Bienvenue, bébé — voici les démarches administratives à venir.
1. The birth declaration
The birth declaration:
- Mandatory within 30 days of birth
- Triggers several registrations — some automatically, others only if you consent
- Online or on paper at the Directeur de l'état civil du Québec
2. Documents that follow
What follows the declaration — not everything is automatic:
- Automatic: RAMQ enrollment (baby's carte soleil) and the Education ministry's permanent code (generated when the child turns 4); Quebec family allowance registration (Retraite Québec), paid within 45 days
- Only if you tick your consent on the declaration: the baby's SIN (Social Insurance Number) and the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) — without your consent, nothing is sent to the CRA — estimate your family allowance
- Not automatic: the official birth certificate is requested separately from the Directeur de l'état civil, and it has a fee — fees and processing times
3. QPIP: paid parental leave
QPIP (paid parental leave) offers two plans, and the percentage is not flat from start to finish:
- Base plan: up to 50 weeks total for the birthing parent — 18 maternity weeks at 70%, then 32 shareable parental weeks, the first 7 at 70% and the next 25 at 55%; the other parent also gets 5 paternity weeks at 70%
- Special plan: 15 maternity weeks and 25 shareable parental weeks, all at 75%; the other parent gets 3 paternity weeks at 75%
- Apply online: you can prepare it ahead of time (it stays saved for 120 days), but you submit it no earlier than the Sunday of the week you want benefits to start (how to apply)
Estimate your benefits by salary and plan with our QPIP benefits calculator.
4. Daycare spot: register once your child is born
For daycare:
- Register your child on the Childcare Registration Portal (Portail d'inscription aux services de garde, formerly La Place 0-5) once the child is born — only already-born or newly-adopted children can be registered
- Several childcare services at once
- Wait-lists: their length is not published; the portal's rank indicator estimates your child's position
Fees at a private non-subsidized daycare qualify for the tax credit for childcare expenses, whose amount varies with family income. Give your desired entry date accurately — it's that date, not the registration date, that determines how spots are assigned.
Estimate your net daycare cost after the tax credit with our child-care cost calculator.
| Type of care | Daily cost | Wait-list |
|---|---|---|
| Subsidized CPE | $9.65 (2026) | Based on your rank (rank indicator in the portal) |
| RSGE (home-based, subsidized) | $9.65 (2026) | The provider chooses among children registered on the portal |
| Private non-subsidized daycare | Set by each daycare, generally higher | The provider chooses among children registered on the portal |
| Family member | ✅ Free | None |
5. First medical appointments
First medical appointments:
- Free vaccines under the Quebec Immunization Program: at 2, 4, 12 and 18 months (vaccination schedule); an RSV treatment is also offered to babies born in fall or winter
- Growth follow-up and advice: your doctor or the CLSC sets the visit schedule
- Without a pediatrician: family doctor or CLSC
6. Your action list
After the birth of a child, the key paperwork takes 7 steps. Check each box below as you go: your progress is saved if you're signed in:
7. Frequently asked questions
The most common questions after a birth: deadline to declare, daycare while waiting for a subsidized spot, applying for baby's Canadian passport, baby born abroad, and RAMQ coverage during the waiting period.
How long do I have to declare the birth?
30 days from the date of birth.
The constat de naissance is signed at the hospital, then the déclaration de naissance is sent to the Directeur de l'état civil. Who signs it depends on your situation:
- if you are married or in a civil union, one parent can fill it out and sign it;
- if you are common-law partners, one parent can sign alone but must attach sworn statements;
- otherwise both parents sign so that both are recorded as the child's parents (who signs the declaration).
Late declarations are accepted but trigger a fee — $66.50 if filed less than a year late, rising to $135 if filed more than a year late — and slow every downstream registration (RAMQ, family allowance, NAS).
Before you leave, hospital staff will ask you to complete online the declaration and the Application for Simplified Access.
What to do for daycare while waiting for a subsidized spot?
Subsidized CPE spots are assigned from wait-lists, by your child's rank; how long the wait lasts is not published. Common alternatives:
- RSGE (home-based licensed care): also subsidized, $9.65/day in 2026
- Private non-subsidized daycare: each daycare sets its own rate, generally higher; part of it comes back through the tax credit for childcare expenses
- A family member during the parental-leave year
Register your child on the Childcare Registration Portal (formerly La Place 0-5) as soon as they're born — you can't register before birth, and spots are assigned by your desired entry date, not the registration date.
How do I get a passport for my newborn?
Apply first for the birth certificate: registering the birth takes 15 business days, then the certificate takes 10 business days with regular processing (3 with express), plus mailing time. Then file a child passport application:
- Form PPTC 155 (the general form for a child applying from inside Canada; PPTC 156 is the French version; PPTC 042 is only for applications filed from outside Canada and the U.S.)
- Two identical passport photos taken by a commercial photographer (yes, even for newborns — some range of facial expression is allowed, and the baby can sit in a car seat with a white blanket behind the head)
- Signatures of all the child's parents or legal guardians (if you don't know where the other parent is, contact Passport Canada; if a parent has died, attach the death certificate)
- The birth certificate
Cost: $58.50 (the rate since the March 31, 2026 fee increase). Processing: 10 business days at a passport office, 20 business days by mail or at a regular Service Canada centre, plus mailing time. One exception: children 15 and under can enter the U.S. or return to Canada by land or sea with their birth certificate instead of a passport.
My baby was born abroad. What do I do in Canada?
If at least one parent is Canadian, request a certificate of citizenship (proof of Canadian citizenship) — it confirms the child is Canadian by descent.
Cost: $75. Processing times vary: check the current estimate on IRCC's processing times page before you apply. With that certificate, you can apply for a Canadian passport.
Your child also needs to be enrolled with the RAMQ in Quebec: follow the RAMQ's registration steps.
Important change: the first-generation limit on citizenship by descent was removed/eased by Bill C-3, effective December 15, 2025. A child born abroad to a Canadian parent before December 15, 2025 is, in most cases, automatically a citizen regardless of generation. A child born on or after that date can only inherit citizenship by descent beyond the first generation if the Canadian parent spent at least 1,095 days (about three years) in Canada before the birth. Given how recent and detailed this change is, legal advice is worth getting for your specific situation.
Is my baby covered by RAMQ during the waiting period?
According to RAMQ's eligibility conditions, a child born in Quebec is eligible and automatically registered for health insurance if the parents are eligible at the time of birth: there is nothing to do. And the waiting period does not apply to children under 18.
If you are still in your own waiting period, the necessary care and services related to pregnancy and childbirth are still free.
A child under 18 who is in Quebec for more than 6 months is also among the people who may be eligible, depending on their status.
These rules can change: check your situation on the RAMQ website.
8. See also
These related guides may be useful:
- Get your RAMQ health insurance card — to enroll the newborn in the public plan from birth.
- Family allowance in Quebec — the financial benefit that begins after birth registration.
- Apply for your Social Insurance Number (SIN) — how to get the newborn's SIN.
- Subsidized Daycare in Quebec: How to Get a Spot — start the daycare search early, as waitlists are long once parental leave ends.
9. Official sources
Author's note: Do the paperwork in the first weeks. A delayed declaration also delays your allowances — and the Family Allowance is paid retroactively for 11 months at most. Ask for help if needed.