Entering an event in the register of civil status
Declaration of a civil status event
Under the Civil Code of Québec, every birth, marriage, civil union and death that occurs in Québec must be declared to the Directeur de l'état civil.
An event may be declared using either the paper form provided for that purpose or the online service. The information collected on the declaration will be used to enter the event in the Québec register of civil status. Once the declaration is signed and dated by the registrar of civil status, it becomes the official act. It is therefore important to ensure that no error is made when completing the declaration and that all of the information requested is provided.
In order for a civil status document to be issued in respect of a birth, marriage, civil union or death, the event must first be entered in the Québec register of civil status. Once the event has been registered, your application for a certificate, a copy of an act or an attestation can be processed.
Documents required to enter an event in the register of civil status
| Events | Documents required | Who must submit the document? | Deadline for transmitting the document to the Directeur de l'état civil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | Declaration of birth form | Parents | Within 30 days following the child’s birth |
| Attestation of birth form | Health institution or birth centre | Without delay | |
| Marriage | Declaration of marriage form | Officiant | Within 30 days following the solemnization |
| Civil union | Declaration of civil union form | Officiant | Without delay |
| Death | Declaration of death form | Funeral services business | Without delay |
| Attestation of death form | Health institution | Without delay |
Time period for entering an event in the register of civil status
Entering an event in the register of civil status is a free service*. Files are processed in the order the required documents, mentioned in the table below, are received, rather than the date of the event. There is no accelerated processing for this service.
The processing time to register a new event in the register of civil status begins once the required documents mentioned in the chart above are received by the Directeur de l'état civil.
Time period for entering an event in the register of civil status if the documents received are complete and exact
| Civil status event | Time period for entering an event in the register of civil status |
|---|---|
| Birth | 15 business days |
| Marriage | 45 business days |
| Civil union | 45 business days |
| Death | 20 business days |
This time period is to be expected for parents who wish to travel abroad with their newborn after birth, for any reason, including when the parents come to Québec to give birth to their child and wish to return quickly to their home country.
Additional processing time
If the documents received are incomplete or irregular, additional processing time may be required to enter the event.
The processing time varies depending on the number of events to be entered in the register and the complexity of the file.
Examples of incomplete or irregular documents:
- The declaration is incomplete (e.g. it is not signed, not all fields of the form are filled out).
- The information in the declaration differs from the information in the attestation of birth or the attestation of death.
- The attestation of birth or the attestation of death is incomplete (a request for additional information is generally sent to hospital centres).
- The information in the declaration differs from the information in the register of civil status.
- In the declaration of birth, the marital status of the parents is “married”, whereas in the register, it is “single”.
- In the declaration of death, the marital status of the deceased is “divorced”, whereas in the register, it is “married”. In such a case, the judgment of divorce must be obtained, after which the divorce must be entered in the register.
Examples:
* If the declaration of birth is transmitted to the Directeur de l'état civil within 30 days following the child's birth. A declaration of birth transmitted after this deadline entails the payment of the applicable fees. To find out the applicable fees for late registration of birth, see the Fees and processing time section.
Reviewed: 2025-04-09
