B.C. Land Title Survey Authority

Congratulations to the B.C. Land Title Survey Authority, 2013’s #18 Most Innovative Company in B.C.

In September 2012 the B.C. Land Title Survey Authority launched an electronic automated-filing system that was four years in the making.

The system that once relied on mail-in submissions and document requests now handles more than 90 per cent of the one million transactions it processes each year electronically.

According to the authority, it’s Canada’s first automated land title examination and registration system, which allows users (commonly lawyers and notary publics) to file and register a land-title change at the click of a button.

Land-title registration systems have been around for centuries, and aren’t typically known for cutting-edge innovation. “They’ve had a vision about taking a system that’s working just fine, but adding a whole bunch of value to it by working toward fully electronic registration,” says Tim McGee, CEO of the B.C. Law Society.

The electronic overhaul has not only changed the way users interact with the authority’s approximately two million active land titles, but it has also restructured the organization: staff numbers have been reduced by 25 per cent and annual overhead costs have been reduced by approximately $3 million.