How Long Is a BC Small Claims Judgment Valid — 10-Year Rule and Renewal
You won a judgment in BC Provincial Court Small Claims — or you filed a validated CRT order that is now a court judgment — but the debtor is not paying and you are wondering how long you can keep enforcing. The answer is 10 years from the date the judgment or order becomes enforceable, under BC's Limitation Act.
That sounds like a long runway. It is — but the clock runs whether you are actively enforcing or not, and some enforcement tools have their own shorter renewal windows you need to track separately.
The 10-Year Limitation Period
Section 7 of BC's Limitation Act (S.B.C. 2012, c. 30) sets a 10-year limitation period for enforcing court judgments and filed tribunal orders. The clock runs from the date the judgment or order becomes enforceable. For a CRT order, it becomes enforceable when it is final and filed in court for enforcement.
During those 10 years, you can use any enforcement tool available under the Court Order Enforcement Act: garnishing orders, payment hearings, orders for seizure and sale, and land title registrations. Post-judgment interest continues to accrue on the unpaid balance throughout the entire period.
If the 10-year period has not been reset or extended, the judgment becomes legally unenforceable after it expires. You lose the authority to garnish, seize, or otherwise compel payment. The debtor's obligation does not vanish in a moral sense, but the court will no longer enforce it.
Land Title Registration Has a Shorter Renewal Cycle
If you registered the judgment against the debtor's real property at the Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) under section 88 of the Court Order Enforcement Act, that registration has its own two-year renewal requirement. If you do not renew the registration before it lapses, the charge drops off the title and you lose the lien.
You can re-register, but any new liens, mortgages, or interests that were registered on the title during the gap will take priority over your re-registered judgment. That can reduce what you actually recover when the property sells.
The practical rule: put a calendar reminder two months before each two-year renewal date. The LTSA filing fee for renewal is modest. Missing the deadline is not.
What Happens as the 10-Year Mark Approaches
If the debtor has been judgment-proof or simply evasive for most of the decade, the approaching expiry creates urgency. Here is what to consider:
Payment hearing: If you have not yet scheduled one, a payment hearing (SCR Form 12) compels the debtor to appear in court and disclose their current financial situation under oath. Assets that did not exist when the judgment was first entered — an inheritance, a new job, equity in property — may now be reachable.
Garnishing order: Even a debtor who was unemployed five years ago may now be earning wages or holding bank accounts that can be garnished. A fresh garnishing order costs a registry filing fee and service costs; the potential recovery justifies the expense if the alternative is letting the judgment expire uncollected.
Land registration: If the debtor has acquired property during the life of the judgment, register the judgment against their title before expiry. This at minimum secures your position in a future sale.
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Can You Extend the 10-Year Period?
Filing internal enforcement applications does not extend the 10-year period. To preserve enforcement rights beyond it, a creditor must commence a new court action on the judgment debt in the BC Supreme Court before the original period expires; a new judgment starts another 10-year period. A written acknowledgment of the debt signed by the debtor, or a partial payment made before expiry, resets the period from the date of that acknowledgment or payment.
The safest approach is to act before the original 10-year window ends and not rely on a reset or extension unless it is documented.
Tracking It All
Between the 10-year judgment expiry, two-year land registration renewals, and the ongoing interest calculation, the administrative side of enforcement adds up. The BC Order Enforcement Guide includes a judgment accounting ledger and registry filing checklist that tracks each deadline alongside your payment history — so nothing lapses while you are focused on the next enforcement step.
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