Designated Officiant or One-day Officiant
A couple who wishes to marry or be united in a civil union may choose a person to act as their officiant. This person may be a family member, a relative or a friend.
The future spouses must contact the Directeur de l’état civil to have the person they choose act as the officiant of their marriage or civil union.
The designation obtained is valid solely for this marriage or civil union, which must take place on a precise date.
Limit to the number of designations
The Directeur de l’état civil does not grant citizens a general designation to act as an officiant. Therefore, a maximum of three specific designations may be granted to the same individual to act as an officiant. However, the Directeur de l’état civil may grant a higher number of authorizations to a citizen if the request pertains directly to that citizen’s father, mother, brother, sister or child.
Admissibility requirements
Persons applying to the Directeur de l’état civil to be designated the officiant of a marriage or civil union must meet the following conditions:
- Hold Canadian citizenship or have a permanent residential address in Québec;
- Be 18 years of age or older and able to fully exercise all their civil rights;
- Speak French or English;
- Have respected all the conditions of substance and form relating to the solemnization of a marriage or civil union if having previously acted as the officiant of a marriage or civil union;
Meeting the admissibility requirements does not guarantee that the designation will be authorized by the Directeur de l’état civil.
How to obtain designation as the officiant of a marriage or civil union
To apply for designation as the officiant of a marriage or civil union, the prospective officiant and the future spouses must jointly fill out the Application for the Designation of an Officiant of a Marriageor Civil Union 
form.
Decision of the Directeur de l’état civil
If the Directeur de l’état civil approves the application, it will issue an authorization number to solemnize a marriage or civil union to the person designated as an officiant. The number must be entered on the declaration of marriage or civil union on the day of the ceremony.
Processing time
The application will be processed within approximately four months. It is important to take this time into account when planning the date of the marriage or civil union.
Other useful links
- Application for the designation of an officiant of a marriage or civil union form
-
Officiant's guide
- Publication of a notice of marriage or civil union
- Marriage and civil union
- Register of notices of marriage or civil union
Reviewed: 2018-01-01
