How to Become a Notary in Quebec

A notary in Quebec is a legal professional admitted by the Chambre des notaires du Québec. The Quebec route is a university route followed by a professional training program run by the Chambre itself, and it is specific to Quebec civil law. This guide follows the Chambre's pathway documents for persons who graduated from a Quebec university or the University of Ottawa, linked in Sources. It does not import the appointment systems used for notaries in other provinces, and it does not repeat placement, oath, or duration claims from the national notary guide, which were not grounded in Chambre pages. If you studied law outside Quebec, the linked pages do not state your steps: ask the Chambre about the equivalence route before assuming any part of the Quebec pathway is waived.

Step 1: Complete a bachelor degree in law

The first step is a bachelor degree in law. The Chambre pathway document, dated February 2026, lists Université Laval, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, McGill University, the University of Ottawa for its licence in the civil law section, the Université du Québec à Montréal, and the Université du Québec en Outaouais. Admission to a law faculty is governed by the university's own conditions, so confirm the current admission requirements, program length, and application deadlines with the faculty you plan to attend. The pathway document does not state how long the bachelor degree takes, and this guide states no duration for it.

Step 2: Complete a master degree in notarial law

The second step is a master degree in notarial law, offered at Université Laval, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, and the University of Ottawa according to the same pathway document. The master degree is the specialized second-cycle degree that prepares you for the notarial profession, and it runs alongside the Chambre's professional training program rather than finishing before the program starts. Confirm the current program structure, course requirements, and credit total with the university, since the pathway document names the institutions but does not state the program length.

Step 3: Enter the professional training program

In January, persons registered in the master degree in notarial law receive an invitation from the Order to register for the Professional Training Program. To be admitted to the program, a candidate must have completed or be in the process of completing at least 30 credits of the master degree in notarial law. Successful completion of the Professional Training Program is a mandatory prerequisite to practising the notarial profession. The program aims at the integration of knowledge and the development of skills in professional law, and the acquisition of knowledge and skills in non-legal fields related to the exercise of the notarial profession. Keep the January invitation window in mind when you plan your master degree enrolment, since admission to the program is tied to the academic calendar.

Step 4: Complete Part 1 and pass the Order examination

Part 1 of the program consists of 10 professional training days offered in hybrid format, combining self-learning and consolidation activities carried out at a distance with laboratory activities carried out in person. The training covers professional law, including ethics, trust accounting, and practice standards, and professional skills including oral and written communication, decision making, and technological skills. The Chambre pathway page lists the Part 1 topics as the notarial environment, professional and administrative obligations, skills maintenance and development, various modes of practice, the notary's professional liability and insurance, ethics and the role of the public officer, inspection and standards of practice, conciliation, review, compensation, discipline and provisional custody, office management and marketing of professional services, accounting and trust accounts, notarial formalities, and formalities for technology-based notarial deeds.

Part 1 is followed by the first evaluation of the program, the Order examination. Admission to the examination requires having completed the Part 1 training. The examination is a written exam, in class or remote, on the Part 1 training content. A candidate is entitled to two attempts. A candidate who fails the exam at the second attempt has no further right to repeat and is disqualified from re-registering in the Professional Training Program. Disqualification means the candidate is expelled from the program and will not be allowed to re-register, so treat each attempt as carrying real consequences and prepare for the first sitting as if it were the last. A candidate may submit a written request for review to the Order within 15 days following receipt of the evaluation results, along with payment of administration fees and the reasons for requesting a review. The Order renders a decision within 30 days following receipt of the request, and the score given after review is final. A candidate who is dissatisfied with a decision or experiences difficulties in obtaining a permit or becoming a member of the Order may file a complaint with the Commissioner for Admission to Professions.

Step 5: Complete the professional stage

The third component of the master degree in notarial law is a professional stage in a professional setting with a notary acting as stage supervisor, offered through Université Laval, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, and the University of Ottawa. The stage sits in the pathway after the Order examination and before Part 2. The linked Chambre documents name the stage and the supervisor arrangement but do not state how many weeks it lasts, how the stage is found, or whether it is paid. Arrange the stage through your university, confirm the supervisor requirements with the university and the Chambre, and do not rely on stage-duration figures from career sites, which the linked Chambre pages do not support.

Step 6: Complete Part 2 and the final case study

Part 2 of the program consists of 5 professional training days offered in hybrid format, combining self-learning and consolidation activities at a distance with laboratory activities in person, and continues the acquisition of professional-law knowledge and professional skills, including organizational and business aptitudes. Admission to Part 2 requires having successfully passed the Order examination and holding a master degree in notarial law or a letter of accomplishment issued by the university. The second part of the training deals with office management and marketing of professional services, Module 2.

The last evaluation of the program is a practical case in professional law. Admission requires having passed the Order examination and holding the master degree in notarial law or a letter of accomplishment from the university. The evaluation comprises three steps: a written opinion on a case study in professional law, followed by an oral test and, where applicable, the drafting of an addendum providing additional information. The candidate must provide the written opinion to the Order within 30 days following the opening of the case study. The candidate has a right to a second attempt if the case study is failed, and a candidate who fails the case study at the second attempt has no further right to repeat and is disqualified from re-registering in the program. A review request may be made within 15 days of receiving a case study result, but no review request may be presented for failure of the case study retake.

Step 7: Prove knowledge of French and be sworn in

Before issuing a practice permit, the Order must verify that the candidate has knowledge of French appropriate to the practice of the profession, as required by section 35 of the Charter of the French language. A candidate is deemed to have the appropriate knowledge if they received, full time, no less than three years of secondary or post-secondary instruction provided in French, passed the fourth or fifth year secondary level examinations in French as the first language, or, from and after the 1985-86 school year, obtained a secondary school certificate in Quebec. In all other cases, the candidate must obtain a certificate issued by the Office québécois de la langue française or hold a certificate defined as equivalent by government regulation. The holder of a practice permit must maintain knowledge of French appropriate to the practice of the profession for as long as they hold the permit. If you do not meet one of the three deemed-knowledge conditions, arrange the French attestation early, since it is a precondition to the permit rather than a formality after it.

The final step is a collective swearing-in ceremony, the issuance of the permit, and registration on the roll of the Order. Before issuing the licence to practise and authorizing registration on the roll, the Chambre des notaires ensures that candidates possess the morals, conduct, competency and qualities required to exercise the notarial profession. Private swearing-in ceremonies are possible for candidates who are not eligible for the swearing-in ceremony organized by the Chambre or who prefer not to attend. Once registered, you practise as a notary in Quebec under the Chambre's rules, including its professional training, ethics, and inspection framework.

Figures and details not verified on the official pages

No total pathway duration, master degree duration, stage duration, program fee, examination fee, or permit fee is stated on the linked Chambre des notaires du Québec pages used for this guide, and none is stated here. The linked pages also do not state the steps for a person who graduated in law outside Quebec, the salary or income of a notary, or the availability of stage placements. Confirm the current schedule, fees, and any equivalence steps with the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the university before planning around a date, a budget, or a job. Duration, salary, and fee figures from career sites were not used.

Related guides:

• How to Become a Notary in Canada
• How to Become a Lawyer in Canada
• Licensed Occupations in Quebec — every verified licence and credential in Quebec, with the regulator that issues it

Sources

• Chambre des notaires du Québec, Pathway to the profession for persons who graduated in Quebec or at the University of Ottawa — the bachelor degree institutions, the master degree in notarial law institutions, the January invitation and 30-credit admission rule for the Professional Training Program, the 10-day Part 1 and 5-day Part 2 training, the Order examination and practical case evaluations with two-attempt and disqualification rules, the review request time limits, the professional stage with a notary supervisor, the French knowledge requirements, and the collective swearing-in, permit issuance and roll registration step. February 2026.
• Chambre des notaires du Québec, Individuals who graduated from a Québec university or the University of Ottawa — the Professional Training Program objectives, the Part 1 topic list, the Order examination format and two-attempt rule, the stage, the Part 2 topic and admission conditions, the case study format and 30-day written opinion rule, the French knowledge verification and deemed-knowledge conditions, the morals, conduct, competency and qualities check before permit issuance, and the private swearing-in option.