Possessory interest

The Civil Forfeiture Act (the Act) allows the Director of Civil Forfeiture to claim a temporary possessory interest in personal property that is linked to unlawful activity.

The Director establishes a possessory interest in personal property by publishing notice online. You can view current notices of possessory interest on the BC Data Catalogue website.

After publishing notice online, the Director sends written notice of the possessory interest to:

• the person from whom the police seized the personal property
• the registered owner of the personal property

Within 120 days of publishing a notice of possessory interest online the Director must do one of the following:

• commence civil forfeiture proceedings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia;
• initiate administrative forfeiture;
• withdraw the notice of possessory interest from the BC Data Catalogue website

Disputing possessory interest

To dispute the Director’s possessory interest, a Notice of Dispute to the Notice of Possessory Interest must be delivered to the CFO within 14 days after the date on which the person is deemed to have received the notice provided under section 76(2)(a) of the Act. The Notice of Dispute must meet the requirements set out in section 78 of the Act or they will not be considered valid.

If you have questions about your deadline to dispute the Director’s possessory interest, please contact the CFO. A Notice of Dispute may be delivered by mail to the CFO.

Within 60 days of receiving a valid Notice of Dispute, the Director must do one of the following:

• commence civil forfeiture proceedings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia;
• initiate administrative forfeiture;
• withdraw the notice of possessory interest from the BC Data Catalogue website

The Director will notify the person who delivered the notice of dispute of the action taken.