Accelerated processing is temporarily unavailable as of May 13, 2025. The Directeur de l’état civil offers regular processing of certificates and copies of acts.
For more information, contact Services Québec.
Québec : 418 644-4545
Montréal : 450 644-4545
514 644-4545
Elsewhere in Québec: 1 877 644-4545 (toll free)
Fees and processing time
Fees and Processing Times for Entering an Event in the Register of Civil Status
The files for entering an event are processed in order of receipt of the required documents, not according to the date of the event. The processing time for entering an event begins upon receipt of the required documents, complete and compliant, by the Directeur de l’état civil. There is no accelerated processing for this service.
Entering an event in the register of civil status is a free service.*
Fees and processing times if the documents received are complete and compliant |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil status event | Required document | Processing time | Fee |
| Birth | Declaration of Birth form | 15 business days | Free – except if the Declaration of Birth is sent after the 30-day timeframe* |
| Attestation of Birth form | Free | ||
| Marriage | Declaration of Marriage form | 45 business days | |
| Civil union | Declaration of Civil Union form | 45 business days | |
| Death | Declaration of Death form | 20 business days | |
| Attestation of Death form | |||
These timeframes should be considered by parents who wish to travel abroad with their newborn, regardless of the reason, in particular when parents come to Québec to deliver their baby and then wish to return promptly to their country of origin.
*The service is free if the Declaration of Birth is transmitted to the Directeur de l'état civil within 30 days after the birth of the child. A Declaration of Birth transmitted after this timeframe is subject to fees. For information on the fees charged for a late registration of birth, consult the section “Other fee-based services offered by the Directeur de l'état civil.”
Fees and processing time for obtaining a certificate or copy of an act
In the case of a recent event, the time period for entering an event in the register of civil status must be taken into account. We cannot process your application for a certificate, a copy of an act or an attestation until the event has been registered.
| Method used to submit your application | Normal processing (10 business days) If the event occurred recently and the documents received are complete and exact, add the time period for entering the event in the register. | |
| Cost per certificate | Cost per copy of an act | |
| Online | $37.75 | $45.75 |
| By mail | $54.00 | $63.00 |
| At any of the Services Québec offices that provide Directeur de l’état civil services-using the following means: | ||
|
$37.75 | $45.75 |
|
$54.00 | $63.00 |
Note de bas de tableau 1
* Excluding the time needed to register the event (if recent) and the delivery time. Fees are in Canadian dollars and are in effect until March 31, 2026. Retour à la référence de la note 1
Additional processing time
Additional processing time may be required in the following cases:
- The application is incomplete (e.g. it is not signed, payment is not included, not all fields of the form are filled out).
- The information on the form differs from the information in the register.
- It is difficult to verify certain information concerning the identity of an applicant or a guarantor.
- The address for delivery of the documents indicated on the form differs from the address on the photocopies of the documents.
- The photocopies of documents do not meet the requirements indicated in the general information and instructions on the corresponding “Application for a Certificate or Copy of an Act” form.
Fees and processing time for obtaining a attestation
Attestation
The Cost vary according to the period covered by the search and the accuracy of the information you provide in support of your application. If the information provided is accurate, the cost of an attestation may be appreciably lower.
| Accuracy of the information provided and period covered by the search | Normal processing (10 business days) | Cost per attestation |
|---|---|
| The information provided is accurate | $7.75 |
| The information provided is approximate or incomplete (period covered by a search of years or less) | $26.25 |
| Cost for every additional year searched | $5.35 |
Detailed attestation
| Normal processing (10 business days) | Cost per attestation |
|---|
| $27.25 |
Other fee-based services offered by the Directeur de l'état civil
The table below shows the fees charged.
| Services | Fees |
|---|---|
| Change of name | |
| Surname or given name change for one person only (adult or child, including issuance of the first change of name certificate) | $161.00 |
| Surname change for a child under 18, when included with surname change for the parent (including issuance of the first change of name certificate) | $33.00 |
| Issuance of a change of name certificate | $13.20 |
| Substitution of the usual given name by another given name on the act of birth | $133.00 |
| Change of sexe designation | |
| First application for a change of sex designation | Free |
| Second or subsequent application for a change of sex designation | $161.00 |
| Issuance of a change of sex designation certificate | $13.20 |
| Copy of the original act of birth | |
| Application for a copy of the original act of birth | $63.00 |
| Declaration of filiation | |
| Processing of a late declaration of filiation (less than one year) | $65.25 |
| Processing of a late declaration of filiation (more than one year) | $132.00 |
| Registration of birth | |
| Processing of an application for late registration of birth (less than one year) | $65.25 |
| Processing of an application for late registration of birth (more than one year) | $132.00 |
Reviewed: 2025-09-29
