How can I get free or low cost legal help?

In BC, you can access free or low-cost legal help through a variety of services.

Start with this website. LegalHelpBC provides answers to common legal questions in British Columbia.

Need personalized help? Ask JES responds to public inquiries by trained Legal Navigators. To access this free service, call, chat live or text your question using the information in the green column on the right.

• Ask JES provides legal help information and referrals
• Get legal help to take the next step to move forward with your legal issue
• Each year, Ask JES provides free answers to thousands of legal questions

Ask JES is live on weekdays from 11am to 2pm. During offline hours, leave your email address to receive an answer by email.

You can also access free or low-cost legal help through these BC services:

• Legal Aid BC (opens in a new tab): Provides lawyers in some criminal, family, and immigration cases if you meet financial eligibility.
• Access Pro Bono (opens in a new tab): Offers free legal advice clinics on many issues as well as assistance through their Everyone Legal Clinic (opens in a new tab).
• People’s Law School (opens in a new tab): Provides plain language information online and an AI-powered chat service.
• Courthouse Libraries: Have informed staff who can answer questions and help with legal research. They also publish Clicklaw (opens in a new tab), which provides legal information on a range of topics.
• Community Legal Assistance Society (opens in a new tab): Provides free assistance to modest-income British Columbians facing certain types of legal issues, including eviction, human rights complaints, and work-related issues.
• Legal advocates (opens in a new tab): Provide free support, advocacy and information to people who are on a low income or marginalized and are experiencing legal problems.
• Indigenous Justice Centres (opens in a new tab): Provide culturally-appropriate information, advice, support and representation for Indigenous people.

Legal Help Tips

• Many courthouses have duty counsel lawyers who give free, short-term legal advice for criminal and family law cases. These services are designed to provide representation for people who need immediate assistance and cannot afford a full legal representation.
• If you are searching for legal help online, be sure to include “BC” in your keyword search.
• A great online resource for all legal issues is Clicklaw BC (opens in a new tab).
• If you have a legal problem, it is a good idea to talk to a lawyer to get legal advice. Even if you are going to handle your own case, a lawyer can help you at every step in the legal process. See the answer for “How do I find a lawyer or legal clinic near me? (opens in a new tab)” to learn about services provided by Legal Aid BC (opens in a new tab), Access Pro Bono (opens in a new tab) and BC Advocates. (opens in a new tab)