If you need to produce an official copy of a document for your proceedings, you may need to make a sworn declaration before a commissioner for oaths and sign the document in the commissioner’s presence. This formality gives the document official status that is valid for all courts in Québec.
To locate a commissioner for oaths, you can contact a notary or lawyer. The service is also offered in courthouses and at Services Québec offices.
If required by law, a person must be sworn in before signing a document for some procedures with a government department or body. The person must make a sworn declaration before a commissioner for oaths and sign the document in the commissioner’s presence. This formality gives the document official status that is recognized in all courts in Québec.
The commissioner for oaths is not required to verify the accuracy of the document, but may refuse it if
- the document is not in the required form;
- the document is visibly incorrect;
- the document contains gratuitous or offensive statements;
- the person making the oath does not appear to be in full possession of his or her faculties because of a disability or deficiency, or the effect of alcohol or drugs.
A commissioner cannot attest that a photocopy of a document is a true copy of the original.
An oath may also be made before a person authorized by virtue of his or her office to receive oaths, such as
- the clerk or deputy clerk of a court of justice;
- a lawyer;
- a notary;
- a justice of the peace;
- a mayor or municipal councillor, but only in the territory of the municipality.
Register of commissioners for oaths
The register of commissioners for oaths lists all the people appointed by the Minister of Justice to receive oaths.
The register can be used to
- find the contact information of a commissioner for oaths inside or outside Québec;
- verify the authorization of a commissioner for oaths to receive oaths at a specific time and in a specific judicial district.
However, the register does not list people authorized by virtue of their position to receive oaths.
