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Apostille for Registraire des entreprises du Québec documents

Your Québec company’s certificat d’attestation, articles of incorporation or certificate of amendment, apostilled for a bank, a registry, a lawyer or a tender abroad. Documents issued by the Registraire des entreprises (REQ) go straight to Québec’s apostille authority, no notary needed. We check the document, file it in Montréal, send you the scan the day the apostille is issued and deliver anywhere in the world. One fixed fee per submission, however many documents.

Get a fixed quote Which REQ documents qualify?
Authority
Ministère de la Justice du Québec
Direct, no notary step
Timeline
About 1-5 business days
At the Ministère, plus delivery
Government fee
$66.50 per document
Passed on at cost
Our fee
$139 per submission
Any number of documents
What we apostille

REQ documents, and what they are used for abroad

The Registraire des entreprises du Québec is the provincial registry for every company, partnership and not-for-profit doing business in Québec. Each is identified by a 10-digit Québec enterprise number (NEQ). Everything the Registraire issues is a Québec public document, apostilled by the Ministère de la Justice du Québec.

Certificat d’attestation

Québec’s equivalent of a certificate of good standing or certificate of status: the company exists, is registered and is up to date with its annual filings. The document foreign banks, registries, notaries and immigration lawyers ask for most often, usually issued within the last 3 months.

Certificat de constitution and articles

The charter of a Québec business corporation under the Business Corporations Act, with its articles (statuts constitutifs). Needed to open a subsidiary or branch, register with a foreign chamber of commerce or sign with a distributor.

Certificates of amendment, amalgamation, continuance

Certificat de modification, de fusion, de continuation, de changement de nom. Required when the foreign record must match the company’s current name, share structure or jurisdiction.

Certified copies of filed documents

Declarations and other documents the company filed with the Registraire, certified by the Registraire: proof of who the directors and shareholders are, for KYC and beneficial-ownership checks abroad.

The official list

Which Registraire des entreprises documents can be apostilled?

The Ministère’s online apostille request lists the Registraire des entreprises as an issuing body and accepts more than twenty of its document types directly. Among them:

  • Acte de dissolution
  • Attestation aux fins de la continuation
  • Avis d’annulation
  • Avis de changement de nom
  • Avis de correction
  • Avis de reprise d’existence
  • Avis de révocation de radiation
  • Certificat d’annulation
  • Certificat d’arrangement
  • Certificat d’attestation (good standing)
  • Certificat de changement de nom
  • Certificat de changement de régime
  • Certificat de conformité et les documents l’accompagnant
  • Certificat de constitution (incorporation)
  • Certificat de continuation
  • Certificat de conversion
  • Certificat de dissolution
  • Certificat de fusion (amalgamation)
  • Certificat de modification (amendment)
  • Certificat de reconstitution
  • Certificat de refonte
  • Certificat de régularité
  • Lettres patentes
  • Lettres patentes de fusion
Not on the list: the free “état de renseignements”. The statement of information you can print from the public register search is not a certificate and carries no signature, so it cannot be apostilled. If that is all you have, we order the certificat d’attestation or the certified copy you need from the Registraire, at its fee, before filing.
Check before you order

Is your company registered in Québec, federally, or elsewhere?

The registry that issued the document decides which authority apostilles it. Look at the header of your certificate.

This page

Québec

“Registraire des entreprises”, a 10-digit NEQ and a reference to the Loi sur les sociétés par actions or the Loi sur la publicité légale des entreprises. Goes to the Ministère de la Justice du Québec, in Montréal.

Federal

Corporations Canada

Header “Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada” and a reference to the Canada Business Corporations Act. Goes to Global Affairs Canada: see Corporations Canada documents.

Other provinces

Provincial registry

Ontario Business Registry, BC Registries, Alberta Corporate Registry and the others each issue their own certificate of status, apostilled by that province. See authorities by province.

Federal company with a Québec registration? A federal corporation that operates in Québec also has an NEQ and can obtain a certificat d’attestation from the Registraire. Foreign recipients usually want the incorporating jurisdiction’s certificate, so for a CBCA company that is the Corporations Canada one. When in doubt, send us both and tell us who is asking: we will confirm which one they will accept.
Good to know

Three things that save a week

Order the signed version

Certificates and certified copies issued by the Registraire, including those delivered electronically through its online services, carry the Registraire’s signature and are accepted. We check what you have before anything is filed; if it will be refused, we order the right document first.

Mind the date

Many foreign registries, banks and immigration authorities only accept a certificat d’attestation issued in the last 3 to 6 months. A fresh certificate costs less than a second apostille.

Québec issues in French

REQ documents and the Québec apostille are in French. Most Hague countries accept the apostille as is; if the recipient wants the document itself translated, it is done after the apostille so the apostille is translated too. We coordinate it, quoted at pre-check.

A recent file

Two REQ certificates for a Spanish lawyer, issued within the week

A Montréal founder relocating to Spain was asked by his lawyers in Madrid for his company’s certificat d’attestation and its articles of incorporation, apostilled. He had received both from the Registraire online and was not sure they would qualify.

They did. Our courier picked the documents up at his office on a Monday, the request was filed with the Ministère the same day, and both apostilles were issued two business days later. He received the scans with the apostille numbers that afternoon, verifiable on the Ministère’s public register, and the originals were handed back to him in Montréal the next morning, well before his flight.

  • What he sent: PDFs of the certificat d’attestation and the certificat de constitution with articles, and the destination country.
  • What he paid: the Ministère’s fee of $66.50 per document, the courier run, and our $139 fee for the whole submission. Half to start, half once the scans were in his inbox.
  • What he did not need: a notary, the Chambre des notaires, or a trip to any government office.
Signed by the company

Resolutions, powers of attorney and officer’s certificates

These are signed by your directors or officers, not by the Registraire, so they take a different road: a Québec notary certifies the signature, the Chambre des notaires certifies the notary, then the Ministère apostilles. We book the notary, run the Chambre step with our courier and file everything as one coordinated file, so the REQ certificates and the notarized documents reach the recipient together.

All corporate and commercial documents → · How the Québec apostille works →

How it works

Three steps, one contact

Send scans and the destination

The REQ documents you have, the country, and who will receive them. A photo is enough to start.

Fixed quote within the hour

We confirm each document qualifies, flag anything that would be refused and quote one all-in price. Nothing to pay before we start.

Filed, scanned, delivered

Free pickup in the Montréal area or a prepaid label from anywhere in Canada, filing in Montréal, a scan with the apostille number the day it is issued, then delivery to you or straight to the recipient abroad.

Common questions
Who apostilles Registraire des entreprises documents?
The Ministère de la Justice du Québec, through its apostille service in Montréal. The Registraire des entreprises is a Québec registry, so its certificates are Québec public documents, wherever the company’s foreign recipient is. The apostille is accepted in every country party to the Hague Apostille Convention.
What is the Québec equivalent of a certificate of good standing?
The certificat d’attestation issued by the Registraire des entreprises. It confirms that the company is registered, exists and has filed its annual updating declarations. Foreign recipients also call it a certificate of status, certificate of existence or certificate of compliance; in Québec it is the same document.
Can the PDF I received from the Registraire be apostilled?
Usually yes. Certificates and certified copies issued by the Registraire, including those delivered electronically, carry the Registraire’s signature, which the Ministère can verify. What cannot be apostilled is the free état de renseignements printed from the public register search. Send us what you have and we will tell you within the hour.
Do I need a notary for REQ documents?
No. Documents issued by the Registraire go directly to the Ministère de la Justice. A notary and the Chambre des notaires are only needed for documents signed by the company itself, such as board resolutions, powers of attorney or officer’s certificates.
How long does it take?
The Ministère is currently at about 1 to 5 business days at the office, plus mail. Because we file in Montréal, a file picked up on a Monday is typically apostilled the same week. Delivery comes on top: a few days in Canada, 2 to 5 business days by DHL Express to most countries.
How much does it cost?
The Ministère charges $66.50 per document (indexed every january), passed on at cost. Our fee is $139 per submission, whatever the number of documents, plus delivery: free pickup and handover in the Montréal area, a flat $80 for prepaid shipping both ways inside Canada, or DHL Express abroad at the carrier’s rate. You get one all-in total before we start.
The apostille is in French. Will it be accepted abroad?
Yes. The apostille is a standard Hague certificate, numbered and verifiable online, and its format is recognized in every member country. If the recipient needs the REQ document itself in their language, a certified translation is done after the apostille; ask them which translator they accept and we will coordinate it.
Can you deliver directly to our lawyer or bank abroad?
Yes. We ship by DHL Express to any address you give us, signature on delivery, and send you the scan and apostille number first so the recipient can start their review before the original lands.
My company is a federal corporation with a Québec NEQ. Which certificate should I apostille?
Most foreign recipients want the certificate from the incorporating jurisdiction, so for a corporation under the Canada Business Corporations Act that is the Corporations Canada certificate, apostilled by Global Affairs Canada. The Québec certificat d’attestation is only needed when the recipient asks specifically for proof of registration in Québec. Tell us who is asking and we will confirm.
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Send us your Registraire des entreprises documents and the destination

We confirm each document qualifies, file it in Montréal and send a fixed all-in quote within the hour. Nothing is payable before we start.

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