Right to know one’s origins in assisted procreation involving a third person

The rules on knowledge of origins in procreation involving a third person came into force on June 6, 2025. Under the new rules, the parent is responsible for informing the child that their birth was the result of procreation involving a third party, and of the rules governing the disclosure of information about that person.

If your birth was the result of a gamete donation or a surrogate pregnancy, you will be able to obtain certain information about the person who contributed to your procreation, if available. If you are under 14, you must have the consent of your parents or tutor.

Psychosocial support is available to anyone who makes a request for information or documents, as well as to the person concerned, provided they notify the Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale that they need such support.

If you are a first-degree descendant of a person born of a gamete donation or a surrogate pregnancy, are 14 years of age or older, and that person is deceased, you can obtain the same information and documents as that person, under the same conditions.

Information and documents

You can find the person’s surname, given name and profile, which includes:

• age
• ethnic origin
• civil status
• level of education, diplomas and field of study, if any
• profession, if any
• height
• skin colour
• eye colour
• hair colour and texture
• personality traits, special skills, preferences and hobbies.

You will also have access to contact information, if the person has consented. Contact may be subject to certain conditions, for example, only by email. If you fail to comply with the contact refusal or conditions, you may be held liable and may have to pay damages as well as punitive damages.

If you were born of a surrogate pregnancy, you can also obtain a copy of the surrogacy agreement and the judgment regarding your filiation, if applicable, as well as copies of other documents in the court record.

A new register, maintained by the Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, has been created to store information and documents concerning origin. If your birth was the result of a gamete donation or a surrogate pregnancy, this register can provide you with information about the person who contributed to your procreation, as well as certain documents, if available. For more information about the register, go to Register of Origin Information in Procreation Involving a Third Person.

For a copy of the documents in the court record, you can contact the court office of the district where the judgment was handed down. However, you must first obtain a certificate from the register confirming that your birth was the result of procreation involving a third party, or that you are a first-degree descendant of such a person, who is deceased. This certificate also confirms whether you can obtain contact information for the third party who contributed to your procreation, and will indicate to the court clerk whether any information contained in the requested documents should be redacted. For more information on how to obtain a certificate, go to Register of Origin Information in Procreation Involving a Third Person.

To find out which judicial district your municipality is in, do a search on the Ministère de la Justice website: Recherche d’un district – Ministère de la Justice.

If you donate sperm or eggs on or after June 6, 2025, your identity will be accessible.

You will be notified the first time the register receives a request for information, and will be asked whether you would like your contact information to be released. You can make any contact subject to conditions, for example by limiting it to email exchanges only.

Donation made before June 6, 2025

If you donated sperm or eggs before June 6, 2025, your identity will remain confidential. You can, however, agree to its disclosure by providing consent to the register. To find out how, go to Register of Origin Information in Procreation Involving a Third Person.

If you have decided, as part of a parental project, to use a third person’s reproductive material through home insemination (without medical assistance) or sexual intercourse, you must collect that person’s name and contact information as well as the profile information determined by regulation. If the reproductive material comes from outside Québec (external sperm or egg bank), you must also collect that information, if known.

If the reproductive material is from Québec and is used in assisted procreation activities at an assisted procreation centre (Québec sperm bank), you need only collect the identifier assigned to the donor by the centre.

This information must be sent to the registrar of civil status along with your child’s declaration of birth. To be able to attach paper documents, you must use the paper version of the declaration of birth form. It can be obtained from hospitals, birthing centres, and the registrar of civil status. For the attachment, use the form Information on a person who has contributed to the procreation of a child (PDF 616 Kb).

If you decided before June 6, 2025 to use reproductive material from outside Québec (external sperm or egg bank) in a parental project, you must also send the registrar of civil status information on the donor profile, if known, along with your child’s declaration of birth, using the form Information on the profile of a person who has contributed to the procreation of a child (PDF 114 Kb). Use the paper version of the form so that you can attach paper documents.

The registrar of civil status will record this information, along with the child’s name and date of birth, in the register of origin information. Where appropriate, the name and address of the child’s parent will also be entered, along with the civil registration number of the child’s act of birth.

In the year following June 6, 2025, i.e. by June 6, 2026, the centre for assisted procreation must transmit certain information concerning the reproductive material used to the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity for entry in the register.

In the year following June 6, 2025, i.e. by June 6, 2026, the centre for assisted procreation must send the register certain information about the reproductive material used: donor’s identity, contact information, profile information collected at the time the material was supplied, and the names of the persons who used the reproductive material (intended parents). The following information must also be provided if available: donor ID, date on which the reproductive material was supplied, donor’s year of birth, address of the persons who used the reproductive material (intended parents), type of reproductive material, and date on which it was used.

If the reproductive material came from a bank outside Québec, the name and location of the company that supplied it and the names of the persons who used it (intended parents) are required. The following information must also be provided if available: type of reproductive material, date on which it was used, and address of the persons who used it (intended parents).

Donations made on or after June 6, 2025

If the reproductive material comes from Québec, the centre for assisted procreation must send the following information:

• Donor’s name
• Donor’s contact information
• Donor’s profile information determined by regulation
• Donor’s identifier
• Date when the reproductive material was supplied
• Donor’s year of birth
• Names and address of the persons who used the reproductive material
• Date when the reproductive material was used
• Type of reproductive material used

The centre must inform the person or couple who formed the parental project of their obligation to transmit the donor’s identifier to the registrar of civil status when the child’s birth is declared.

If the reproductive material comes from a bank outside Québec, the centre for assisted procreation must send the following information:

• Name and location of the company supplying the material
• Names and address of the persons who used the reproductive material
• Date when the reproductive material was used
• Type of reproductive material used

This information is required only if the reproductive material has been used in the assisted procreation of a child.

The centre must inform the person or couple who formed the parental project that when they declare the child’s birth, they have to send the registrar of civil status the donor’s name, profile information and contact information, if known.

If you are a surrogate mother, your identity will be accessible.

You will be notified the first time the register receives a request for information, and will be asked whether you would like your contact information to be released. You can make any contact subject to conditions, for example by limiting it to email exchanges only.

Establishing the child’s filiation through the courts

For a pregnancy begun on or after June 6, 2023, the rules for judicial establishment of the child’s filiation can be applied. The intended parents and the surrogate mother must apply to the court to change the filiation to the intended parents.

The application must include profile information on the surrogate mother and any other party (intended parents) to the surrogacy agreement who has provided reproductive material. Use the form Information on the profile of a person who has contributed to the procreation of a child (PDF 114 Kb).

The court clerk will forward this information to the register along with the judgment on filiation.

Establishing the child’s filiation by legal means

For a pregnancy begun on or after March 6, 2024, you may use the rules for legally establishing the child’s filiation rather than going through the courts. To do this, you must enter into a surrogacy agreement by notarial act en minute. The agreement will include profile information on the surrogate mother and any other party (intended parents) to the surrogacy agreement who plans to provide reproductive material.

After completing the declaration of birth, send it to the registrar of civil status along with the notarized surrogacy agreement. To be able to attach paper documents, you must use the paper version of the declaration of birth form. It can be obtained from hospitals, birthing centres, and the registrar of civil status. The registrar will draw up the child’s act of birth and file the surrogacy agreement in the register of origin information. The child’s name and date of birth will also be entered, along with the civil registration number of the child’s act of birth.

Parental project with a surrogate mother living outside Québec

Intended parents who wish to carry out their parental project with a surrogate mother domiciled outside Québec must obtain authorization from the Minister of Health and Social Services. After obtaining this authorization, you must send the minister the surrogate mother’s profile information, along with the surrogacy agreement, using the Espace grossesse pour autrui hors Québec platform. The parental project authorization form includes a section for this purpose.

The surrogate mother’s name, profile information and contact information will be entered in the register, along with the surrogacy agreement and the judgment recognizing the birth certificate from outside Québec or the foreign decision.

The surrogate mother remains the child’s parent

If you are a surrogate mother and do not consent to the child’s filiation being established with the intended parents, the person who provided the reproductive material, if any, is then considered to be a third party who contributed to the child’s procreation. In that case, you must send the registrar of civil status the third party’s name, profile information and contact information, along with your child’s declaration of birth. Use the form Information on a person who has contributed to the procreation of a child (PDF 616 Kb).

After drawing up the child’s act of birth, the registrar of civil status will record this information, the child’s name and date of birth, the parent’s name and address, and the civil registration number of the child’s act of birth in the register of origin information.