Real Estate 101

The Notary in Quebec, Step by Step

By Georges Matar · August 4, 2026 · 7 min read

Many buyers arriving from another province or another country expect to close with a lawyer. In Quebec, you close with a notary. And the notary’s work starts the day your promise to purchase is accepted, not on signing day. Here is what the notary does, in what order, and what can hold everything up.

Why you cannot skip the notary

For the mortgage, it is the law. Article 2693 of the Civil Code of Québec requires an immovable hypothec, the Quebec term for a mortgage on real estate, to be made by notarial act en minute, on pain of absolute nullity. If you are financing, you go through a notary, no exceptions.

For the sale, it is the contract and the practice. The mandatory OACIQ promise to purchase, the form your broker uses, provides that the deed of sale is signed before a notary. It is an authentic act, hard to contest, and the notary keeps the original.

A public officer, not your lawyer

Under the Notaries Act, a notary is a public officer. The notary must verify the identity and capacity of the parties, make sure their consent is free and informed, advise them and act impartially toward them.

The notary advises the buyer, the lender and the seller without taking sides, and does not negotiate for you: that is your broker’s job. And since June 10, 2022, the same broker can no longer represent both the buyer and the seller in a residential transaction.

Who chooses the notary, and who pays for what

This is not a rule of law but a matter of agreement between the parties and custom. The OACIQ promise to purchase provides that the buyer chooses the notary and pays for the deed of sale, its publication and the hypothec deed. There are exceptions, such as new construction where the builder requires its own notary.

The seller pays their own costs: discharging their mortgage, the checks needed to deliver clear title, and the certificate of location, which the seller must provide.

Notary fees follow no fixed tariff and vary with the file: condo, plex, several buyers, deeds in English. Ask for a written quote, then add that amount to the closing costs calculator.

My advice: pick your notary before you sign the promise to purchase, so their name goes on it from day one.

From accepted offer to signing

1. Conditions. Inspection and financing are cleared within the deadlines in the promise. If you do not show proof of financing in time, the seller can require a new loan application or declare the promise null. For the inspection, see what it costs and when to do it.

2. Lender instructions. Once your loan is approved, your lender sends its instructions to the notary: amount, conditions, required documents, including proof of home insurance.

3. Title examination. At the Quebec land registry, the Registre foncier du Québec, the notary traces the chain of sales to confirm the seller owns the property and has the right to sell it. The notary also looks for anything that could limit your right: a hypothec, a seizure, a judgment, a servitude, unpaid taxes.

4. Certificate of location. Prepared by a land surveyor, the certificat de localisation describes the current physical and legal state of the property. The notary checks the lot dimensions, where the buildings sit, zoning compliance, encroachments, servitudes and flood zones. The Chambre des notaires treats a certificate under 10 years old as an essential criterion, but even a recent one can be out of date: a pool or an extension added since can justify requiring a new one.

5. Adjustments. The notary prorates, to the day, what the seller has prepaid: municipal taxes (January 1 to December 31), school tax (July 1 to June 30), condo fees, heating oil, rents in a plex. The OACIQ’s example: signing on June 1, taxes paid for the year, you reimburse the seller for municipal taxes from June to December and school tax for June.

6. Trust account. Your down payment, fees and adjustments must be deposited in the notary’s trust account before signing. The notary checks where the money comes from and makes sure the deposit is irrevocable. According to Éducaloi, this clearing period can run up to 10 business days. Transfer early, and if the money comes from abroad, keep the statements that show its origin.

Signing: two appointments, not one

A purchase is usually signed in two steps: the hypothec deed first, then the deed of sale a few days later, with the seller. The notary reads and explains each deed, so ask your questions.

You become the owner when the deed of sale is signed. Keys are usually handed over that day, unless the promise sets a later occupancy date.

What to bring: the ID your notary asked for and the proof of home insurance your lender requires. The money should already be in trust.

For newcomers: you can sign in English, but publication at the land registry requires French, and the official translation adds time. Remote signing remains exceptional, at the notary’s discretion.

Publication and release of funds

After each signing, the notary publishes the deed at the land registry, which takes about two to three days according to Éducaloi. Publication makes your right enforceable against third parties.

Once the sale is published, the notary checks that no other right was registered in the meantime. Only then are the seller’s mortgage, the broker’s commission and any accounts tied to the property paid, and the balance released to the seller. That is the whole point of the trust account: the seller receives nothing until the property’s debts are settled.

Signing date and occupancy date

The promise sets both, and they can differ by a few days or a few months. If the seller stays after signing, they pay you the monthly compensation set in the promise, which is not rent, and keep paying for energy and maintenance.

The deed date is written as “on or before”: it is not a strict deadline, but a delay can cause a serious dispute. If you are leaving a rental, keep a margin before booking movers.

What delays a closing

Slow financing. No lender instructions, no hypothec deed.
A certificate of location that is out of date or reveals a problem. Encroachment, non-compliance: it has to be fixed, negotiated or redone, and the surveyor needs time.
A charge on the title. A contractor’s legal hypothec, a judgment, unpaid taxes: it has to be paid off or cancelled.
A slow condo syndicate. A condo buyer inherits the seller’s unpaid common expenses (article 1069 of the Civil Code). So the notary asks the syndicate for a statement of common expenses, and everything waits on the answer.
Funds not yet cleared, or documents sent at the last minute. Ask your notary for the full list at your first contact.

After signing

The notary gives you certified copies of the deeds and sends a final report to your lender.

A few months later, the municipality sends you the welcome tax bill, usually payable within 30 days. The notary does not collect it at signing. Work it out now with the welcome tax calculator, and read the real cost of buying your first home for the full budget.

Title insurance is optional. According to the Autorité des marchés financiers, owner’s title insurance is not mandatory. Paid as a one-time premium, it can cover a title defect, fraud or certain unknown encroachments, but not latent defects. Ask your notary whether your file justifies it.

Your promise to purchase was just accepted and you want to know what to prepare for the notary? Reach out and we will go through your file, step by step.