CRT Dispute Response Deadline: 14 Days to Respond in BC

The moment someone validly serves you with a CRT Dispute Notice in British Columbia, the countdown starts. You get 14 calendar days to file a Dispute Response if you were served inside BC, or 30 calendar days if you were served outside the province. Miss the deadline and the applicant can apply for a default decision — a binding order based entirely on their version of events.

Those deadlines are not negotiable, but the counting rules have a few details worth understanding before you mark your calendar.

How to Count the 14 Days

BC's Interpretation Act governs how statutory deadlines are calculated:

• Day zero is the service date. The day you actually receive the Dispute Notice package does not count. Counting starts the next calendar day.
• Every calendar day counts. Saturdays, Sundays, and statutory holidays are included in the 14-day count — they are not skipped.
• The exception at the end. If day 14 lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or BC statutory holiday, the deadline automatically extends to 11:59 PM Pacific Time on the next business day.

So if you are personally served on a Thursday, day 1 is Friday. Day 14 falls on the Thursday two weeks later. If that Thursday happens to be a statutory holiday, you get until the following Friday.

When Does Service Actually Happen?

The deadline starts on the date of valid service, not the date the CRT issued the Dispute Notice. The applicant has 90 days from the issued date to serve you. Valid CRT service methods include:

• Personal delivery — the day the documents are physically handed to you.
• Registered mail or courier with signature — the date you sign for the package.
• Electronic service (email or message) — only valid if you explicitly confirm receipt or reply. An unanswered email does not trigger the clock.

This distinction matters. If an applicant emailed you a Dispute Notice and you never replied or acknowledged it, that email alone may not constitute valid service. However, if you did respond — even just to say "I got it" — the clock likely started on that date.

The 30-Day Window for Out-of-Province Service

If you were served outside British Columbia (you live in Alberta and the documents were delivered to your Alberta address, for example), the same rules apply but you get 30 calendar days instead of 14. The counting method is identical — exclude the service date, include every calendar day, extend to the next business day if day 30 falls on a holiday or weekend.

What If You Need More Time?

You can submit a Request for Extension through the CRT's online portal, but it must be filed before the original deadline expires. The CRT will consider compelling reasons — acute illness, emergency travel, records that are genuinely inaccessible. "I haven't had time to figure this out" is unlikely to succeed.

If the deadline has passed, contact the CRT immediately to ask what options remain; the rules described here provide for an extension request before the deadline expires, not an automatic late filing. If a default decision has been issued, apply to cancel it within 28 calendar days after you are deemed to have received notice, and address the CRT's cancellation criteria.

The Real Risk of Missing the Deadline

A default decision is not a placeholder. It is a binding order that the applicant can enforce — they can register it in Provincial Court and pursue garnishing orders against your wages or bank accounts. Cancelling a default decision after the fact requires a formal application, a good reason for the delay, and a defence the CRT considers worth hearing. Prevention is far simpler than cure.

The BC CRT Dispute Response Guide includes a deadline calculation worksheet that walks through the counting rules for your specific service date, so you know exactly which day your response is due.

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