Form 5: Guardianship Affidavit
Use Form 5 when you are applying to be appointed as a guardian of a child under section 51 of the Family Law Act. It is a sworn affidavit and usually requires background-check results.
Think: “I am asking the court to appoint me as a guardian.”
This page explains the form in everyday language and links back to the official BC source.
Why this guide exists: I went through BC family court myself and found the forms harder to understand than they needed to be.
What Form 5 is for
Form 5 gives the court sworn information about you when you are asking to become a guardian of a child. It is not the form that starts the whole case. The guardianship request is usually made in Form 3 or as part of a consent-order application, and Form 5 supplies the extra guardianship evidence.
Before you can finish it
The current official form says you normally need three background checks: a Ministry of Children and Family Development record check, a Protection Order Registry check and a criminal record check. The court registry tells you when the government record-check results are available so they can be attached.
Does Form 5 need to be sworn?
Yes. Form 5 is an affidavit. Do not sign the affidavit section ahead of time. You sign or affirm it in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits. Lawyers and notaries can do this, and Provincial Court registry staff who are commissioners can generally swear or affirm court affidavits for free.
Plain-English checklist
- Make sure your application actually asks to be appointed as a guardian.
- Complete the required background-check process.
- Fill in Form 5 carefully and attach the required results.
- Do not sign the sworn section until you are with a commissioner.
- File the completed affidavit in the court registry handling your case.
Where do I file it?
File it with the Provincial Court registry handling your case, unless the official form or a court order tells you otherwise. A registry is the court office that accepts and processes documents. Registry staff can explain filing procedure, but they cannot give legal advice.