Solemnization of Civil Marriages

If you wish to marry in a civil ceremony, you may ask the mayor to act as officiant authorized to solemnize your marriage. Every year, dozens of civil weddings are performed at city hall or other venues.

• Requirements and conditions

  A preparation meeting with the future husband and wife is necessary to:

  • complete various forms;
  • verify the documents required which the future husband and wife have brought with them:
    • birth certificate;
    • identity documents with your photo (health insurance card, driver’s license or passport);
    • Canadian citizenship card or passport (if the person is not a Canadian citizen at birth);
    • attestation of marital status:
      • for single people: no document is required;
      • for widows or widowers: death certificate or deed;
      • for divorced people: divorce certificate or judgment;
  • provide the name of two witnesses of the marriage;
  • receive all information on the procedure on getting married.

  Minimum 30 day waiting period

  Please note that a minimum 30-day waiting period must be observed between the preparation meeting and the chosen date for the wedding ceremony.  This waiting period is necessary because after receiving the documents, the Directeur de l’état civil must publish notice of marriage on the website for 20 days.

• Procedure

  The future husband and wife must:

  • make an appointment for a preparation meeting in one of the following ways:
    • By email
      By writing to the Direction du greffe et du contentieux, in charge of marriages, at greffe@ville.chateauguay.qc.ca.
    • By phone
      You can contact us by phone at: 450 698-3000
      Monday to Thursday: 8.30 a.m. to noon and 1.15 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
      Friday: 8.30 a.m. to noon
  • go to City Hall on the agreed date and time;
• Tariff

  The fees for civil marriages are established by the ministère de la Justice du Québec and are indexed on January 1^st of each year. To find out what these fees are, we invite you to consult the Tariff of Court Costs – Civil marriage on the Ministère’s website.

  For 2022, the fees are as follows:

  For a wedding held at city hall

  $291 plus tax

  For a wedding held at a venue other than city hall

  $387 plus tax