For your civil wedding in Quebec, is the Montreal courthouse the only option? To answer this question, let us look at what the law says in Quebec. Marriage is a solemn act by which two people publicly commit to live together and to respect the rights and obligations of their union, which are conferred on them by law.
You must make this commitment before your spouse, two witnesses and an authorized officiant. The officiant may be a religious officiant, a notary, a clerk, a mayor, or a city councillor, among other civil officiants, or a close friend or family member.
In order to be recognized, your marriage must be performed in accordance with the rules governing all aspects of the ceremony: place, time, language and procedure.
As far as the location is concerned, you are spoiled for choice. Although if you are from the Laurentians, your first choice for a civil wedding will be the Palais de justice in St-Jérôme, other locations are available as long as they respect the solemnity of the wedding ceremony, are set up for this purpose and correspond to the location where the chosen wedding officiant is authorized to marry you.
Most courthouses in Quebec can marry you between 8:30 a.m. and noon and between 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. A clerk or deputy clerk will marry you.
If you are getting married outside the courthouse, the ceremony must take place between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. on the day of your choice. However, if a clerk or deputy clerk is marrying you, you must keep the same schedule as if you were marrying your spouse at the courthouse. The officiant will agree with you on the date and time of the ceremony.
Consequently, choosing the place of celebration of your marriage is intimately linked to choosing your officiant.
| Officiant | Place where the officiant may solemnize a marriage | Price |
| Court clerk
Deputy clerk |
Courthouse.
Hospital or any other health and social services establishment, if one of the intended spouses is living there because of his or her state of health and cannot move. Detention centre or penitentiary if one of the prospective spouses is detained there. |
$ 283 plus tax
$ 377 outside of the Courthouse |
| Mayor
Municipal councillor Municipal officer |
City hall of the municipality concerned.
Any place within the territory of the municipality concerned. |
$ 283
$ 377 outside from the City Hall |
| Notary | Any place agreed on with the officiant | Starting at $ 300 |
| Close relative authorized to act as officiant | Any place agreed on with the officiant | |
| Minister of religion | Place of worship |
Adapted from : wedding ceremony location
To find a courthouse in Quebec, for your civil wedding, consult this link: the list of courthouses.
If the architecture of the building or the historical aspect appeals to you, a few words about the Montreal Courthouse. It is located in the heritage site of Montreal. Moreover, at the municipal level, it is in a sector considered to have an “exceptional heritage value”. Learn more about the heritage of the Montreal Courthouse (in French only).
Depending on the officiant you choose and the time and day you wish to get married, courthouses are an option, but if you wish to get married on a Sunday or in the evening and the sobriety of a building does not suit you, your choice will be to choose an officiant who will be able to officiate the ceremony in a location chosen with you.
For your civil wedding in Quebec, is the Montreal courthouse the only option? In conclusion, whether you choose the Longueuil courthouse if you are from the South Shore, or the restaurant of your choice, or a notary’s office such as Notaire Leopold Lincà’s, which offers you its magnificent celebration rooms and its new Jardins Radieux courtyard space in the heart of Montreal, you have several possible choices for your wedding ceremony. No matter where you choose to be wed, we wish you a wonderful day for this special event in your life, one that is as special as your love.
Contact us 438.383.3116 or write to us on [email protected]
With these photos, we present some of our happy married couples who made the excellent choice to have their civil marriage celebrated by the Lincà study
