Wedding Directory / Canada / Quebec / Montreal

Criteria applying to the intended spouses

Legal age for contracting marriage

In Québec, the legal age for marriage is 16, but people under 18 may marry with consent from their parents or their tutor.

Sex of the spouses

In Québec, two people wishing to make a public commitment to live together may form a civil marriage, whether they are of the same or the opposite sex.

Previous civil union

Two people living together in a civil union may marry each other. The marriage dissolves the civil union while maintaining its civil effects, which are considered to be the effects of marriage from the date of their original civil union.

Authorized officiants

Clerks and deputy clerks of the Superior Court who have been specially designated for that purpose, and notaries authorized to execute notarial acts, may solemnize marriages.

Mayors, members of municipal or borough councils and municipal officers designated by the Minister of Justice may also solemnize marriages, but only within the territory defined in the instrument of designation.

Last, any person authorized by the Minister of Justice to solemnize civil unions may also solemnize a marriage. Some couples may wish to have their marriage solemnized by someone who is significant in their lives, but does not fall into one of the categories defined above. When this is the case, the intended spouses and the person they have chosen as officiant must complete the form entitled Request for the Designation of an Officiant of a Marriage or Civil Union (available in courthouses). The completed form must then be sent, preferably three to four months before the date of the ceremony, to the Direction des services judiciaires of the Ministère de la Justice1.

The designated officiant, after receiving the officially signed authorization, has full responsibility for the legal aspects of the ceremony. The officiant will also receive an information kit.

Notice of marriage

Before conducting the marriage ceremony, the officiant must announce the couple’s intention to marry by means of a notice posted for 20 days before the date of the marriage at the place where the ceremony is to be held and at the nearest courthouse. The notice must include the name, domicilary address and date and place of birth of each of the intended spouses; the accuracy of the information must be confirmed by a witness of full age. A dispensation from the requirement of posting notice may be granted for serious reasons.

If the intended spouses are already joined in a civil union, the officiant is not required to post a notice of marriage.

In principle, any person, including a minor, may oppose the marriage for good reasons.

Place of marriage

The marriage ceremony must be held in a place that is open to the public, before an authorized officiant and in the presence of two witnesses. A civil marriage and a religious marriage have the same legal value and impose the same obligations and responsibilities on the spouses.

A civil marriage solemnized by a clerk or deputy clerk of the Superior Court may take place at a courthouse or, with permission, at the place of residence of an intended spouse who is mobility impaired, or in the correctional facility where an intended spouse is confined.

A civil marriage solemnized by an officiant other than a clerk or deputy clerk of the Superior Court may be held in any place chosen by the intended spouses, provided that the place is in keeping with the solemn nature of the ceremony and has a suitable layout. An officiant other than a clerk or deputy clerk may perform a civil marriage in a courthouse if authorized to do so, or at the place of residence of an intended spouse who is mobility impaired.

It is particularly important to note that the location decided on for a marriage celebrated by an officiant appointed by the Minister of Justice cannot be changed since it is specified in the officiant's instrument of designation. The ceremony must necessarily take place in the judicial district indicated.

As a general rule, a religious marriage is celebrated in a place of worship. This is a requirement in the case of a Roman Catholic marriage.

Download Civil Marriage – General Information Form

Spouses' names

Both spouses keep their birth names after marriage and continue to exercise their civil rights under that name, i.e. they must use their birth name in contracts, on credit cards, on their driver’s licence, etc.

This rule applies to all spouses domiciled in Québec, even if they were married outside Québec.

However, women married before April 2, 1981 who were already using their husband’s surname before that date may continue to exercise their civil rights under their married name.

More information from Justice Quebec