There's no waiting period, no residency requirement, and the whole legal side comes down to one document, two witnesses and an officiant.
The legal part, in full
1. Get a marriage license
A marriage license costs $100 and is non-refundable. That fee includes your first marriage certificate, which gets mailed to you after the marriage is registered.
When to buy it: within three months before your wedding date. Not earlier (it expires).
How long you wait: you don't. There is no waiting period in BC. You can be married the same day you collect the license.
Who applies: only one of you needs to go, in person, but you must bring primary identification for both people. Primary ID means a birth certificate, immigration form, permanent resident card or citizenship card. A passport or driver's licence is sometimes accepted, but don't count on it - bring the real thing.
Where: from a marriage license issuer. The Province has a search tool to find your nearest one.
Age: you must be 19 or older to marry without parental consent. Sixteen to eighteen requires written consent from parents or guardians.
If you've been divorced: wait until the divorce order takes effect before buying the license.
If you lose it: go back to where you bought it and ask for a replacement.
2. Book an officiant
Your ceremony must be performed by a licensed marriage commissioner or a religious official. The Province maintains a directory of marriage commissioners.
You can also check out third party providers like Young, Hip, and Married or All Seasons Weddings.
This is the piece to book early if you're eloping somewhere remote or on a popular summer weekend; good commissioners who'll hike to a viewpoint are in genuine demand.
3. Bring two witnesses
You need two witnesses, both over 19. They must be physically present, and they sign the licence and registration alongside you and your officiant after the ceremony.
If you're eloping truly alone, this is the one thing you can't skip. Couples solve it in various ways: flying in two people, asking two friends who live nearby, or in some cases the photographer and the officiant's partner. Talk to your officiant; they've seen every version of this!
4. Sign, and it's done
After the ceremony, the two of you, your two witnesses and your officiant sign the marriage licence and the registration of marriage.
Your officiant submits the registration to the Vital Statistics Agency within 48 hours, at which point it becomes a permanent legal record. Your marriage certificate arrives in the post. Most couples receive it about three weeks after the wedding.
That's the entire legal process.
Requirements current as of August 2026. Always confirm details with the Province of British Columbia.
Permits: the part people miss
If you're getting married outdoors - a park, a beach, a mountain - you may need permission, and the rules vary by location.
The general shape of it:
Many locations require no permit at all for a small group with no amplified sound. Certain beaches and viewpoints around Tofino, Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton fall into this category.
A special event permit is typically required if your group exceeds around 25 people or you're using amplified sound.
Provincial park permits, where required, often run in the region of $200.
Municipal parks (Vancouver's, for instance) have their own separate systems and fees.
Apply four to eight weeks ahead if you need one.
Do not rely on this section alone. Permit rules genuinely differ park by park, they change, and the penalty for getting it wrong is being asked to leave in the middle of your wedding.
You can email the specific park or municipality and get the answer in writing. Elopement photographers worth hiring will help you do this!
What eloping actually costs
There's no standard number, but the components are:
Marriage licence: $100
Officiant / marriage commissioner: varies
Permit, if required: often around $200
Photography: varies
Travel, accommodation, flowers, attire: entirely up to you
Couples we work with tend to land anywhere from a few thousand dollars to considerably more, depending almost entirely on where they go and how long they stay. The legal minimum is genuinely just the licence and an officiant.
A planning timeline
3–6 months out: choose your location. Check whether it needs a permit. Book your photographer and officiant, especially for summer dates.
4–8 weeks out: apply for any permit you need.
Within 3 months of the date: buy your marriage license. Not before, as it expires three months from license date.
2 weeks out: confirm your two witnesses, and confirm the weather plan.
The day : bring the licence. Genuinely, the number of couples who nearly forget it is not small.
After: your officiant files within 48 hours and your certificate arrives in about three weeks.
Things we've learned photographing elopements
Have a weather plan you actually like. BC weather does what it likes, particularly in the mountains and on the coast. The couples who enjoy their day are the ones who decided in advance that rain would be fine, and meant it.
Build in far more time than you think. The best part of an elopement is that nothing is scheduled. Don't then schedule it. Leave hours of slack as that's where the day actually happens.
Golden hour is not a cliché or accidental, it's a plan. If your location faces west, get married late. We can tell you exactly when the light will be best anywhere in BC, so ask before you fix the time.
Tell people afterwards, in person if you can. The most common regret we hear isn't about the wedding. It's about how family found out. A personal phone call beforehand or after to the people who'd be hurt costs you nothing and prevents a great deal of *drama*.
Consider a party later. Plenty of couples elope and then throw a celebration months afterwards with no timeline, no ceremony and no pressure.
Thinking about eloping in BC?
We photograph elopements across British Columbia! Squamish, Whistler, Tofino, the Island, and wherever else feels like you!
We'll help with locations, permits and timing, and then mostly stay out of the way.
[Check our availability →] · [See our elopement packages →]
More: [Best Places to Elope in BC] · [Small & Intimate Wedding Venues in BC]
