Payment Hearing in BC Small Claims: SCR Form 12 and What to Expect

What a Payment Hearing Does

A payment hearing — sometimes called an examination in aid of execution in other provinces — requires a debtor to provide financial information and supporting records. If you hold a BC small claims judgment or a filed CRT order and the debtor has not paid, but you do not know what bank they use, where they work, or what they own, a payment hearing fills in those blanks.

It is a formal court proceeding under Small Claims Rule 12. A judge or judicial justice presides and hears evidence about the debtor's income, assets, accounts, debts, and ability to pay. If the debtor filed Form 40, the judge or justice may direct them to swear or affirm that it is true. The judge can then set a binding payment schedule based on the evidence.

Filing the Summons (SCR Form 12)

To schedule a payment hearing, file a Summons to a Payment Hearing — Small Claims Rules Form 12 — at the Provincial Court registry where your judgment is registered at least 14 days before the hearing. The form requires you to list the current judgment balance, any accrued post-judgment interest, and court filing costs to date.

The registry processes the filing, assigns a hearing date, and returns the sealed summons to you. There is no filing fee listed for Form 12 in Schedule A.

Serving the Debtor

You must serve the person named in the summons by leaving the Form 12 Summons with them at least 14 days before the scheduled hearing date. Include a blank Supporting Materials Cover Sheet (Form 39) and, unless the debtor is a corporation or partnership, a blank Statement of Finances (Form 40). After serving, file an Affidavit of Service (Form scl004c) at the registry to prove service was completed.

What the Debtor Must Bring

The debtor must file required financial records at least 7 days before the hearing and serve the filed records on you at least 2 business days before. The summons may require documents; records the debtor intends to rely on are also due by the filing deadline. Examples include:

• Pay stubs or income statements for the past 3 to 6 months
• Tax returns, T4 slips, and CRA Notices of Assessment
• Bank statements for all personal and joint accounts covering the past 6 months
• Vehicle registration, property deeds, and corporate share certificates
• Monthly expense receipts, utility bills, lease agreements, or mortgage statements

The debtor files Form 39 and Form 40 (unless the debtor is a corporation or partnership) with the required or relied-upon records. Rule 12 does not require three copies of each financial document.

Practice Direction SM CL 03 imposes a 25-page cap on small claims affidavits and exhibits, but explicitly exempts financial documents produced for payment hearings. The debtor can bring as many pages of financial records as needed. However, all records must be in hard copy — electronic storage media such as USB drives are strictly prohibited.

The Hearing Itself

Practice Direction SM CL 02 (updated May 2026) establishes that in-person attendance is mandatory for payment hearings. Unlike pre-trial settlement conferences, which can happen via Microsoft Teams, you and the debtor must physically appear in the courtroom unless a judge grants a formal application to change the attendance method.

At the hearing, the judge calls the matter and hears evidence about the debtor's income, employment, bank accounts, property, and financial obligations. If the debtor filed Form 40, the judge or justice may direct them to swear or affirm that it is true. You can ask focused questions — which branch do they bank at, who is their employer, do they own a vehicle, is there equity in any real property.

If the debtor and you agree on payment terms before the examination, the judge can enter a consent payment schedule without taking further evidence. Otherwise, the judge evaluates the evidence and issues a binding order — monthly installments, a lump sum by a set date, or other terms.

When the Debtor Does Not Attend

If the debtor is served with the Form 12 summons and fails to appear, the judge or justice may issue an arrest warrant if you ask. After the person receives a notice of arrest, a sheriff or peace officer may arrest them if they do not arrange to attend court voluntarily within 7 days.

An arrest warrant is serious — it means the debtor can be physically brought before the court to explain their absence. This is the strongest procedural tool available to compel cooperation from an unresponsive debtor.

What Comes After the Hearing

If the judge orders installment payments and the debtor makes every payment on time, that order operates as a stay on other enforcement — you cannot simultaneously garnish their wages or send a bailiff while the payment schedule is being honored. If the debtor misses a payment, you can file a Summons to a Default Hearing (SCR Form 14). A court bailiff or sheriff must serve it by leaving it with the person at least 14 days before the hearing and provide blank Forms 39 and 40 (Form 40 is not required for a corporate or partnership debtor). The debtor must file required financial records at least 7 days before and serve them on you at least 2 business days before. The judge may confirm or change the payment schedule. Imprisonment for up to 20 days is possible only if the debtor has not obeyed the schedule and the judge considers the debtor's explanation or failure to explain to amount to contempt of court.

Even without contempt, the information gathered at a payment hearing — bank branch, employer address, property ownership — positions you to file targeted garnishing orders or seizure applications.

Our BC Order Enforcement Guide includes question templates for payment hearing examinations, pre-filing checklists for Form 12, and a step-by-step walkthrough from filing through to using the disclosed information for garnishment or seizure.

See more British Columbia guides →