Court bailiffs
Last updated on March 31, 2025The execution of court orders issued in a civil proceeding can only be performed by court bailiffs under contract with the Ministry of Attorney General.
What court bailiffs do?
Court bailiffs are legally authorized to enforce court orders (or writs) from civil proceedings, such as monetary judgements or writs of possession.
In civil court proceedings, the court or an arbitrator may decide that one party (the creditor) is entitled to a remedy or judgement from another party (the debtor). Often this involves payment of money.
If the debtor does not pay or follow the instructions in the judgement, the creditor may ask the court to enforce the judgement. A court bailiff is the person who carries out the enforcement.
To enforce a court order, court bailiffs may:
- Seize and sell a debtor's possessions
- Sell a parcel of land
- Evict tenants from residential premises
- Turn over possession of a property to a landlord
Court bailiffs cannot execute any court order that involves the search, apprehension or arrest of individuals.
Ethics and responsibilities
Court bailiffs are appointed by the B.C. Ministry of the Attorney General, and are deemed to be sheriffs for the purposes of executing court orders. A court bailiff must meet certification standards, pass a criminal record check, and be employed by a contracted court bailiff firm.
To fulfill their duties, court bailiffs are very knowledgeable about legal and legislative requirements.
The court bailiff, as an officer of the court, must always be aware that their actions and duties while executing a court order reflect directly on the integrity of all court levels.
While executing a court order, the court bailiff must act impartially between the parties. Court bailiffs enforce the order as directed by the court. The court bailiff must not do anything that jeopardizes the creditor’s claim and must always consider the rights of the debtor.
If any of the civil court order execution services requested by a creditor cannot be performed by a court bailiff due to bias, partiality or conflict of interest (including the appearance of partiality) the court bailiff firm must contact the Province immediately to notify that the services cannot be provided.
Paying for court bailiff services
The creditor pays a deposit to the court bailiff firm directly. If the court bailiff is successful in collecting, the court order execution costs are covered by the debtor
Costs may include:
- Hourly rate for services
- Mileage to and from the closest billing location
- Storage (Note that many municipalities have bylaws that prohibit goods being put on the property line)
- Miscellaneous services (i.e., hiring tow trucks, movers, locksmiths)
- Anticipated costs and disbursements incurred in the execution of the court order.
Court bailiff firms use licensed, insured and bond firms to protect the creditor and debtor in the civil court order execution process.
Resolving issues
If you have an issue with a court bailiff firm, first try to resolve it directly with the firm. If you cannot reach an agreement, report your concern to:
Ken Prince
Inspector, Court Bailiff Program
BC Sheriff Service
Port Coquitlam Provincial Court
2620 Mary Hill Road
Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 3B2
Email: BCSS.CourtBailiffProgram@gov.bc.ca
For information related to commercial bailiffs please contact Consumer Protection BC and for information regarding Orders of Possession please contact the Residential Tenancy Branch.
Authorized court bailiff companies
Authorized court bailiff services are provided within the 12 service areas of the province.
Within those service areas, court bailiff firms will bill travel/mileage fees from a billing location. Contact the court bailiff firm in your area to ask what billing locations are available.
List of the service areas and authorized court bailiff companies in that operate in those areas: