Submit notice of water licence name change, address change or licence transfer

This notification allows you to notify government of any changes you have made to the licence holder information. Submit this notification when the land for which the water licence was issued changes ownership or when you wish to update or correct the licence holder information. You may update multiple licences on one form by listing all applicable licence numbers in the free text field.

If the land for which the water licence was issued has been subdivided, you will need to fill out the apportionment option in the amend water licence application. If the legal description of the land has been changed, please contact FrontCounter BC.

When a water licence is issued, it is attached to the land where the water will be used. The water licence holder information must match the information on the land tenure for the land that the water licence was issued for. This means:

1. If you own the land to which the water licence is attached
   The water licence holders must be identical to the registered owners on the land title. You may not add, remove or edit licence holders from the water licence unless the same change has been made to the land title first.

2. If you privately lease the land to which the water licence is attached
   The water licence holders must be identical to the leaseholders named in the lease agreement. You may not add, remove or edit the holders of a water licence unless the same change has been made in the lease first, or a new lease agreement has been made on the land for which the licence was issued.

3. If you hold a tenure for the Crown land to which the water licence is attached
   The water licence holders must be identical to the tenure holders as found in the tenure document for the Crown land. You may not add, remove or edit the holders of the water licence unless the same change has been made in the tenure information.

Costs and responsibilities

There are no fees for this notification.

Responsibilities:

• Update any official property records (land title, private lease agreement, tenure documents, etc.) before you submit a notification of a water licence name change. The name(s) on the water licence must match the name(s) on the property records

• Submit a notification of name change on the water licence every time there is a change to the name(s) on the official property records (land title, private lease agreement, tenure documents, etc.) to ensure that the water licence information matches the property records

• Please review Rights and responsibilities of licence and approval holders

There are a number of steps which will take place after you apply:

1. Receiving the application
   FrontCounter BC staff will review your application to make sure that it is complete. If there are any questions or missing information, they will contact you. They will also contact you if the change or transfer is not possible.

2. Making the change
   Once all the information has been reviewed and validated, the water licence will be updated.

3. Issue of a confirmation
   Once the change or transfer has been made, you will receive a confirmation by mail. You may also receive a current statement.

Application enquiries

Read more about application processing and how to check the status of your application.