Law 25 Compliance for Dental Websites in Quebec: What You Need to Know

Quebec's Law 25 — formally known as An Act to Modernize Legislative Provisions as Regards the Protection of Personal Information (Bill 64) — is one of North America's most comprehensive privacy laws. For dental clinics in Quebec, compliance is not optional: the law applies to every business that collects personal information from Quebec residents, including through a website contact form, appointment booking system, or email list.

This guide explains what Law 25 requires, what it means specifically for dental clinic websites, and how to make your site compliant without rebuilding it from scratch.

What Is Law 25 (Quebec Bill 64)?

Law 25 is Quebec's updated privacy framework, modeled partly on Europe's GDPR. It came into force in phases:

• September 2022 — Initial obligations: privacy officer designation, breach incident register
• September 2023 — Core rights: privacy policies, consent requirements, data subject rights
• September 2024 — Full enforcement: privacy impact assessments (PIAs), data transfer protocols

As of 2026, all three phases are in effect. The Commission d'accès à l'information (CAI) — Quebec's privacy regulator — can impose fines of up to $25 million CAD or 4% of worldwide turnover for serious violations.

What Information Does a Dental Website Collect?

Most dental clinic websites collect personal information in multiple ways, often without the clinic fully realizing it:

• Contact forms — Name, phone, email, dental concern
• Appointment booking — Name, DOB, insurance information, health history
• Google Analytics / tracking pixels — IP address, browsing behavior, device data
• Chat widgets — Name, email, conversation content
• Email newsletter signups — Name, email, preferences
• Google Business Profile — Reviews mentioning patient names or treatment details

Under Law 25, each of these constitutes collection of personal information and triggers compliance obligations.

Law 25 Requirements for Dental Clinic Websites

1. Privacy Policy (Required)

Your website must have a publicly accessible, plain-language privacy policy that explains:

• What personal information you collect
• Why you collect it (the purpose)
• Who you share it with (third parties, software vendors, cloud providers)
• How long you retain it
• How patients can request access, correction, or deletion of their information
• How to contact your privacy officer

A generic privacy policy copied from the internet will not satisfy Law 25 if it doesn't reflect your actual practices. Your privacy policy needs to name the specific tools you use (Jane App, Mailchimp, Google Analytics, etc.) and explain how patient data flows through each.

2. Consent for Data Collection

Law 25 requires meaningful consent for collecting personal information. For dental websites, this means:

• Contact forms must include a clear statement of why you're collecting the information
• If you use marketing cookies or analytics tracking, you need a cookie consent mechanism (not just a banner — actual opt-in/opt-out controls)
• Email newsletter signups require explicit consent and the ability to unsubscribe
• Pre-checked consent boxes are not valid consent under Law 25

Many dental websites run Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or third-party chat tools that set tracking cookies. Without a proper cookie consent manager (e.g., Cookiebot, OneTrust, or a WordPress plugin equivalent), this is a Law 25 violation.

3. Right to Access and Deletion

Patients have the right to:

• Request a copy of all personal information your clinic holds about them
• Request corrections to inaccurate information
• Request deletion of their information (with some exceptions for legal/professional obligations)
• Withdraw consent for marketing communications

Your clinic needs a documented process for handling these requests. For website-collected data, this means knowing what data is stored where — in Jane App, in your email system, in Google Analytics — and how to retrieve or delete it on request.

4. Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

If your website uses third-party tools that process personal information (booking software, CRM, email marketing platforms, analytics), and those tools transfer data outside Quebec — especially to the U.S. — you may need a Privacy Impact Assessment before using or continuing to use those tools.

This applies to many common dental clinic tools: Jane App (Canada-hosted, generally compliant), Mailchimp (U.S.-based, requires assessment), HubSpot (U.S.-based, requires assessment), Calendly (U.S.-based, requires assessment).

5. Privacy Officer Designation

Every organization that collects personal information must designate a Privacy Officer responsible for ensuring Law 25 compliance. For a solo practice, this can be the dentist themselves. For a larger clinic, it may be the practice manager. The Privacy Officer's contact information must be publicly accessible — typically in your privacy policy.

Common Law 25 Violations on Dental Websites

These are the most frequent compliance gaps we see when auditing dental clinic websites in Quebec:

1. No privacy policy or an outdated generic one that doesn't mention Law 25 2. No cookie consent mechanism — Google Analytics running without consent 3. Contact forms with no purpose statement — collecting data without explaining why 4. Pre-checked marketing consent boxes 5. No process for handling access/deletion requests 6. U.S.-hosted booking or CRM tools with no PIA documentation 7. Old patient data retained in email systems or spreadsheets without a retention policy

How to Make Your Dental Website Law 25 Compliant

Step 1: Audit what you collect. List every form, booking tool, analytics platform, and chat widget on your website and what data each collects.

Step 2: Update your privacy policy. Write a Quebec-specific privacy policy that names your actual tools, explains your purposes, and covers patient rights under Law 25. Have a lawyer review it if your practice processes a high volume of patient data.

Step 3: Implement cookie consent. If you run Google Analytics, advertising pixels, or third-party chat tools, add a cookie consent manager that gives visitors real opt-in/opt-out control.

Step 4: Update your forms. Add a brief consent statement to every contact form: "By submitting this form, you consent to [Clinic Name] using this information to respond to your inquiry. See our Privacy Policy for details."

Step 5: Designate a Privacy Officer. Document who is responsible and make their contact information accessible.

Step 6: Document your data flows. Know where patient data goes — which third-party tools hold it, where those tools are hosted, and how long you retain it.

MTL Digital Lab and Law 25 Compliance

Every dental website we build at MTL Digital Lab is Law 25 compliant by default: SSL certificate, proper cookie consent implementation, PIPEDA-compliant contact forms, Quebec-specific privacy policy template, and documentation of all third-party tools used. We also advise on booking system choices that minimize data residency complexity for Quebec practices.

If your current dental website was built before 2022 or by an agency unfamiliar with Quebec law, it almost certainly has Law 25 gaps. We offer a compliance audit for existing dental websites as part of our SEO and web design services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Law 25 apply to my dental clinic?

Yes. Law 25 applies to any organization that collects personal information about Quebec residents — including through a website contact form or appointment booking system. Dental clinics are explicitly covered.

What's the penalty for non-compliance?

The Commission d'accès à l'information can impose administrative monetary penalties of up to $25 million CAD or 4% of worldwide turnover for serious violations. Privacy breaches that are not reported to the CAI within 72 hours of discovery can result in additional penalties.

Is Jane App compliant with Law 25?

Jane App is a Canadian company with servers in Canada, which simplifies Law 25 compliance compared to U.S.-hosted alternatives. Jane App publishes a privacy policy and data processing agreement. For most Quebec dental practices using Jane App for booking, the data residency risk is low. However, you still need to disclose Jane App's use in your own privacy policy.

Do I need a lawyer to make my dental website Law 25 compliant?

For most small to medium dental practices, a compliance checklist approach (privacy policy, cookie consent, form disclosures) is sufficient without a lawyer. However, if your practice handles a high volume of sensitive patient data, uses multiple U.S.-hosted data processors, or is concerned about specific compliance requirements, legal counsel is advisable.