The private marriage commissioner program administered by the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency has been in operation since 1982. The program was developed in response to a public demand for a more flexible alternative to the traditional "Court House - Civil Marriage" which was restrictive in content, time and place.

Under the present marriage commissioner program, the selection of the type of ceremony to be utilized depends on specific wishes and needs of the couple who may script their own vows, etc. with no restrictions as to time or location of the ceremony.

The role of the marriage commissioner is to advise the couple of the legal requirements and options available to them with regard to different ceremonies and to ensure that the dignity and solemnity of the occasion is maintained.

The program has grown to a current level of over 300 marriage commissioners performing approximately 54% of the roughly 22,000 marriages solemnized in British Columbia each year. The global provincial gender mix of marriage commissioners is almost equally divided between male and female.

All vacancies within the province are advertised in a local newspaper circulated within the community. Due to the enormous interest in the program, the Vital Statistics Agency is unable to maintain applications on file until a vacancy is advertised.

The Vital Statistics Agency monitors the demand for marriage commissioner services in each community. Individual marriage commissioner activity is reviewed on an ongoing basis and evaluated against the number of appointments and volume of marriage events occurring in a given community. In addition, opportunities can be created by a marriage commissioner vacating an established appointment.

Marriage commissioners are recruited from eligible candidates who reside in the individual communities where the services are to be delivered. These persons are identified as a result of their application made following the placement of a prominent government advertisement in the local newspaper circulating within the area/community.

Persons enquiring about an advertised vacancy are screened for initial qualification and formal applications are solicited and evaluated. Short listing and interviewing follows with successful candidates being appointed and trained.

Potential candidates for appointment must meet the following criteria:

• Retired from steady employment;
  
• No involvement in any activity that may cause actual or perceived conflict of interest;
  
• Known and active in their community;
  
• Mature, articulate, self-reliant and well-groomed;
  
• Must have their own transportation;
  
• Must have facilities, preferably a home, for the performance of civil ceremonies if necessary.

The service of marriage commissioner is virtually "on demand", therefore the duties potentially consume a large amount of time, including evenings and weekends.