, or request they are loaned to your local library. 
 
Some resources in our library are also available online. You can search the Archives Library holdings using our online catalogue: BC Archives Library Search. For more information about our library materials and accessing them, see Library Collection. 

We know not everyone can visit during our regular staffed hours—that’s why the reference room is open late on weekdays (until 6:00 p.m.) and on Saturdays (10:00-4:00). There are no BC Archives staff on site during these times, so no original records can be retrieved, but we’re happy to set items aside for you in a locker. Security guards will direct you to your locker when you visit. Some archival materials, including original photographs, maps, rare books and fragile records, are not available after hours.

To request a locker for after-hours access, contact [email protected]. For more information about locker services, see Plan A Visit-Locker Services. 

For information about divorces held at BC Archives, and to request a copy of divorce records in our custody, please see Divorce Records.  

The BC Archives has wills that were probated in British Columbia. We only hold wills that have been transferred to us from the court registry where the will was probated. Not all wills in B.C. have gone through the probate process, and not all probated wills have been transferred to BC Archives. 
 
Whether we hold the will you are looking for depends on the court registry and the year it was probated. Please note that the BC Archives generally does not hold wills probated in British Columbia after 2004. 

To request a copy of a will held at the BC Archives, see Wills and Probates. 

See Reproductions-Order Forms. 

If a photograph has already been digitized, you can download a low-resolution copy for free by navigating to the photograph’s description in our Collection Search database and right-clicking the thumbnail image at the top of the page.  
 
If you would like to request a copy of an image at a higher resolution than is available online, please submit an online Order Form for Reproduction of Still Images, Cartographic Records and Sound Recordings.  

It is free to visit the BC Archives and create your own copies of materials using a camera or phone, or by scanning microfilm to an external hard drive. Downloading access copies from our Collection Search database is also free. 
 
For records that have not been digitized, the BC Archives can create copies of records on your behalf for a fee. For the current list of prices, see Archives Price List (PDF). 

Researchers are free to use copies of materials held at BC Archives for research or personal use. Other uses (such as commercial use, publication, or sharing on a website) may require permission. For more information or to request permission, please contact our Permissions and Licensing Officer: [email protected].

The BC Archives does not charge licensing fees for the use of materials that are in the public domain. For use of materials still under copyright, fees may apply.

Digitization is an important part of our work at the BC Archives, and our digitization program helps us provide greater access and ensure the long-term preservation of our holdings. Digitization is also a time-consuming and complex process; because of the extent of our holdings—millions of archival records (which also increase every year with new transfers)—digitization of all our materials is not possible.  

To learn how we prioritize materials in our collection for digitization, see Digitization. 

It is important to cite archival sources that are used in any work that will be made available to others. This ensures that both you and other researchers can re-locate the material in our holdings. Knowing what information to include in citations will help you make adequate notes of your sources while conducting your research.

For guidance on citing materials at BC Archives, see Citing Materials at BC Archives.

For sample credit lines for BC Archives material, see Services-Reproductions-Credits. 

For information about records we consider for donation, see Services-Donating Records. Please note that we have reduced capacity to accommodate new acquisitions currently, as we prepare to move to PARC Campus in 2026.

The Royal BC Museum’s collections are currently closed to new acquisitions as it prepares to move to PARC Campus in 2026. 

To see current opportunities to work at the BC Archives and for information about how to apply, visit People-Employment.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us! See the RBCM Volunteer page to apply to volunteer. Please note that we are unfortunately unable to accommodate all requests to volunteer at the BC Archives, but there may also be opportunities volunteering with other teams at the Royal BC Museum that are of interest to you. 

If you have a concern with an image or other content that you believe is inaccurate or inappropriate, please contact us at [email protected].  
 
For more information about our approach to updating outdated language, see Content Warning-Our Process. 

Please contact the RBCM’s Indigenous Collections and Repatriation department at [email protected].  

See Guide to Archival Description for information about how government and private records are arranged and described at BC Archives.