Does Your Website Need to Be in French in Quebec?
Does a business selling in Quebec need a French version of its website?
Yes, if your business operates in Quebec or offers its products or services there. Quebec's Charter of the French Language requires commercial publications to be in French, and the province's language office says that includes websites and social media. You may add other languages, as long as the French version is at least as easy to reach.
Key takeaways
- Quebec's Charter of the French Language requires commercial documents made available to the public to be in French, whatever the medium.
- The Office says this includes websites and social media, and that other languages may be used alongside French.
- The French version must be at least equivalent to the other language and accessible on terms at least as favourable.
- The Office says it does not issue fines itself: Quebec's public prosecutor decides whether to prosecute, and the courts set any fine.
- For search, give each language its own address, write Quebec French for Quebec searches, and tag the pages fr-ca and en-ca.
In this guide
“Does my website need to be in French in Quebec?” has a legal half and a search half. This guide gives both: what Quebec's language office, the Office québécois de la langue française (the Office), publishes about websites, and how to build French pages that people find on Google. It is written for owners inside and outside Quebec, and it supports our SEO work for businesses in Canada.
Does my website need to be in French in Quebec? What the rule says
The rule is section 52 of the Charter of the French Language, Quebec's language law since 1977. In the copy the Office sends to businesses it says, in our translation, that whatever the medium, catalogues, brochures, leaflets, commercial directories, order forms and any other document of the same kind that are available to the public must be drawn up in French. It adds that nobody may make such a document available in another language unless the French version is accessible on terms at least as favourable.
Websites are not named in that sentence, so the Office spells it out. Its guide for businesses says the law now confirms that commercial documentation must be at least in French whatever the medium, websites and social networks included. The Office ties that confirmation to the changes made to the Charter on 1 June 2022. It links to the official text of the Charter from its Charter page.
The notice the Office sends to a business after a complaint about a website or social media account attaches the text of section 52 and says it is against the law to make a commercial publication available to the public there if it is not in French, or if its French version is not accessible on at least equivalent terms.
Which businesses do Quebec's French language website rules cover?
The Office uses two phrases: businesses that carry on activities in Quebec, and businesses that offer products or services in Quebec.
| Your situation | What the Office says |
|---|---|
| Your business is established in Quebec | Your website and social media must be available in French. They may be in another language as well. |
| You offer products or services in Quebec | Commercial publications on your website that are also meant for the Quebec public must be available in French, so that Quebec customers can read the product information and what they need in order to buy, such as conditions of sale and payment terms. |
| You operate in Quebec and also serve customers abroad | The Charter does not require you to communicate in French with your international customers. |
| You have no premises in Quebec and sell to Quebec customers online | The guides we read do not treat this case separately. Ask the Office before you decide. |
The last row is the one most readers outside Quebec care about, and we cannot settle it for you. How the Office's wording applies to a business with no presence in the province is a legal question. The Office takes questions through the contact form on its website and by phone at 514 873-6565, or 1 888 873-6202 toll-free within Quebec.
Can the website also be in English?
Yes. The Office says websites and social media must be available in French and may be in another language in addition. Two conditions come with that: the French version must be at least equivalent to the other one, and it must be accessible on terms at least as favourable.
The Office explains the second condition in its guide to social media: the customer must not have to make an extra effort, or change a setting, to reach the French version. Its page on consumer rights adds that customers are entitled to a complete French version of a business's website. Our reading, not the Office's words: a French section that covers only a few pages, or that hides behind a small link in the footer, is the set-up to avoid.
There are exceptions, which the Office says are set out in the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business. Check any exception with the Office before you rely on it.
What happens if a website is not in French?
The Office acts on complaints, and its first step is a letter. The notice it sends about a website says a complaint was received, asks the business to correct the situation, and describes itself as a first warning. It adds that the Office will take that warning into account if another complaint arrives.
The Office says it has no power to issue fines. Quebec's public prosecutor, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, decides whether to prosecute, and the courts can impose fines. The Office also says very few businesses are prosecuted. We give no fine amounts here: read them in the Charter itself or ask a lawyer.
French SEO in Quebec: how do English and French pages get found?
By giving each language its own pages and telling Google which is which. These six steps for English and French website SEO follow Google's guidance for sites in more than one language.
Six steps for an English and French website
- 1. Give each language its own address
Put French pages at their own addresses, such as example.ca/fr/. Google recommends a different address for each language version over switching the language with cookies or browser settings, because its crawler may not find versions served that way.
- 2. Keep one language per page
Google works out a page's language from the words visible on it, not from the code, and advises against side-by-side translations. Translate everything on the French page: menus, buttons, forms and the pages a customer passes through to buy.
- 3. Research French searches separately
French searches are not English ones translated. The Office's own guide writes “magasiner” for shopping, a word of Quebec French. Find the words Quebec customers type, then write the page around them. See multilingual keyword research and translation, localization and transcreation.
- 4. Let people switch, and do not redirect them
Put a visible link to the other language on every page. Google advises against automatically redirecting visitors from one language version to another. A language link that is always in view also keeps the French version easy to reach.
- 5. Tag each pair of pages
Add the tag that tells Google which language and country a page is for (hreflang): fr-ca on the French page and en-ca on the English one, each pointing to the other. Google says tags without a return link are ignored. What hreflang is and how to set it up shows the code.
- 6. Set up your Business Profile for Quebec customers
If you have a location in Quebec, claim and verify its Google Business Profile, and write the description, services and posts in French. Enter the business name once, as it appears on your sign: Google's guidelines list repeating the same name in several languages as not acceptable. How to set up and optimize a Google Business Profile covers the rest.
SEO for businesses in Canada, in English and French
We research French searches separately, plan and review French pages, and set up the tags so Google shows each person the right version. We do not advise on Quebec's language rules, and writing or translating full pages is priced separately.
See the serviceQuestions people ask about French websites in Quebec
Related serviceInternational SEO
A customer in Toronto and a customer in Sydney search in different words, compare you with different companies and expect local prices. We set up your website so each country has its own pages, and Google knows which one to show.
See the serviceCountries we work in
Is an automatic translation of my website enough?
The Office's test is the result, not the method. The French version must be at least equivalent to the other language, and its guidance on service says French information should be understandable without turning to another language. A machine translation nobody has checked can fail both. Have someone who writes Quebec French review every page.
Do my social media posts have to be in French too?
The Office says yes for commercial posts about products or services meant for the Quebec market, including videos and text placed inside images. If you run separate English and French accounts, it says whatever is published on the English account must be published at the same time in French.
Do I have to translate my business name or trademark?
No. The Office says a business is never asked to translate a trademark or a business name that is in another language, and that if a French version of the trademark exists it must be used. Signs on a building follow separate rules that require French to be markedly predominant.
Does the rule apply only to businesses above a certain size?
The Office's guidance on commercial publications gives no size threshold. The figure of 25 employees belongs to a different duty: the Office says businesses that employ 25 people or more must register with it and follow a process for making French their normal language of work, called francization.
See whether your French pages are being found.
Send us your website, and our free audit will show where you appear in French and in English in Quebec and what to fix first.
The authors
Who wrote and checked this guide
Written by
Jamiez Nguyen
Founder & CEO
Jamiez Nguyen founded Taskcover and leads strategy and client growth. He started it in 2017 as a team doing search work behind the scenes for other agencies, then opened it to businesses in the USA, Canada and Australia.
Reviewed by
John Edward
CTO
John Edward leads the technical side of Taskcover: how sites are built, how fast they load, and how search engines read them.
Updated Fact-checked About the people at Taskcover
Sources
Where the facts in this guide come from
Facts last checked on October 12, 2026.
- 1Plainte au sujet de publications de nature commerciale diffusées sur un site Web/média socialOffice québécois de la langue françaiseChecked on October 12, 2026
- 2Votre aide-mémoire pour faire des affaires en français au QuébecOffice québécois de la langue françaiseChecked on October 12, 2026
- 3Charte de la langue française : mythes et réalitéOffice québécois de la langue françaiseChecked on October 12, 2026
- 4Médias sociauxOffice québécois de la langue françaiseChecked on October 12, 2026
- 5Langue du commerce et des affaires : vos droits en tant que consommateur ou consommatriceOffice québécois de la langue françaiseChecked on October 12, 2026
- 6Langue de serviceOffice québécois de la langue françaiseChecked on October 12, 2026
- 7Official Languages Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.))Government of Canada, Justice Laws WebsiteChecked on October 12, 2026
- 8Managing Multi-Regional and Multilingual SitesGoogle Search CentralChecked on October 12, 2026
- 9Localized Versions of your PagesGoogle Search CentralChecked on October 12, 2026
- 10Guidelines for representing your business on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
