Public Authorities Database

Return to the Instructions to find an Enterprise in the Enterprise Register

The Public Authorities Database is an administrative file of public authorities doing business in Québec.

To search the public authorities database, click on the blue button below.

Access the service - Find an enterprise

The results displayed depend on the type of search made.

When you search for an enterprise using a Québec Enterprise Number (NEQ), you have access to the company's information status, which appears immediately on the screen.

When you search for a public authority using a name, the results display several enterprises according to the following criteria:

• Name: the name of the public authority
• Address: the address of the public authority
• Enterprise number: the public authority's NEQ
• Status of the enterprise: registration status (registered or unregistered, deleted registration, cancelled registration or registration cancelled on request)
• Date status update: the date of the last change declared in the public authority’s file.
• Name status: status of the public authority's name (current or previous)
• Start date of the name: the initial date on which the name was registered in the file
• End date of name: the date the name was no longer in use

The departments, agencies, companies, groups and legal persons governed by public law whose information is received and disclosed as part of the administration of the central file of agencies and legal entities governed by public law (database of public authorities) are as follows:

• His Majesty, the Governor General and the Lieutenant-Governor
• the Senate, the House of Commons and the National Assembly
• departments of the Government of Canada or the Government of Québec, and organizations that act on their behalf
• organizations whose personnel are appointed in accordance with the Public Service Act (chapter F-3.1.1)
• organizations covered by the Public Service Employment Act (S.C. 2003, c. 22)
• organizations whose majority of members or majority of board members are appointed by the Government of Canada or Québec
• organizations whose staff is appointed under a regulation approved by the Government of Canada or Québec
• organizations whose voting shares are part of the federal or Québec public domain
• municipalities established by general or special law
• organizations whose majority of members or majority of board members are appointed by a municipality or by a supramunicipal organization within the meaning of the Act respecting the pension plan of elected municipal officers (chapter R-9.3)
• organizations declared by law to be a mandatary or agent of a municipality
• supramunicipal bodies within the meaning of the Act respecting the Pension Plan for Elected Municipal Officers
• the Cree Nation Government and the Kativik Regional Government
• health and social services agencies,
• public institutions within the meaning of paragraphs 3 and 4 of section 98 of the Act respecting health services and social services (chapter S-4.2) and the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services established under this Act
• public institutions within the meaning of paragraph a of section 10 of the Act respecting health services and social services for Cree Native persons (chapter S-5) and the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay established under this Act
• school service centres governed by the Education Act (chapter I-13.3) and the Comité de gestion de la taxe scolaire de l'île de Montréal
• the Cree School Board, the Kativik School Board and the Naskapi Education Committee governed by the Education Act for Cree, Inuit and Naskapi Native Persons (chapter I-14)
• general and vocational colleges
• the Université du Québec, its constituent universities and research institutes and superior schools within the meaning of the Act respecting the Université du Québec (chapter U-1)
• professional orders within the meaning of the Professional Code (chapter C-26)
• the governments of foreign states and their diplomatic and consular representations, as well as the governments of their political divisions and their representations
• international governmental organizations.

Since bodies governed by public law are not subject to register in the Registre des entreprises du Québec, they must, if a change must be made to the information contained in the database of public authorities, apply to the Registrar for the latter to update the file. This application must be sent by email to the following address: req.autorite.publique@req.gouv.qc.ca.

The application must include

• the Québec enterprise number (NEQ) starting with 88
• The requested changes
• the signature of a person authorized to request changes.

Public authorities are not subject to the Act mainly to improve the transparency of enterprises. They are therefore exempt from declaring information on ultimate beneficiaries and directors' dates of birth. What's more, they don't need to provide ID for each director.

The notion of public authority is a broad one, encompassing many different types of organizations. As a result, the information that organizations transmit to the Registrar is varied. In addition, some are complete, while others are a summary, since some organizations provide the Registrar with only the essential information that must appear in the database of public authorities, in accordance with Appendix A of Order-in-Council 3685-77, which stipulates the information elements.