Directeur de l'état civil du Québec
Outils
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Birth
- Declaration of a birth
- Documents relating to the declaration of a birth
- Confirmation of registration of the birth in the Québec register of civil status
- Delivery at a location other than a hospital or a birth centre
- Child's surname
- Child's given names
- Request for Simplified Access to Birth-Related Government Programs and Services
- Certificat and copy of an act of birth
- Attestation
- Simplify the steps you can take with a My Québec Services Account
Declaration of a birth
By virtue of the Civil Code of Québec, any birth that
takes place in Québec must be declared to the Directeur de l'état civil. The parents declare the birth of their child by completing the form entitled
Declaration of Birth 
.
The information collected by means of the declaration is used to register the child's birth in the Québec register of civil status. Once the birth is registered, it is possible to establish the child's identity and the filiation, obtain its health insurance card and social insurance number and obtain its birth certificate or other civil status documents.
Once it is signed and dated by the Directeur de l'état civil, the Declaration of Birth becomes the child's official act of birth. It is therefore important to ensure that no error is made in completing the form and that all the information requested is provided.
Important
Should you want to change the surname or given names of your child after its birth has been registered in the Québec civil status register, you must submit an application for a change of name.
A change of name is granted solely for a serious reason and requires the payment of fees surpassing $300.
According to the Act instituting civil unions and establishing new rules of filiation, a child's parents can be of the opposit sex or the same sex.
Language of the act and issuing of civil status documents
Before completing the declaration, be sure you have a form in the language of your choice,
either French or English. The child's act of birth will be drawn up in the language of the form used and
no correction regarding the language can be made unless it is demonstrated that the Directeur de l'état civil
committed an error when registering the birth. For more information, see the
directive concerning the Correction of an error regarding the language in which an act of civil status was drawn up (PDF, 41 Ko) (in French only).
The certificate or the copy of an act issued regarding an act is in the same language as the act.
Documents relating to the declaration of a birth
Attestation of Birth
The physician or midwife completes the form entitled Attestation of
Birth . The staff of the hospital or the birth centre gives you a copy of the attestation and sends the original to the Directeur de l'état civil.
Declaration of Birth
Either parent who are married or in a civil union
Only one parent can complete and sign the form entitled Declaration of
Birth .
A witness (a person of full age other than the parents, the physician or the midwife) must sign the declaration.
It is preferable to leave the completed and signed declaration with the staff of the hospital or birth centre, who will see that it is forwarded to the Directeur de l'état civil with the Attestation of Birth.
Parents who are not married or in a civil union
Both parents must complete and sign the form entitled Declaration of
Birth .
A witness ( a person of full age other than the parents, the physician or the midwife) must sign the declaration.
It is preferable to leave the completed and signed declaration with the staff of the hospital or birth centre, who will see that it is forwarded to the Directeur de l'état civil with the Attestation of Birth.
Important
Parents who were unable to leave the completed and signed declaration with the staff of the hospital or birth centre must send it to the Directeur de l'état civil` within 30 days of their child's birth. If they do not, they will be charged a fee.
The fees for late registration of a birth are given in the table below:
| Late registration of a birth | Fee |
|---|---|
| Processing of an application for late registration (less than one year after the date of the event) | $52.00 |
| Processing of an application for late registration (more than one year after the date of the event) | $104.00 |
Confirmation of registration of the birth in the Québec register of civil status
The Directeur de l'état civil will send you a letter confirming that the birth of your child has been registered in the QuÉbec civil status register.
You must check to make sure that the information about your child and the birth is the same on the Declaration of Birth, and inform the Directeur de l'état civil immediately of any error.
Once you have received the letter, you can apply for a birth certificate or any other civil status document in your child's name.
Delivery at a location other than a hospital or a birth centre
If your child was not born in a hospital or a birth centre, you must follow the procedure described in the directive concerning the Absence d’un constat de naissance signé par un médecin ou une sage-femme (PDF, 121 Ko) (in French only).
Child's surname
Your child can have a single or compound surname. The child's surname may not have more than two parts, which must be derived from your surnames.
If you, the parents, each have a single surname, your child may be given either of your surnames, or both, preferably joined by a hyphen.
Example
If one parent's surname is Beaulieu and the other's is Lajoie, the child's family name may be Beaulieu, Lajoie, Beaulieu-Lajoie or Lajoie-Beaulieu.
If you both have compound surnames, you may, if you wish, give your child a single surname derived from one of your surnames. If you want to give your child a compound name, you must make a choice, because the child's surname can be composed of only two parts. It is preferable to join the two parts with a hyphen.
Example
The child of Jean Gagnon-Beaulieu and Marie Bouchard-Lajoie may be given the surname Gagnon, Beaulieu, Lajoie, Bouchard, Beaulieu-Lajoie, Gagnon-Bouchard, Gagnon-Beaulieu, Bouchard-Lajoie or any other combination that the parents choose.
The surname may not contain a number or an initial.
If the child's maternal or paternal filiation alone is established, the child will bear all or part of the surname of the parent whose name is declared on the Declaration of Birth.
Child's given names
Your child's usual given name is the name that, in addition to being in the act of birth, will be used on a daily basis to identify the child. In addition to the usual given name, you can give your child other given names. However, it is recommended to limit the number of given names to four.
If one of the given names is a compound name, it is preferable for the two parts to be joined by a hyphen.
The spelling of the given names entered in the Québec register of civil status is the spelling used on the Declaration of Birth.
It is important to indicate on the Declaration of Birth all the given names you want your child to have, because once the declaration is inserted in the Québec civil status register, it becomes your child's act of birth.
Request for Simplified Access to Birth-Related Government Programs and Services
The form entitled Request for Simplified Access to Birth-Related Government Programs and Services is inserted in the Declaration of Birth. The form will allow you, among other things, to consent to disclosure by the Directeur de l’état civil to the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec, the Régie des rentes du Québec, the ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, the Canada Revenue Agency and Service Canada of the information that will enable you to take advantage of the birth-related programs and services that those entities offer. Agreements have been signed with these entities to provide for operating conditions that abide by the applicable laws, particularly regarding the protection of personal information.
If the institution where the child is born does not have the form at the time of the delivery, you yourself must take the administrative steps with these organizations in order to avail yourself of their programs and services.
Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec
The Directeur de l'état civil provides the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec with the information it needs to automatically open an application for your child's health insurance card. Upon verification of your child's admissibility, the Régie will issue you his or her health insurance card.
For more information about the health insurance card, visit the website of the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec .
Régie des rentes du Québec
The Directeur de l'état civil provides the Régie des rentes du Québec with the information that will enable you to receive child assistance payments. You will have no other steps to take to receive that financial assistance.
For more information on child assistance payments, visit the website of the Régie des rentes du Québec .
Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale
You can consent to disclosure by the Directeur de l'état civil to the ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale of your social insurance number and information about your child's birth. By doing so, you will not have to provide the department with your child's birth certificate when you submit your application for benefits under the Québec Parental Insurance Plan.
For more information about Québec Parental Insurance Plan, visit the department's website, under the heading Québec Parental Insurance Plan .
Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency and the Directeur de l’État civil have partnered to offer you a quick, easy and reliable way to register for all the child benefit programs administered by the Agency. You can consent to disclosure by the Directeur de l’État civil to the Agency of the information that will enable you to receive the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the Universal Child Care Benefit without taking any other steps.
Service Canada
You can consent to disclosure by the Directeur de l’état civil to Service Canada of the information required to obtain your child’s social insurance number. That way, you will receive the number without taking any other steps.
Certificate and copy of an act of birth
For more information about how to obtain a certificate or a copy of an act of birth, see the section entitled Certificate and copy of an act.
Attestation
For more information about how obtain an attestation of birth, see the section entitled Attestation.
Simplify the steps you can take with a My Québec Services Account
My Québec Services Account , available through the Gouvernement du Québec portal or directly on the Internet, is a secure online space aimed at facilitating the steps you can take with Québec government departments or agencies at the time of a particular life event. For instance, you can complete the “Becoming a Parent” questionnaire and obtain a personalized list of steps enabling you to benefit from government programs and services when your child is born. You can then save your personalized list of steps and enter deadlines and personal notes for follow-up.
Reviewed: 2013-03-15
If you want to make a comment, a suggestion or a complaint,
feel free to contact the Bureau de la qualité des services
© Gouvernement du Québec, 2012
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