Bill 96 — officially known as An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec — is the most significant update to Quebec's language laws in nearly 50 years. If you own or operate a business in Quebec with a website, an online store, or any digital presence, this law directly affects you. Here is a plain-language guide to what it requires, what has already come into effect, and what you need to do before your next site update.

What Is Bill 96?

Bill 96 amends the Charter of the French Language (commonly called Bill 101) to strengthen French as the official language of Quebec in public life, business, and commerce. It received royal assent in June 2022 and introduced a phased rollout of requirements, most of which are now in effect.

The law applies to businesses operating in Quebec — including businesses based outside Quebec that actively target Quebec consumers. The rules cover physical signage, employee communications, contracts, job postings, and critically for 2026, your website and online commercial presence.

Does Bill 96 Apply to Your Website?

Yes — if your business operates in Quebec or actively markets to Quebec consumers, your website falls under the scope of the law.

The key principle is that French must be available and at least as prominent as any other language on any commercial publication aimed at Quebec consumers. This includes:

Your main business website (homepage, service pages, about page, contact page)
Your online store and all product pages
Checkout flows and transactional pages
Menus, navigation labels and buttons
Contact forms and automated email responses
Digital advertising targeting Quebec residents
Mobile apps offered to Quebec users

What Specifically Must Be in French?

Website Content

Any website operated by a Quebec business and aimed at a Quebec audience must offer a French version. The French version must be at least as prominent as the English version — meaning you cannot bury a small "FR" link at the bottom of the page while leading with English throughout.

In practice, this means:

Your homepage and all core pages must have complete French translations (not just placeholder text)
Navigation menus must be in French or bilingual with French equally visible
Your primary call-to-action buttons, forms and conversion elements must be available in French
Product descriptions, pricing, terms and conditions and privacy policies must exist in French

E-commerce Specifics

For online stores, the requirements are more detailed. Every product offered for sale to Quebec customers must have:

A French product name and description
French-language labelling information where applicable
French checkout flow including error messages and confirmation emails
French-language customer service options (email, chat, phone)

What About Companies Outside Quebec?

If a company is headquartered outside Quebec but actively targets Quebec consumers — through advertising, French-language content, or Quebec-specific pricing — the law's commercial publication requirements apply to them as well. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) has indicated it will prioritize enforcement against businesses serving Quebec consumers regardless of where those businesses are incorporated.

What Has Already Come Into Effect?

Bill 96 was implemented in phases. Here is where things stand in 2026:

June 2022: Law received royal assent. Initial requirements for government and public sector bodies took effect immediately.
June 2023: Requirements for businesses with 25 or more employees strengthened. Employees gained explicit rights to work in French. Contracts and commercial agreements must be in French.
June 2025: Requirements extended to businesses with fewer than 25 employees. Websites and commercial publications facing Quebec consumers must comply with French language visibility requirements.
Ongoing 2026: OQLF actively receiving and investigating complaints. Businesses found non-compliant face formal warnings followed by financial penalties.

What Are the Penalties for Non-Compliance?

The OQLF handles complaints and enforcement. Penalties for non-compliant businesses include:

Written warnings and compliance orders (most common first step)
Fines ranging from $3,000 to $30,000 per violation for businesses
Fines of up to $100,000 for organizations
Repeat violations result in higher fines and public disclosure of non-compliance

The OQLF processes complaints — meaning any Quebec consumer or competitor can file a complaint about your website's language practices. For businesses that depend on Quebec customers, the reputational risk of a public compliance notice is often more damaging than the fine itself.

Bill 96 Website Compliance Checklist

Use this checklist to assess your current website's compliance:

Must Have - French version of every page that exists in English - French version at least as visible and accessible as English (no hidden FR links) - French product names, descriptions and pricing for all items sold to Quebec consumers - French checkout flow, cart text, confirmation emails and order notifications - French privacy policy and terms of service - French contact form labels and error messages - French navigation menus and button labels - French meta titles and descriptions (Google sees these too)

Strongly Recommended - Separate French URLs (e.g., /fr/about instead of ?lang=fr) — better for SEO and compliance clarity - Automatic language detection defaulting to French for Quebec-based visitors - French customer service contact options (email response in French within a reasonable timeframe) - French-language social media presence if you use social to market to Quebec

Common Mistakes to Fix - Machine-translated French that is grammatically incorrect or unnatural — OQLF evaluators are native speakers - English text visible in images that do not have French equivalents - Checkout flows that switch languages mid-process - Terms and conditions that exist only in English - Privacy policy that references English-only data practices

Why This Is Also an SEO Opportunity

Beyond compliance, properly implementing a French version of your website with real /fr/ URLs is one of the highest-ROI SEO moves a Quebec business can make. French-language keywords for local searches — "agence web Laval," "prix site web Québec," "développeur WordPress Montréal" — have real search volume and significantly less competition than their English equivalents. A fully indexed French site with Quebec French content can capture this traffic that your competitors are missing.

At MTL Digital Lab, every website we build is structured with separate French URLs, hreflang tags, and Quebec French content — not machine translation. If your current site uses a JavaScript-only language toggle (where the same URL shows different text), Google cannot index the French version and you are getting none of the SEO benefit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Bill 96 apply to my small Laval business with a simple 5-page website?

Yes. As of June 2025, businesses of all sizes serving Quebec consumers are subject to the commercial publication requirements. A 5-page website that is English-only is non-compliant if it is aimed at Quebec customers.

Can I just use Google Translate on my website to comply?

No. Automated translations do not meet the quality standard expected under the law. The OQLF expects professionally written or reviewed Quebec French. Machine translation that produces obvious errors signals bad faith and will not protect you from a complaint.

What if I offer French as an option but English is the default?

This is a grey area. The law requires French to be at least as prominent as English, which means French should be equally visible and accessible — not buried in a footer link while the entire site leads with English. The safest approach is to default to French for Quebec-based visitors and make language switching equally visible.

We are rebuilding our site — should we build bilingual from the start?

Yes — and this is far cheaper than retrofitting bilingualism to an existing site. A website built with bilingual architecture from day one (separate URL paths, translation-ready CMS structure) costs modestly more than a single-language site but avoids the expensive rework required to add French to an existing English site later.

If your website needs to be brought into Bill 96 compliance, or if you are building a new site and want to get the bilingual structure right from the beginning, contact MTL Digital Lab for a free consultation. We build all sites bilingual-ready, and we know Quebec French — not machine-translated French.

Bill 96 and Your Website: French Language Requirements for Quebec Businesses (2026 Guide)