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Act of birth

In Quebec, parents must declare the birth of their child to the Registrar of Civil Status within thirty days of the birth. The Registrar of Civil Status uses this declaration to draw up one of the most important documents in a person’s life: the act of birth. This document identifies the child by name, and establishes the child’s citizenship and filiation.

In this Infosheet, Éducaloi explains the rules parents must follow when declaring the birth of their child and how to obtain a birth certificate or copy of the act of birth.

Why must we declare our child's birth?

The “declaration of birth” made to the Registrar of Civil Status is compulsory and ensures that the newborn will be registered in the Quebec Register of Civil Status.

Registering the child in the Register of Civil Status allows him or her to obtain various documents such as a birth certificate, which proves his or her identity and citizenship, a health insurance card as well as a social insurance number. These documents allow your child to benefit from all the rights and privileges bestowed upon all Quebec citizens.

What documents are required to draw up an act of birth?

The Registrar of Civil Status uses two documents to draw up a newborn’s act of birth.

  • The attestation of birth.

    The doctor, nurse or any other person who assisted in the birth draws up an attestation of birth. It indicates the place, date and time of birth, the child’s gender, the mother’s given and family name (as indicated on her act of birth), her place of birth, her domicile, and the name and address of the hospital where the child was born.

    Two copies of the attestation of birth are made. The original copy is immediately sent to the Registrar of Civil Status. The hospital personnel give the parents the other copy along with a form, the “declaration of birth,” that they must complete.

  • The declaration of birth.

    The “declaration of birth” is a document that must be completed by the newborn’s parents within thirty days of the birth. As the declarants of the child, they are directly responsible for registering their child in the Register of Civil Status.

    If the father and mother are unknown or for some reason prevented from acting, the person who shelters or takes custody of the child must complete the “declaration of birth” within the same thirty-day limit.


How should we proceed to declare our child's birth?

To declare the birth of your newborn, you must complete the “declaration of birth” form that you received from the hospital. The form itself contains instructions on how it should be completed; essentially, it requests the following information:

  • the child’s names (given and family), spelled correctly;
  • the child’s sex;
  • the place, date and time of the birth;
  • the name and domicile of the mother, father, and witness;
  • the family relationship between declarant and child;
  • the date of birth of the father and mother and, where applicable, their marital status;
  • the parents’ social insurance numbers;
  • the number on the parents’ medicare cards.


What happens if we fail to register the birth of our newborn in the Register of Civil Status within the thirty-day delay?

Parents must send their child’s “declaration of birth” to the Registrar of Civil Status within thirty days.

If the Registrar of Civil Status receives the “declaration of birth” after the thirty-day limit, the parents will be charged a $50 administrative fee. This fee goes up to $100 if the parents send the declaration a year after the birth.

How is a child's filiation to his or her parents established?

Usually, a child’s relationship to his or her parents is established in the act of birth, drawn up according to the “declaration of birth.” If the parents are married or spouses in a civil union, only one parent needs to complete the “declaration of birth” and sign it before a witness, the latter being a person of full age other than one of the parents.

If the parents are not married, it is desirable for both parents to sign the “declaration of birth.” If the couple is living in a common-law situation, neither the father nor the mother’s spouse benefit from the presumption of paternity that is automatically granted to the husband or the spouse in a civil union with the mother.

What names can we give our child?

Your child’s given name(s) must respect certain rules:

  • you may choose one or multiple given names; however, it is suggested not to exceed four given names;
  • the name that appears first in the “declaration of birth” must be the name you intend to regularly use;
  • if one of the given names is a compound name, you must insert a hyphen between the two names. If you do not, the two names will be considered as two distinct names;
  • one of the parent’s surnames can be used as one of the child’s given names;
  • an initial of one of the parent’s surnames can be used as one of the child’s given names.

If you and your spouse cannot agree upon a name to give your child, the Registrar of Civil Status will intervene. It will assign two given names to the child, one chosen by the mother and the other chosen by the father.

What surnames can we give our child?

Your child’s surname must respect certain rules:

  • the child can adopt the father’s surname, the mother’s surname, or a composite of the two names joined by a hyphen;
  • your newborn’s surname may differ from the surnames of your other children. This means that children born from the same mother and father can have different surnames;
  • a surname cannot contain only an initial (e.g.: B-Roy), because such a name does not meet the requirements of the Civil Code of Québec. The surnames of the mother or father must be written in full so that the child’s surname fully reflects either the maternal filiation, paternal filiation, or both;
  • the child’s surname cannot be composed of one of the parent’s first names;
  • when both parents have composite surnames, you must choose a name that contains only two parts. The child may bear the father’s composite surname or the mother’s composite surname or a surname made up from one part of the father’s surname and one part of the mother’s surname. Where both parents have composite names, sixteen combinations are possible.

For example, if the father's name is John Wagner-Laplante, and the mother's name is Sylvie Colombe-Ladouceur, then the parents must choose one of the following surname possibilities:

  • Wagner
  • Laplante
  • Colombe
  • Ladouceur
  • Wagner-Laplante
  • Wagner-Colombe
  • Wagner-Ladouceur
  • Laplante-Wagner
  • Laplante-Colombe
  • Laplante-Ladouceur
  • Colombe-Wagner
  • Colombe-Laplante
  • Colombe-Ladouceur
  • Ladouceur-Wagner
  • Ladouceur-Laplante
  • Ladouceur-Colombe


Can the Registrar of Civil Status ask us to change the given or family names we gave to our child?

If the name you gave to your child (either the composite surname or given name) is unusual and may invite ridicule or discredit the child, the Registrar of Civil Status may ask you to choose a less controversial name.

If you refuse to change the surname or given names you have chosen, the Registrar will still draw up an act of birth, but it will notify the Attorney General of Québec. The Attorney General may then ask the court, within ninety (90) days of the registration of the act of birth in the Register of Civil Status, to replace either the given name(s) or surname(s) chosen by the parents with one of the parent’s family names or with two common given names, as the case may be. It is the court that makes the final decision on the matter.

How do we obtain a birth certificate?

To obtain a birth certificate, you must do two things:

  • First, you must complete a “Request for Certificate” form. The form is available online at the Registrar of Civil Status  (http://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/en/default.html) website, CLSC offices, courthouses (Palais de Justice), the Caisses populaires Desjardins, offices of Services Quebec and the offices of the Registrar of Civil Status;

  • Second, you can file the application in person, by mail or online  (http://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/en/services.html), along with the required documents and payment to one of the offices of the Registrar of Civil Status (Quebec City or Montreal).

You can pay by money order, cash, credit card (Visa or MasterCard), debit card or cheque.

How much does it cost to obtain a birth certificate?

Birth certificates come in both large and small formats. The difference is that the large format contains the names of the parents. Each certificate, large and small, costs $15.

You may also obtain a copy of your act of birth. In addition to the information on your birth certificate, your act of birth may contain the names of the declarants and the witnesses as well as the date of your parents’ marriage. A copy of the act of birth costs $20.

What should I do if I urgently need a birth certificate?

If you urgently need a birth certificate, for example, if you need a passport in a hurry.

You must make an urgent request and send your request form by fax or go directly to an office of the Registrar of Civil Status located in Montreal or Quebec City. In these circumstances, you must enclose certain supporting documents and pay the fee of $35 for this type of request.

You will receive a birth certificate within less than 6 working days (not including delivery time).

Useful Links :

  1. Directeur de l’état civil website  [http://www.dec.gouv.qc.ca/English/birth.htm]