Bill 96 website requirements: does your site need to be in French?

If you sell products or services to customers in Quebec, your website has to be available in French. It does not have to be French only. Quebec's Charter of the French Language, as amended by Bill 96 in 2022, allows an English version (or any other language) as long as two conditions are met: French appears in at least an equivalent way, and the French version is accessible on terms at least as favourable as the other one. Put simply, a Quebec customer should never have to work harder to read your site in French than in English. A lot of the confusion online comes from mixing up the website rules with the separate rules for storefront signs. This article sorts them out, using the Office québécois de la langue française's (OQLF) own guidance.

Who this applies to

The rule follows your customers, not your head office. In its "myths and realities" guide to the Charter, the OQLF writes that as soon as a business makes its products or services available in Quebec, they must be accessible in French. That includes the information a customer needs to buy: terms of sale, payment terms, delivery details.

So a Toronto e-commerce store that ships to Montréal, a Calgary software company with Quebec subscribers and a Vermont contractor bidding on Quebec jobs all need to think about this. A business with no Quebec customers and no intention of selling there doesn't.

What the law requires, in plain terms

The OQLF treats websites and social media pages as "commercial documentation," like invoices, catalogues and brochures. Its quick guide for businesses states that commercial documentation must be at least in French on any medium, which includes websites and social media. Another language is allowed if French appears in at least an equivalent way and the French version is available on terms at least as favourable.

Two further points from the OQLF surprise many business owners:

• Third-party content counts. Responsibility for publishing content in French belongs to whoever makes it available to the public. A supplier's spec sheet, a partner's video or an embedded widget on your site is your responsibility.
• English is not banned. Asked whether websites of businesses established in Quebec must be only in French, the OQLF's answer is no.

What "equally favourable terms" means in practice

The OQLF explains the idea in its social media guide, and the same logic carries over to websites: a customer shouldn't need to make an extra effort or take an extra step to reach the French version. If they have to change a setting to get it, the French version isn't on equally favourable terms. For bilingual social accounts, the OQLF adds that anything published in English must be published in French at the same time.

The word that matters is "equivalent": the same content, published at the same time.

"Predominance" is a signage rule, not a website rule

You'll often read that French must be "predominant" on a website. That mixes up two different rules. Marked predominance applies to public signage: storefront signs, window displays, posters. Since June 1, 2025, it also covers trademarks in another language that are visible from outside a business premises, where among other things the French text must be at least twice the size. The OQLF's page on this covers physical signs and displays, not websites.

On your website, the standard is equivalence. Your English version can be just as polished and complete as the French one, provided the reverse is also true.

The pages businesses forget

A site can look bilingual on the surface and still miss obligations in the corners:

• Terms of use and terms of sale. These are usually contracts of adhesion. Since June 1, 2023, the French version must be provided before the customer agrees; only after receiving it can a customer choose to be bound by a version in another language.
• Careers pages. Job postings are communications to staff and must be at least in French. Requiring knowledge of a language other than French for a role needs a justification, and the posting must state the reason.
• Automated emails. Order confirmations, appointment reminders and receipts are commercial documentation too.
• Forms and error messages. "Required field" on the French version of a form is a half-translated page.
• Downloadable PDFs. Spec sheets, menus, catalogues.
• Chat widgets and AI assistants. A bot that answers only in English on the French site has the same problem as an untranslated page. Serving customers in French is mandatory at all times.

The exceptions

The OQLF lists narrow cases where content can stay in another language only: material aimed exclusively at members of a particular ethnic group, cultural or educational products in that language, and conventions or fairs aimed at a specialized audience or one from outside Quebec. Non-profit religious, political, ideological or humanitarian messages are also excluded.

A recognized trademark in another language can be used as-is in commercial publications, unless a French version of the mark exists, in which case the French version must appear too.

"Most of our customers speak English" is not an exception.

What happens if your site doesn't comply

Usually, a complaint. Anyone can file one with the OQLF, which then contacts the business to fix the problem; by its own description, its approach relies on support rather than punishment. The OQLF doesn't issue fines itself. The Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions decides whether to prosecute, and courts impose fines. The OQLF also notes that very few businesses are prosecuted.

For most businesses the real cost is the scramble: a rushed translation, a site rebuild under pressure, and customers who noticed. There's also a commercial case. According to the OQLF, three-quarters of Quebecers prefer to shop and look for information online in French. If you're spending money on ads in Quebec, an English-first site is leaving money on the table regardless of the law.

A quick checklist

1. Does every English page have a complete French equivalent?
2. Is the language switcher visible, in the same place, on every page?
3. Does new content go live in both languages on the same day?
4. Do your terms of sale and terms of use exist in French?
5. Are forms, automated emails and error messages translated?
6. Do PDFs and videos have French versions or subtitles?
7. Does your chat or AI assistant answer in French?
8. Are job postings in French?

Any "no" is where to start.

How PNE builds for it

We design sites in French and English from the start rather than translating after launch. For DC Maintenance, a commercial and industrial cleaning company operating in Quebec since 1990, we rebuilt a 2014 site into 28 pages generated in both languages, with proper hreflang so each market ranks on its own. See our website design service for how we approach bilingual builds.

This article summarizes the OQLF's public guidance. It isn't legal advice; for a specific situation, check with the OQLF or a lawyer.

Sources

• Votre aide-mémoire pour faire des affaires en français au Québec — Office québécois de la langue française
• Charte de la langue française : mythes et réalité — Office québécois de la langue française
• Médias sociaux (guide) — Office québécois de la langue française
• Affichage des marques de commerce et des noms d'entreprises — Office québécois de la langue française
• Obligations des entreprises — Office québécois de la langue française