Directeur de l'état civil du Québec

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Certificate and copy of an act

Since January 1, 1994, citizens have been able to obtain official documents relating to civil status events—certificates or copies of an acts of birth, marriage, civil union and death, as well as attestations—from the Directeur de l'état civil. The Directeur de l’état civil, whose mandate is provided for in the Civil Code of Québec, is the only public civil status officer in Québec. The Directeur de l'état civil is responsible, in particular, for keeping the Québec register of civil status and ensuring its publication by issuing authentic documents relating to civil status events.

The certificate and the copy of an act are drawn up in accordance with the information in the original act, in compliance with the spelling used therein, and not with the information provided on the application form for a certificate and a copy of an act. Furthemore, the documents are printed in the language in which the event was registered.

You can obtain a certificate or a copy of an act for each of the following events by using the corresponding form:

• Birth
• Marriage
• Civil union
• Death

A certificate or a copy of an act of birth is required if you want to:

• Apply for a passport
• Apply for Québec Pension Plan benefits or Government of Canada retirement allowances
• Obtain a health insurance card, a social insurance card or a first driver's licence
• Register your child for elementary or secondary school
• Apply for admission to Cegep or university
• Apply for a student bursary
• Apply for your child's admission to a childcare centre or a day care centre

A certificate or a copy of an act of marriage serves particularly to prove the marriage, which facilitates the exercise of the civil rights of the spouses, the children and third parties.

A certificate or a copy of an act of civil union serves particularly to prove the civil union, which facilitates the exercise of the civil rights of the spouses and the children.

A certificate or a copy of an act of death serves to:

• Establish the death of a person
• Facilitate settlement of a succession
• Prove to an organization that the death occured
• Determine the date of payment of benefits to the surviving spouse, particularly Québec pensions

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Which document to request: a certificate or a copy of an act?

Before applying, find out the type and format of the document required by contacting the organization to which you must submit it.

When submitting an application concerning the birth of a minor child, we recommend the long-form birth certificate, as it contains the parents' names. Some organizations require this type of certificate in the case of minors.

The information in certificates and copies of an act is given in the table below.

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Who can apply for a certificate or a copy of an act?

To protect the identity of the persons entered in the Québec civil status register, a certificate or a copy of an act can only be issued to persons mentioned in the act relating to the application or those who justify their interest.

If your name does not appear in the act relating to your application, you must explain in the appropriate place on the form why you wish to obtain a certificate or a copy of an act concerning someone else, and attach to the form a photocopy of an official document supporting the reason given. We will evaluate the reason.

Persons not mentioned by name in the act can justify their request for the certificate or copy of an act of birth, marriage, civil union or death of a deceased person by establishing their family or marital relationship with the deceased.

They must establish this relationship by providing either their date of birth, in the case of a birth or marriage entered in the Québec register of civil status, or a photocopy of a certificate or copy of an act of birth, marriage or civil union if the birth, marriage or civil union took place outside Québec.

The following persons may make such a request: children (to be considered the child of the deceased, the name of the deceased must appear on the act of birth as that of a parent), brothers or sisters, and married or civil union spouses of the deceased.

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The applicant's identity must be established

We apply security measures to ensure that the person applying for a civil status document is authorized to obatin it. To that end, we require that any applicant (the person requesting the documents) attach to the application two different documents issued by two separate organizations to establish his or her identity. You must therefore attach to your application:

• a valid photo ID
• a valid proof of home address

If these two documents are not attached, the application will be returned to you without being processed.

Different requirements apply if you use the DEClic! and DEClic! Express online services.

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How to submit an application for a certificate or a copy of an act

You can submit an application in one of the following three ways: over the Internet, by mail or at a service counter. We offer normal or accelerated processing. Cost, processing time and method of delivery vary according to the type of processing and the mode of transmission you choose.

The following table provides the information required to make your choice.

Footnote 1

1. The number of days does not include the delivery time. Delivery for normal processing is by regular mail. Delivery in Canada for accelarated processing is by Xpresspost. Delivery outside Canada for accelerated processing is by regular mail. Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

2. Amounts are in Canadian dollars. Amounts include processing, the cost of the printed document and delivery fees. Return to footnote 2 referrer

New Fees

As of April 1, 2013, new fees will apply to obtain certificates and copies of acts. To take advantage of current fees, you must forward your application before this date. For more information »»

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An application for a certificate or a copy of an act

Over the Internet

Our online services enable you to submit an application for a certificate or a copy of an act with complete security, at any time and any place. Certain conditions apply.

By mail

If you choose to apply by mail, you must complete one of the Application for a Certificate or Copy of an Act forms.

There is a form for each of the following events: birth, marriage or civil union and death.

You can obtain paper versions of the forms at our Québec and Montréal service counters, at Services Québec offices or by contacting us. Be sure to always complete the latest version of a form in order to avoid any delay in processing your application. The version of the form is indicated in he upper right-hand corner, next to the title.

The forms are also available in PDF format on our website. They can be completed on screen. Download one of the forms.

At a service counter

Our service counters are located in Québec and Montréal and certain Services Québec offices also offer our services. You can complete the form there or fill it out in advance and submit it with your payment.

If your name is not mentioned in the act relating to the document requested, remember to provide a photocopy of the document justifying your application.

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Checklist

To ensure that your application is processed:

• Complete all of the sections of the form.
• Write in block letters and in black or blue ink.
• Attach a photocopy of your valid photo ID.
• Attach a photocopy of your valid proof of home address.
• Attach a photocopy of the document justifying why you want to obtain the civil status document, if your name is not mentioned in the act.
• Sign and date your application.
• Include your payment and verify that it corresponds to the total cost of the documents requested.
• Take the time to verify that the information on the form and the spelling used are accurate and be sure you have chosen the proper type of document.

For information concerning processing time and additional processing time for an application, see the Processing time section.

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Reviewed: 2013-04-01