Bill 96 and your website: what Quebec businesses need to know in 2026

What is Bill 96 (Law 96), exactly?

Bill 96, which most people now call Law 96 (you will also see Law 14, its chapter number once passed), received assent on June 1, 2022. It does not replace the Charter of the French Language (the famous “Bill 101”): it amends and strengthens it. Most of its changes took effect in 2022, and others were phased in, notably on June 1, 2023 and June 1, 2025, according to the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF).

For a business, the Charter covers two main areas: the language of work (your employees) and the language of commerce and business (your customers). Your website falls under the second. And these obligations apply regardless of company size: even a freelancer or a small neighbourhood shop is covered.

Does my website have to be in French?

Yes. A business operating in Quebec must offer its website in French. The OQLF puts it this way: the Charter's rules apply, with the necessary adaptations, to content published on the internet. In practice, a consumer has the right to access a complete French version of a business's website.

That doesn't mean English is banned. Your site can also exist in English (or any other language), as long as French is there on at least an equivalent basis: the same information has to be available in French. The main legal basis is section 52 of the Charter, which covers catalogues, brochures, folders and similar publications, and which the OQLF applies to websites.

Worth knowing: according to the law firm McCarthy Tétrault, Bill 96 did not materially change the requirement to have a website available in French. An English-only site wasn't compliant before June 1, 2025 either. What changed is mostly how visible the issue has become, and the number of complaints.

Does French have to be “predominant” on my website?

This is a common mix-up. The “markedly predominant” rule applies to public signs and commercial advertising (storefront signs, posters, ads). For website content, the general rule is equivalence: the French version must be complete and at least as accessible as the version in another language.

In practice, “equivalent” means no stripped-down French version, no translated home page with everything else in English, and no “FR” link tucked away in the footer. Secondary pages count too: terms of use, privacy policy, FAQ, product pages, error messages and automated emails. Many practitioners recommend showing French by default to visitors in Quebec, but the sources we consulted do not make a French home page an explicit requirement; it is a good practice that lowers the risk of a complaint.

Be careful with ad banners, images containing text and promotional visuals on your site: if they are commercial advertising, the prudent approach is to apply the same logic as for signage and give French at least equal, if not greater, prominence.

What changed on June 1, 2025?

According to the OQLF, two major changes took effect on that date. They mostly affect physical signage and products, but they have ripple effects on how your brand shows up online.

• Exterior signage: when a trademark in another language is displayed on the outside of a building, French must be markedly predominant. According to the law firm Smart & Biggar, this means, among other things, that the space given to the French text is at least twice as large as the space given to the other language.
• Trademarks on products: generic or descriptive terms included in a trademark must now appear in French on the product. The product name and the business name can stay in another language when the trademark is recognized and no French version has been registered.
• Transition period: until June 1, 2027, certain products manufactured before June 1, 2025 can remain on sale without this translation, under certain conditions (OQLF).
• Francization: since June 1, 2025, businesses that employ 25 or more people in Quebec for six months must register with the OQLF (the threshold used to be 50).

Do my online terms and conditions have to be in French?

If you sell online, your terms and conditions are usually contracts of adhesion (the customer accepts them without negotiating). Since June 1, 2023, the OQLF indicates that a French version of a contract of adhesion must be given to the customer before a version in another language can be offered.

For an e-commerce site, that means your terms of sale, return policy and related documents must be available in French and presented in French first. Invoices, order confirmations and transactional emails should follow the same logic, since customers have the right to be informed and served in French before, during and after a purchase.

What are the Bill 96 fines if my website isn't compliant?

Anyone can file a complaint with the OQLF. Usually, the Office first contacts the business to get the issue corrected. If the problem persists, the file can lead to penal proceedings.

According to Smart & Biggar, since Bill 96, fines range from $700 to $7,000 per offence for an individual and from $3,000 to $30,000 for a business. They are doubled for a first repeat offence and tripled after that, and each day an offence continues can count as a separate offence. The same firm notes that a significant share of the fines imposed by the Court of Québec involve non-compliant websites: your website is one of the most closely watched items.

Bill 96 website checklist: is my bilingual site compliant?

Here are the points to review with your team or your web provider. It's a good starting point, but for a specific situation (trademarks, packaging, a regulated industry), talk to a lawyer.

• Every page exists in French, with the same content as the English version.
• The language switcher is visible at the top of every page, and ideally French displays by default for visitors in Quebec.
• Legal pages (terms, privacy policy, returns) are in French.
• Forms, buttons, error messages and automated emails are translated.
• Product pages, descriptions and downloadable PDFs have a French version.
• Banners and promotional images with text give French at least as much space.
• Third-party widgets (chat, booking, payment) display in French.
• Someone is responsible for keeping both versions in sync with every update.

How do I keep a bilingual website up to date without losing my evenings?

The real challenge isn't launching a bilingual site, it's keeping both versions equivalent over time. The classic traps: a promo added in English only, a service page nobody translated, an auto-translate plugin that turns out clumsy French. A structure designed for two languages from day one (separate URLs like /en and /fr, paired content, hreflang tags) makes maintenance much easier and helps your search rankings too.

At Situs Digital, we build fast, bilingual websites in Montréal and Lausanne, designed from the start to meet the Charter's requirements, with French written for Quebec readers. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your current site, we're happy to chat.