Who to Notify When Someone Dies in British Columbia: Government Agencies

When someone dies, a surprising number of offices need to hear about it. If they do not, benefits keep being paid, bills keep arriving, and the deceased person's identity becomes easier for a fraudster to misuse. As an executor or administrator, much of this falls to you.

This article walks through the main government notices in British Columbia, roughly in the order people tackle them. It is general information, not advice for your particular estate.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Start with the registration and death certificates

Most offices will want proof of death. A funeral home typically registers the death. If there is no funeral home, the death can be registered at a Service BC location or with the Vital Statistics Agency once you have the Medical Certificate of Death from a coroner or physician.

A death certificate is proof of death, and some services require a certified copy. Death certificates cost $27 by mail or $60 by courier, and certificates take 2 to 5 business days to print plus mailing. You can order online by credit card, in person at a Service BC counter with form VSA 430D, or by mail to the Vital Statistics Agency, and a funeral home can also supply copies. Fees are set by regulation and can change, so confirm before you pay.

Order a few copies at the start. Many agencies and institutions ask for one, and waiting for more later slows everything down.

Federal notices to do soon

The Province lists these federal notices as the ones to do soon: Service Canada, the CRA, cancelling a valid passport, and IRCC if the person held citizenship or permanent resident documents. Notifying the CRA helps avoid situations where benefits have to be repaid.

For CPP and OAS, notify Service Canada as soon as possible. Benefits are payable for the month of death, and all payments issued after the month of death must be returned. The phone number is 1-800-277-9914.

If a payment arrives after death, do not spend it. For direct deposit, ask the bank to return it to the originator, or send a Canadian-funds cheque payable to the Receiver General for Canada; cashed cheques must be repaid.

You usually do not need to report the death to the SIN Program for a death in a Canadian province, because the provincial vital statistics agency notifies it automatically. For deaths in a territory or abroad you must report it yourself. If the person received Quebec Pension Plan benefits, you also need to contact Retraite Québec.

British Columbia notices

The Province lists BC items as things to deal with in the months following the death: the ICBC driver's licence, the vehicle and its policy through an Autoplan broker, and MSP. Whether a family member may drive or park the vehicle before it is transferred, and how any insurance refund is calculated, is worth confirming with ICBC or your broker.

For MSP, Vital Statistics notifies Health Insurance BC of deaths in BC. You should still confirm that MSP is cancelled if the person died outside B.C., or if more than 60 days have passed and MSP records have not been updated.

If the family is covered under Fair PharmaCare, the policy says a deceased person can be removed from the family record effective the date of death where that benefits the family. A surviving spouse's income stays in the coverage calculation until year end unless they contact PharmaCare to have it removed for hardship.

Other notices that reduce fraud and loose ends

• Credit bureaus: contact both Equifax and TransUnion to report the death and reduce fraud risk.
• Mail: post office boxes or mail forwarding may need to be updated or cancelled. How long Canada Post forwards mail is something to confirm with them.
• Pharmacies: prescriptions with pharmacies may need to be cancelled.
• Subscriptions and charge cards: cancelling these and redirecting mail are among the executor duties the Province lists.
• Private pensions and telecom or subscription providers: each sets its own document requirements, so ask each one what it needs.

A sensible order and what to do next

There is no single legal order for all of this, but the Province's own grouping suggests a practical one: federal notices first, then BC items over the following months. Keep a log of who you contacted, when, and what they said.

• Confirm the death is registered and order several death certificates.
• Call Service Canada about CPP and OAS, and notify the CRA.
• Deal with any passport and, if relevant, IRCC documents.
• Report the death to Equifax and TransUnion.
• Contact ICBC or an Autoplan broker about the licence and vehicle, and check MSP.
• Cancel subscriptions, cards and mail, and return any payments received after the month of death.

If the estate is complicated, or you are unsure whether something has to be returned, a lawyer or accountant can help you confirm what applies.

Frequently asked questions