An affidavit is a written statement, made on oath or affirmation, about facts that are personally known to the person making the affidavit (the deponent). Exhibits are documents that are attached to an affidavit to support some point made in the affidavit.
A USB or other electronic storage device may not be attached as an exhibit to an affidavit. Evidence from a video or audio file should be transcribed or printed as images to attach as an exhibit document to an affidavit and must comply with the following rules:
The BC Supreme Court Civil Rules, Rule 1-1 defines that a document:
has an extended meaning and includes a photograph, video, recording of sound, any record of a permanent or semi-permanent character and any information recorded or stored by means of any device;
Rule 22-3 — Forms and Documents, subrule (2) says:
(2) Unless the nature of the document renders it impracticable, every document prepared for use in the court must be in the English language, legibly printed, typewritten, written or reproduced on 8 1/2 inch ´ 11 inch durable white paper or durable off-white recycled paper.
Rule 22-2 — Affidavits
Exhibits referred to in affidavits
(9) The following applies to an exhibit referred to in an affidavit:
(a) if the exhibit is a document that complies with Rule 22-3 (2) and does not exceed 10 pages, a true reproduction of the document must be attached to the affidavit and to all copies of the affidavit that are served;
(b) if the exhibit is a document that complies with Rule 22-3 (2) and exceeds 10 pages, the exhibit need not be filed with the affidavit, but must be made available for the use of the court and for the prior inspection of a party to the proceeding;
(c) if the exhibit is not a document that complies with Rule 22-3 (2), the exhibit must not be filed with the affidavit, but must be made available for the use of the court and for the prior inspection of a party to the proceeding.
For provincial family matters, this requirement is described in FAM 13 Practice Direction where it states:
Unless the court otherwise orders, an Affidavit and Exhibits in family proceedings:
- in total must be no longer than 25 pages, and
- must not be provided on a USB stick or other electronic data storage device including a video or audio file.
Content reviewed September 29, 2023
- Law of Affidavits by John Douglas Shields – on site at Courthouse Libraries
- Supreme Court Civil Rules, BC Reg 168/2009 – BC Laws
- FAM 13 Practice Direction -Affidavits and Exhibits for Use in Family Proceedings - Provincial Court of British Columbia