There are several conditions to be met to get married in Quebec. Whether for a civil marriage or a religious marriage, the prospective spouses must respect conditions of age, absence of kinship, marital ties, consent and attendance at the ceremony.
The legal age for getting married in Quebec
The legal age for marriage is 18 years. However, it is possible to get marriage from 16 years old with the court’s authorization.
Family ties for marriage
It is forbidden to get married to:
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- a biological or adoptive brother or sister
- a biological or adoptive half-brother or half-sister
- a biological or adoptive parent or child
- a brother or sister of the parents
These prohibitions are motivated by moral and physiological reasons.
It is however possible to marry a cousin or a person who is a relative by marriage, such as a former brother-in-law, a former sister-in-law, an ex-spouse of an uncle or aunt.
Matrimonial relationships to get married
To get married, the prospective spouses must be free from any previous marriage relationship. The prospective spouses must therefore be, before their marriage, unmarried, divorced or widowed.
Consent to the marriage
Getting married must be a choice that is freely and knowingly made. To get married, you must understand the legal effects and the obligations of marriage and not have been pressured or threatened to force you to marry. If this were the case, a person could oppose your marriage by taking a court action following publication of the marriage certificate. A person who has been subjected to pressure or who has been forced to get married can get an annulment of this marriage.
Presence of spouses at the marriage ceremony
It is impossible to get married by proxy or remotely in Quebec. The spouses must be physically present to consent to the marriage and to sign the marriage declaration.
