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Who can enrol in the BC Family Maintenance Agency (BCFMA)?

Last updated on August 1, 2024

Anyone with a support order or agreement can enrol in BCFMA at no cost. Some clients enrol with BCFMA to receive help with securing family support payments, while others enrol simply because it’s easier to have BCFMA collect and track their payments.

There are only two requirements:

  • Either parent can enrol, as long as one of the parties lives in B.C.; and
  • There is a valid support order or agreement from Canada or elsewhere that can be collected by B.C.

A recipient living outside B.C. should enrol in the maintenance program where they live. When the payor lives here in B.C., the Agency can take steps to collect the support payments on behalf of that maintenance program.

If the payor or recipient’s whereabouts is unknown, BCFMA can request a search for location, employment and assets through a variety of federal and provincial databases.

Check out these resources from Legal Aid BC:

Visit a Justice Access Centre:

Talk with a family justice counsellor at a Family Justice Centre.

British Columbia has a central authority that assists left-behind parents whose children have been abducted across international borders. For more information, including contact information, please see International Child Abduction.