Your Welfare Rights: How to Apply for Welfare

This resource explains the application process to get welfare, including:

• your rights to apply and get welfare;
• how you qualify;
• your financial eligibility;
• how to apply by phone, in person, or online;
• how to apply for disability assistance, and
• how to appeal a ministry decision.

It also includes a list of who can help if you have a problem getting welfare, and a checklist to help you keep records.

How to Apply for Welfare is the first publication in the series Your Welfare Rights. The other booklets are Welfare Benefits and When You're on Welfare. The series replaces the booklet Your Welfare Rights: A Guide to BC Employment and Assistance.

See also: Income Assistance on Reserve on the Aboriginal Legal Aid in BC website

Your Welfare Rights — September 2019 Update

This online fact sheet gives general information about changes to some welfare rules since the booklets in the Your Welfare Rights series were published.

Applying online update

If you don’t have a computer, mobile phone, or email, and want to apply online, you can go into a ministry office or Service BC office and speak to staff. When you show them identification, they can give you a Service Request number and PIN. You can then apply online for welfare using a public computer at the office.

For more information, see the fact sheet Applying for Welfare Online.

Some of the information in this series may be out of date. We’ll have information about updates as soon as possible.