How to Get Your BC Assessment Property Record Card for Free

Most homeowners do not know it exists but BC Assessment keeps a Property Record Card with Internal Notes on your home. I call it the digital fingerprint of your property. It captures all the unique characteristics that make your property unique and shows how BC Assessment values it as a result.

Your Property Record Card is not a simple one-page summary. Across the system there are more than two hundred tracked data points, and the PRC itself typically carries well over one hundred ninety fields. It is the working file BC Assessment relies on when setting your assessment and defending it later.

What Is Inside a Property Record Card

Here is what homeowners can expect to see on a full PRC with internal notes, grouped so it is easier to scan.

• Ownership and roll identifiers — roll number, PID and legal description, civic address, jurisdiction and area codes, neighbourhood code, folio characteristics, latitude and longitude, mapping references.
• Land characteristics and valuation inputs — zoning, actual use, site size and dimensions (width, depth, square feet, acres, hectares), frontage type, shape and depth tables, topography and site influences, waterfront or water access flags, excess land, OCP references, exemptions and exemption percentages, land rate tables, adjustment type and percent, reconciliations and final land value.
• Building inventory and quality — dwelling card numbers, manual class and quality, year built and year remodelled, effective year, floor-area by level, basement and crawl details, secondary suite flags, construction type, wall and roof materials, heating and ventilation, plumbing fixture counts, fireplaces, depreciation tables and overrides, replacement cost new and RCNLD, market modifiers and completion percentages.
• Other structures and site improvements — garages and carports, sheds and outbuildings, decks and patios, porches, paved areas, and similar improvements with quantity, rate, quality and amount lines that roll into value.
• Internal activity and notes — inspection records, comments and observations, who changed what and on which date, approvals, suppress or override flags, and other working entries that explain why your record changed.

What Changed in 2023

In 2023 BC Assessment issued an internal stop order instructing staff not to release Property Record Cards to homeowners. This was revealed in FOI 2023-11: BC Assessment’s Software Transition, which contained a memo warning that valuations could be wrong during the transition to their new assessment platform.

At the same time, a BC Assessment whistleblower confirmed to homeowners that requests were being slowed down and blocked. When the Youbou Appeal Group attempted to obtain Property Record Cards that year, BC Assessment escalated the matter to King’s Counsel, treating a simple request for documents as a code red situation.

It became clear that the only bulletproof way to get the complete digital fingerprint of your property was to file a Freedom of Information request.

Why the FOI Version Matters

BC Assessment sometimes provides a clean Property Record Card, but it usually excludes the internal notes. Through FOI you can obtain the full version, including who made changes to your record, what changed, when it changed, and the comments and observations made by staff and inspectors.

These internal notes can be decisive in appeals.

Example 1: A waterfront owner’s PRC notes contained the statement “cannot access waterfront” due to steep terrain. Without those notes, BC Assessment could have argued the property had prime water access.

Example 2: A homeowner had their value reduced by almost one million dollars through appeal. The following year BC Assessment simply added the reduction back. The internal notes proved the change was a staff decision unrelated to market movement. That evidence helped the homeowner win again.

Example 3: In another case the Board rejected a building inspection report showing a roof needed replacement, citing the old MLS listing that advertised a “new roof.” Later, the PRC notes obtained through FOI showed BC Assessment’s own inspector had already recorded the roof as damaged and in need of replacement. That evidence could have changed the outcome.

Confusing Alternatives

The Provincial Assessment Appeal Board and BC Assessment add confusion by providing documents called a Property Valuation Summary (PVS Card) or a Detailed Valuation Report (DVR Card). These are not the same as the full Property Record Card.

This digital fingerprint is the only document that shows exactly how your value was calculated in granular detail, who approved changes, and what staff said about your property. It belongs to you and you have the right to see it. The PVS Card or DVR Card is like being given an invoice and not being able to see the breakdown of how it was calculated.

The Bulletproof Solution

The FOI process works. The template I share in my Property Record Card guide has been used hundreds of times over the past three years and every request has been successful. Even when BC Assessment claimed data was lost during the software transition, FOI responses showed they had different internal methods to route the requests.

My recommendation is straightforward. File an FOI for your Property Record Card every January after new assessment values are released. Keep a copy each year so you can compare changes. If you ever need to appeal you will already have a hard copy record of what BC Assessment knew, when they knew it, and what they changed.

Final Word

Your Property Record Card is not just paperwork. It is the digital fingerprint of your property and the foundation of your tax bill. It is also the evidence you need to challenge mistakes. Do not settle for summaries or partial reports. Use FOI, get the full Property Record Card with internal notes, and protect yourself from costly errors.

👉 Download my free PRC FOI template and make your request today.