Banff Registry

Coming from Ontario to get married in Banff I was concerned with all the forms and paperwork required. The website made it sound easy enough to do, (we also had a friend conduct the ceremony, which you can't do in Ontario)But it was still a stress weighing on my mind.... until we met Sarah. Coming from Ontario we are used to long lines and unpleasant faces at the ServiceOntario branches. Sarah was the complete opposite and eased all our concerns immediately. She took the time to explain the process for us as a couple, our witnesses and our friend who would be conducting the ceremony. She approved our wedding license in 15 minutes while we waited. When our friend wasn't able (or didn't know how) to submit the final documents following the ceremony, she did it herself.THANK YOU SARAH!!!!!

In past half a year we visited the office to restart my Alberta healthcare and add my girlfriend and our baby. Each visit took Moore than an hour waiting in line. After I called Alberta health insurance line I learned that not even one application to them. This office has become pretty useless. Nobody even reached our if there was any issues with anything. Go to Calgary if you can.

Ive never written a bad review but this place is so unwelcoming. Ive been there multiple times and the staff are very unhelpful..

Very friendly staff and easy to work with. Sarah was great at getting me everything I needed and helping me get things filled out correctly.

I've lived in Banff for 50 years, so safe to say I've dealt with this office since it's inception. Probably best to first clarify that this is not a Gov't office, it is a private registry service. While the office gained a reputation for being challenging over the years, the most recent owner seems to have worked to turn things around. A few things to keep in mind that might help with expectations:- The driver examiners were not employed by the office. There was one male examiner who had a bad reputation for being excessively pedantic in order to fail candidates. Thankfully he is no longer a factor. I believe the Alberta Gov't changed the system for driving examiners after years and years of complaints about their system of contracting private driving examiners that got paid by the exam leading to abuse of the system. I think the independant licensing offices sometimes got tarred with the same brush.- Long lines in a tourist town with numerous foreign workers are an inevitable consequence of a large transient population. Choose the time you attend to avoid peak busy times.- If your needs are going to involve a wait, prepare for this by bringing your own reading material or media on your phone (if the latter have headphones), or eReader. The reading material on site consists of some well thumbed magazines and coffee table books that may not be of interest, and the TV on the wall features a live news stream which has CTV news at the time of writing.- For most of the history of this office, the only currency of tender was cash, although this may have changed by now.- Sometimes the owner can be seen in the backgorund helping out the two staff at the service counter. An arrangement where client inquiries can be emailed and answered in a timely manner (by someone even working from home), rather than trying to get through on the phone, may be of benefit to mitigating some of the client angst. Or what about a live webcam accessible via internet that would allow someone to check the waiting line length before they head down?I recently attended this office for passport photos and although I had to deal with the line and wait for photos (a wait that was still less time than driving to some other location), I found the staff to be helpful, and their attitude respectful. I suspect this would seem to be consistent with reviews that probably reflect the majority of more recent experiences at this location.

I have to comment on the great service we received for getting our Marriage License. We are from BC and recently got married in Banff. Sarah was great in making sure we had all of our documents prepared beforehand so when we arrived it was an easy process. She was also great with keeping us up to date and keeping us in mind for getting our license on time. Thank you Sarah!

Friendly staff, great service, just gotta time it right so you're not stuck in a big queue.

Amazing service, will be my go to registry from now on. Knowledgeable and helpful. 10/10.

The ladies in the office are incredibly kind and patient. One of the busiest places in Banff and they greet every person with a smile and compassion!!

Much better than the Canmore Registry. Jennifer is very knowledgeable!