Bill 96 is Quebec’s 2022 overhaul of its French language law, officially titled An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec. It significantly expanded the Charter of the French Language, which has governed language use in the province since 1977, by tightening rules on workplace language, commercial signage, contracts, education, and government services. The law also amended Canada’s Constitution to declare that Quebecers form a nation and that French is Quebec’s only official language, and the Quebec government pre-emptively invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield the law from most Charter of Rights challenges.
Royal assent came on June 1, 2022, and the obligations rolled out in phases, with the final major wave taking effect on June 1, 2025.1Assemblée nationale du Québec. Bill 96, An Act Respecting French, the Official and Common Language of Quebec
What Changed for Businesses
Before Bill 96, the Charter’s workplace rules mainly applied to businesses with 50 or more employees. Bill 96 dropped the threshold to 25, pulling thousands of smaller businesses into the regulatory framework.
As of June 1, 2025, Quebec businesses with 25 to 49 employees must register with the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) within six months of reaching that headcount. The OQLF then analyzes how widely French is used across the business. If it is satisfied, it issues a francization certificate. If not, the business has to develop and carry out a francization program to increase French use.
Businesses with 100 or more employees face a stricter requirement: a francization committee that meets at least every six months and submits minutes to the OQLF. The OQLF can also require smaller businesses to form a committee if it finds French is not sufficiently used.
Since June 1, 2022, newly created job application forms, documents describing conditions of employment, and training materials have had to be available in French. Where a bilingual version exists, the French version must be offered on terms at least as favourable. Employers with English-only employment agreements predating Bill 96 had until June 1, 2023 to provide French translations upon employee request.
Rules for Signs, Trademarks, and Packaging
The signage rules changed most dramatically on June 1, 2025. French must be markedly predominant on public signs, posters, and commercial advertising in Quebec, not merely present alongside other languages.
Trademarks are where many businesses have run into trouble. A non-French trademark displayed on exterior signage must now be accompanied by French descriptive terms, a generic term, or a slogan so that French predominates overall. A store cannot simply display an English brand name alone on its storefront. The same principle extends to product packaging: generic or descriptive non-French words on products, containers, or packaging must be translated into French, even when they form part of a federally registered trademark. Usage instructions engraved or printed on products also need a French version.
Contracts, Websites, and Customer Service
Since June 1, 2023, contracts of adhesion — the standard-form contracts consumers encounter regularly, such as insurance policies, phone service agreements, and software terms of service — must be drafted in French. A business can offer another language version, but only after first presenting the French version. If the consumer declines the French version, the business must document that refusal.
Businesses with a physical presence in Quebec that sell to Quebec consumers must maintain a French version of their website that is at least as complete and favourable as any other language version. That does not necessarily mean translating every page of a global site, but the products and services available to Quebec consumers must be presented in French. Social media posts and online advertising aimed at Quebec consumers must give French predominant placement. When a consumer contacts a business in French, the business has to respond in French.
Contracts with the civil administration — Quebec government ministries and agencies — must also be drafted in French, with limited exceptions.
Education and Government Services
Bill 96 reaches beyond business. English-language CEGEPs (Quebec’s post-secondary colleges) now face a cap limiting English-stream enrollment to 17.5% of the total CEGEP student population province-wide. Admissions priority goes to students holding an English eligibility certificate, generally available to those whose parents received English-language education in Canada. All students at English-language CEGEPs must take additional French courses or complete some program courses in French to graduate, and students without an English eligibility certificate must also pass the Épreuve uniforme de français to earn their diploma.
In government, French is now the exclusive language of the civil administration, with narrow exceptions for health and safety, dealings with Indigenous communities, and other situations recognized in the Charter. Immigrants receive a six-month grace period after arrival during which officials may communicate in another language when circumstances require it; after that, government communication shifts to French.
Penalties for Violations
Bill 96 substantially raised the financial consequences of breaking the Charter. Fines run from $700 to $7,000 for individuals and $3,000 to $30,000 for businesses and other legal entities. Second offences double those amounts, and any offence beyond the second triples them.
Two features sharpen the structure. Every day a violation continues counts as a separate offence, so an uncorrected signage problem can stack fines quickly. And a court can impose an additional fine up to the full financial benefit the offender gained from the violation, on top of the maximum regular fine.
The OQLF enforces the Charter. It handles complaints, conducts inspections, carries out investigations, issues compliance orders, and refers cases for prosecution.2Gouvernement du Québec. Modernization of the Charter of the French Language
When Each Piece Took Effect
- June 1, 2022: Constitutional amendment, workplace rules for newly created employment documents, increased penalties, and the notwithstanding clause invocation.
- June 1, 2023: French-first rules for contracts of adhesion, and the deadline for translating pre-existing English-only employment agreements on request.
- June 1, 2025: Francization obligations for businesses with 25 to 49 employees, OQLF registration, and the stricter signage and trademark rules.
The Constitutional Piece
Bill 96 unilaterally amended the Constitution Act, 1867 by adding provisions under the heading “Fundamental Characteristics of Quebec” declaring that Quebecers form a nation and that French is the province’s only official language and common language. Quebec relied on Section 45 of the Constitution Act, 1982, which lets a province amend its own constitutional provisions without federal approval.
The Quebec government also pre-emptively invoked the notwithstanding clause (Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) to shield the entire law from challenges based on fundamental freedoms and legal rights. Courts cannot strike down Bill 96’s provisions on grounds like freedom of expression while the override is in effect, and the government must renew the declaration every five years to maintain it. For businesses weighing their compliance risk, that detail matters: the usual avenue of challenging a provincial law in court on Charter grounds is largely closed for now.