M
API Matrix

BCLaws API

Government / No Auth Required Beginner HTTP
Free to Use Varies (check documentation)
77 Score
Grade B
Visit Official Site Compare Alternatives

Overview

BCLaws gives you free access to the full text of British Columbia's laws and regulations. You can search and retrieve statutes, regulations, and official documents without any authentication required. It's a great starting point for anyone building legal research or civic tech tools.

💡

Beginner Tip

Use the /content endpoint with a known document ID (like "statreg/96078_01") to retrieve law text; browse the index first to discover valid document paths.

Available Data

BCLaws data via REST API
JSON-formatted response data
Freely accessible without authentication

Example Response

JSON Response 
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from BCLaws",
    "description": "Access to the laws of British Columbia",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

CIVIX_DOCUMENT_ID Unique identifier for a specific law document or section
CIVIX_INDEX_ID Identifier for the index category the document belongs to
content Full text content of the requested law or regulation in XML or HTML format
title Official title of the statute or regulation
effective_date Date the law version came into effect

Implementation Example 

// ⚠️ Note: This URL may be a documentation page. Check official docs for actual API endpoint.
const url = "https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/template/complete/api/";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

404 Not Found The document ID in the URL does not exist in the BCLaws index
✓ Query the index endpoint first to discover valid document IDs before fetching content
Empty or XML-only response Some endpoints return XML rather than JSON by default
✓ Check the API documentation for content-type negotiation or parse the XML response directly
Slow response time Large legal documents can be several megabytes in size
✓ Request specific sections using path parameters instead of fetching entire statutes at once

Matrix Score Breakdown

🌐 Reachability 30/30
⚡ Speed 20/20
🔒 Security 5/15
🛠 Developer XP 15/20
✓ Reliability 7/15
Response Time 145ms

Fully tested on Apr 5, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS NO
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Government
Difficulty Beginner
Verified: 2026-04-04

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