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.

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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.

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Limit to the number of designations

The Directeur de l’état civil does not grant citizens general designations to act as officiants of marriages or civil unions. A citizen can be a designated officiant on a maximum of three occasions. However, the Directeur de l’état civil may grant additional authorizations to a citizen if the application pertains directly to their father, mother or child.

Moreover, when the person presenting an application to be designated as an officiant is a judge, a lawyer, a mayor, a member of the National Assembly or a Member of Parliament, a deputy minister, a member of a municipal council or borough council or a municipal official, the limit of three designations does not apply, as long as the person occupies the position. In such cases, the Directeur de l’état civil makes sure that the designation is granted on a personal basis and that celebrating marriages or civil unions does not become a gainful activity.

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Other useful links

Information

• 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
  • Presence of two witnesses
  • Consent of the intended spouses
  • Reading of articles of the Civil Code of Québec
  • Rules respecting the solemnization of civil marriages and civil unions Civil Code of Québec
• 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



Documents

• 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)



Online services

• 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.

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Reviewed: 2019-03-27