Quebec Civil Registration

Online Resources

 * 1621-1968 Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1926-1997 Quebec Marriage Returns, 1926-1997 at MyHeritage - index & images ($)

Background

 * From 1679 to 1993, most vital records for Québec were copies of church records.
 * The province required churches to send copies to government archives. On 1 January 1994, the government began to keep separate vital records. Vital records could be registered civilly without a church record as early as 1926. Beginning in the 1960s, many births and marriages were recorded only in civil registers.

How to Access the Records

 * Finding Aid: Search assistance in civil status registers Illustrated step-by-step instructions.

Before 1900 Online

 * These records are all available in online, digitized collections church records.

After 1900
Vital records and civil copies of church records are confidential after 1900. Only a person named in the record, immediate family, or a legal representative may have access to civil registration and civil copies of church records after 1900. Civil records can be ordered online, by mail, or in person. For more information see: Directeur de l'état civil: Certificates and copies of acts. Application forms can be accessed and submitted here:


 * Directeur de l'état civil 2535 Boulevard Laurier Québec G1V 5C5 Canada Phone: 1 418 644-0075 Email: [mailto:etatcivil@dec.gouv.qc.ca etatcivil@dec.gouv.qc.ca ]Website

Indexes
Some indexes to civil registration copies of church records are available. The indexes list only the name of the individual and the date and place of the event. Names of the parents or spouses are usually not given. For an index to notarial marriage contracts, see Quebec Notarial Records.

Indexes for Montréal
There are many different indexes for Montreal records that have been digitized: Canada, Québec, Île-de-Montréal, Montréal - Church records and Civil Registration - Indexes

Catholic Records in Montréal Online Card Index

 * Fichiers de l'état civil (District judiciaire de Montréal). Registres paroissiaux, 1648–1899 (Card Index of Baptisms, Marriages, Burials of Parishes of Montréal and Neighboring Rural Parishes, 1648–1899), index.

Protestant Records in Montréal Online

 * Index relié de baptêmes, mariages, sépultures non-catholiques, paroisses de Montréal et des paroisses rurales. Registres paroissiaux, 1760–1899 (Index of Baptisms, Marriages, Burials for Non-Catholics of Montréal and Neighboring Rural Parishes, 1760–1899).

Indexes for the City of Québec

 * Index des baptêmes, mariages et sépultures des protestants de la région de Québec, ca. 1790–1875 (Index to Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials of Protestants in the Region of Québec about 1790–1875). [Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada: Archives nationales du Québec, 1983. . Text in French.

Divorces

 * Acts of Divorce, 1841-1968, index
 * Canada Parliamentary Marriage and Divorces, 1867-1919 index, at Ancestry.com ($)
 * "This database includes the names of the spouses, places of residence at the time of the marriage and divorce, other marriages (if noted), and dates of marriage and divorce (the date when the act became law) for divorce acts from this period. The original records may include additional information such as other places of residence, occupations, additional court action taken, and number of children (and occasionally their names or genders), if any. The very restrictive grounds for the cost of a divorce made them quite rare; the records are, however, worth obtaining when they apply".

Gretna Green marriage places
When a marriage was transacted in a jurisdiction that was not the residence of the parties being married, to avoid restrictions or procedures imposed by the parties' home jurisdiction, that place became a "Gretna Green." When an eloping Quebec couple's marriage is not in their home county, search for it in alternate places like:


 * Crown Point, Essex, New York
 * Ogdensburgh, St. Lawrence, New York
 * Niagara Falls, Niagara, New York
 * Buffalo, Erie, New York
 * Names of many who married in the Buffalo, New York, area from 1840 to 1890 are listed in: Jewitt, Allen E. Early Canadian Marriages in Erie County, New York. 12 Volumes. Hamburg, New York, USA: Jewitt, 1982. . WorldCat.