Ordinary service versus personal service
Most documents that do not require personal service are served using the ordinary-service methods in Rule 6-2. Documents listed in Rule 6-3 must be personally served. The method matters because a filing can be delayed or an order challenged if a document that required personal service was served only by an ordinary method.
Documents that commonly require personal service
Rule 6-3 includes, among other things:
- a Notice of Family Claim (Form F3);
- a petition;
- a counterclaim served on a person who has not yet filed a pleading;
- certain notices of withdrawal;
- a Notice of Application seeking to change, suspend or terminate an existing final order, set aside or replace a filed agreement, change/set aside a parenting-coordinator determination, or change/suspend/terminate a filed arbitration award, together with the accompanying Rule 10-6 documents;
- specified enforcement, contempt, subpoena and non-party documents.
Serving a Notice of Family Claim
After filing Form F3, the claimant must serve each named respondent by personal service under Rule 6-3(2), unless the court has authorized an alternative method under Rule 6-4. The original Notice of Family Claim normally remains in force for 12 months; if it has not been served, Rule 4-2 provides a renewal procedure.
Proving personal service: Form F15
Rule 6-6 provides methods of proving service. Personal service of a Notice of Family Claim can be proved by filing Form F15 — Affidavit of Personal Service, or by the respondent filing a Response to Family Claim. Form F15 records who was served, what document was served, when and where service occurred, and the required identification information.
What if ordinary or personal service cannot be completed?
Rule 6-4 permits an application for an alternative method of service where the circumstances justify it. Service outside British Columbia is governed by Rule 6-5 and can involve additional jurisdictional or international-service requirements. Do not assume that sending a document by text message or social media is legally effective just because the recipient actually saw it.
Electronic service
Rule 6-2 addresses ordinary service by allowed methods and when service by fax or email is deemed complete. The exact method that is available can depend on the address for service provided in the case. If timing matters, calculate deemed service under the current rule rather than using the time the sender clicked “send.”
Service after the October 2026 Rule 10-6 changes
The October 1, 2026 amendments made service even more central to ordinary applications because the F31 and supporting material are generally served before filing. Applications in the special personal-service categories still require personal service. The response clock therefore depends on legally effective service, not merely when the applicant finished drafting the application.
Cost planning
Professional process serving may add an upfront cost but can create clean proof of personal service and avoid repeated failed attempts. In difficult cases, limited-scope advice about alternative service can also be less expensive than losing a hearing date because service was defective.