Both the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Provincial Court of British Columbia have the jurisdiction to deal with civil matters however the Provincial Court is limited to claims not exceeding $10,000.00.

The Provincial Court for civil matters is called the Small Claims Court and is intended to be a court where litigants can represent themselves without the cost of using the services of a lawyer. Although it is not common to see lawyers dealing with cases where the claim consists of only a few hundred dollars it is not uncommon for lawyers to represent clients where the amount involved is for several thousand dollars.

The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is unlimited and where the Provincial Courts' jurisdiction is limited to certain cases the Supreme Court has no such restrictions.

The choice of courts is an important one as the costs in the proceedings will vary greatly.