Bill 96 substantially amends the Charter of the French Language. Passed in June 2022, it tightens language requirements for businesses operating in Quebec. For invoicing, the rule is clear: if your customer is established in Quebec, the invoice must be in French by default. You can offer an English version in addition (not in replacement), but French must be the primary version and at least equivalent. The Office quebecois de la langue francaise (OQLF) can impose fines of $3,000 to $30,000 per infraction for businesses, double on repeat offenses. Beyond fines, non-compliance can block public contract awards in Quebec and jeopardise relationships with large Quebec procurement organisations.
Automatic detection of customer language
4invoices marks each customer with their preferred language (French or English) at creation. For Quebec customers, French is the forced default — the user must explicitly tick 'customer requested English' to switch. This request is traced: date, user who made the change, optional reason. If OQLF asks for proof of your good-faith process, you have the audit trail.
Bilingual invoices when a customer requests one
Some bilingual Quebec customers want an invoice showing French and English side-by-side — that's allowed provided French is not inferior to English (same character size, same visual prominence). 4invoices offers a bilingual mode where French lines appear first on each row, followed by the English translation in smaller type — compliant with the equivalency rule without risk of OQLF complaint.
Technical terms and product names that resist translation
Registered trademarks (Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Mac Pro) stay in English — that's legal. Technical descriptions must be translated (un serveur infonuagique avec 16 Go de memoire, not a cloud server with 16GB RAM). 4invoices maintains a library of product descriptions in Quebec French — courriel rather than email, magasinage rather than shopping, classeur rather than binder. You can fork the library for your own internal standards if needed.
How Bill 96 compliance works at 4invoices
Baseline rule: absent a written request to the contrary from the customer, invoices to Quebec customers issue in French. That's the good-faith principle OQLF expects — you default to French, you document the move to English when a customer requests it explicitly. 4invoices locks French as the default for any customer with a Quebec address, unless you change the language preference with a note explaining why.
Beyond the text of the invoice, there's also format. Quebec French dates are written year-month-day with hyphens (2026-05-20) or spelled out (20 mai 2026), never American format (May 20, 2026 or 05/20/2026). Amounts use a comma as decimal separator (1 234,56 $) and a non-breaking space as thousands separator — not English 1,234.56. 4invoices applies these formats automatically when the invoice language is Quebec French.
For businesses with 25+ employees established in Quebec, Bill 96 also requires internal francisation — collective agreements, employee communications, employee handbooks, payroll forms. Customer invoicing is just one part of the obligation. But it's the most visible part and the one that triggers the most OQLF complaints, because any customer can complain when they receive an English invoice by default. It's the entry door to a broader OQLF investigation.
Frequently asked
My business is in Ontario but I sell to Quebec. Does Bill 96 apply?
Yes. Bill 96 applies to any written communication to a customer established in Quebec, regardless of where your business is. An Ontario SMB invoicing a Montreal customer in English by default is liable for the same fines as a Quebec business. The rule follows the customer, not the supplier.
If my Quebec customer requests English by email, is that sufficient?
Yes, provided you keep that email. Proof of customer request is what protects you. 4invoices lets you attach the language request (email, screenshot, internal note) to the customer record. In case of an OQLF complaint, you show the audit trail and the investigation generally ends there.
What about French-Canadian customers in Ontario — French or English?
Outside Quebec, there's no French-default legal obligation. You follow customer preference. For a francophone customer outside Quebec who explicitly requests French, you invoice in French — that's customer service, not compliance. 4invoices treats language as a customer preference without legal constraint outside Quebec.
Be Bill 96 compliant in under 5 minutes
Free trial. 4invoices automatically locks French as the default for your Quebec customers and keeps the audit trail for English requests.