Designated officiant (one-day officiant)
If you wish to solemnize the marriage or civil union of a loved one, a relative or a friend, you and the intended spouses must complete the Application for the Designation of an Officiant of a Marriage or Civil Union form.
Eligibility Conditions
In order to apply to be designated as an officiant, you must comply with the following conditions:
- Be a Canadian citizen or reside in Québec;
- Be 18 years of age or over and have full exercise of all your civil rights;
- Speak French or English;
- Not be under tutorship or curatorship, or have an adviser to a person of full age;
- Have complied with your obligations as an officiant during a previous marriage or civil union, if applicable.
Eligibility for filing an application does not necessarily mean that the Directeur de l’état civil will grant the designation.
Telephone interview
When analyzing each application, the Directeur de l’état civil contacts the prospective officiant by telephone to verify whether they comply with the eligibility criteria and to inform them of their obligations as an officiant. Interviews take place by appointment from Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Limit to the number of designations
The Directeur de l’état civil does not grant citizens general designations to act as officiants. A maximum of three specific designations may be granted a person who has been asked to personally officiate a marriage or civil union. However, the Directeur de l’état civil may grant additional authorizations to a citizen if the application pertains directly to his or her father, mother, brother, sister or child.
Other useful links
- Scope and duration of the authorization
- Cost and processing time for an application for designation
- Directeur de l’état civil's decision
- Compliance with the conditions for the formation of the marriage or civil union
- Compliance with the conditions during the solemnization of the marriage or civil union
- Compliance with the conditions after the solemnization of the marriage or civil union
- Date, time and place of the solemnization
- Publication of the notice of marriage or civil union
- Opposition to a marriage or civil union
- Declaration of marriage or civil union
- Frequently asked questions
- Application for the Designation of an Officiant of a Marriage or Civil Union form
- Application for publication or for a dispensation from publication of a notice of marriage or civil union form
- Officiant’s Guide: an indispensable tool (PDF, 705 Ko)
- Publication of a notice of marriage or civil union
- Consult the register of notices of marriage or civil union
- Consult the register of officiants
- Search for judicial district
The Charter of the French language and its regulations govern the consultation of English-language content.
Information
Documents
Online services
Reviewed: 2019-03-27
