Bilingual websites and Law 96 — the actual rule

You will read everywhere that, since Law 96, French must be "markedly predominant" on a website. That is not the rule that applies to websites. That test covers public signs and commercial advertising. For a website the rule is different, and easier to meet.

This guide gives the rule, the section that carries it, and what it means when you build a site. It is not legal advice. References are to the Charter of the French language and its regulation on the language of commerce and business.

The rule for a website

Catalogues, brochures, folders, and "any other documents of the same nature", whatever the medium, must be drawn up in French. Another language is allowed on one condition: the French version must be available on terms at least as favourable (s. 52).

The Office québécois de la langue française states that this includes websites and social media. Its summary for consumers speaks of a right to a complete French version of the website.

You may have two separate versions, one French and one English, provided the French one is no less accessible and of no lesser quality (regulation, s. 10).

In one sentence: everything that exists in English must exist in French, as easy to find and as well made.

"Markedly predominant": not for websites

The "markedly predominant" test applies to public signs and posters and to commercial advertising (s. 58). The regulation measures it: French must take up at least twice as much space.

The Office treats websites under section 52, so under the equivalence rule, not the predominance rule. Nothing requires you to set French twice as large as English on a page.

One area stays uncertain: online ads (banners, paid social posts). I found no official source that settles which of the two rules applies. If you run a lot of paid advertising, ask a lawyer.

What changed on 1 June 2025

Two rules came into force that day.

• On signs visible from outside premises, French must be markedly predominant even when a trademark in another language appears (s. 58.1).
• On a product, generic or descriptive terms within a trademark must appear in French (s. 51.1), with a transition period to 1 June 2027.

Neither provision mentions websites. If you were sold a redesign "to comply with June 2025", ask which section it was for.

Contracts online

For a contract of adhesion, the French version must be provided first. The parties may then expressly choose another language, and no fee may be charged for the French version (s. 55).

The Charter does not name online terms and conditions. But if your site has a Québec customer accept terms before a purchase or a booking, present them in French first. That is the careful reading.

Who enforces it, and at what cost

The Office receives complaints, including anonymous ones (s. 165.15). It may issue an order after at least 15 days' notice (s. 177).

The fine is for failing to comply with the order: $3,000 to $30,000 for a business, $700 to $7,000 for an individual (s. 205). It doubles, then triples, on repeat offences (s. 207), and each day counts as a separate offence (s. 208.0.1).

So the section 205 fine is aimed at a business that does not comply with the order. The risk is not theoretical, though: in 2025 the Office announced a conviction over a website offered only in English (in French).

Two exemptions people think they have

• "I am a small business." The 25-employee threshold concerns francization programs, not the language of your website.
• "My site mostly targets outside Québec." The regulation has no express exception for websites. If you have an establishment in Québec and Québec customers, assume the rule applies.

What it means when you build the site

"At least as accessible" is checked page by page.

• Every page exists in French. Not only the home page: service pages, product pages, the blog if you keep one in English.
• French is not hidden. A Québec visitor lands on the French version or reaches it in one click, from any page.
• The quality is the same. Machine translation pasted over an English site, with buttons left in English and awkward sentences, is a version "of lesser quality".
• The forgotten parts are translated. Form error messages, confirmation emails, the 404 page, the privacy policy, the terms of sale.
• Social media follows. The commercial content you post must be available in French.

Two well-structured versions also help Google: one address per language, and tags that say which one to serve to whom. That is not a Charter requirement; it is what makes a francophone land on the French page.

Checklist

• Every English page has its French equivalent
• The language switcher is visible on every page
• No button, error message, or automatic email is left in English on the French version
• The privacy policy and the terms exist in French
• Terms to accept are presented in French first
• Commercial posts on social media are available in French

Sources

• Charter of the French language (C-11), LégisQuébec
• Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business (C-11, r. 9), LégisQuébec
• Checklist: doing business in French, Office québécois de la langue française (in French)
• Language of commerce and business: your rights, Office québécois de la langue française (in French)
• Legislative changes, Office québécois de la langue française (in French)

I build sites as two real versions from the start, because adding the second one later costs more than planning for it. The price of an additional language is on the pricing page.