Applying for an exemption from jury duty

You may be granted an exemption if:

• you, or your spouse, is 65 years of age or over;
• you have a physical or sensory disability;
• you have serious health problems;
• you have too many family responsibilities;
• you have served as a juror, or been retained for jury duty, in the last five years.

You may also be exempted if you are:

• a minister of the cult;
• a member of the Canadian regular forces;
• a member of the personnel of the National Assembly of Québec;
• a functionary engaged in the administration of justice, or the spouse of such a functionary.

Other possible grounds for exemption, after examination

You may also be exempted if you present serious and reasonable grounds for exemption.

To facilitate the examination of your situation, you should describe it in detail on the application form and present supporting documents.

You are disqualified from jury duty if:

• you are not a Canadian citizen;
• you are not of full age (18 or over);
• you are not registered on the list of electors;
• you do not speak French or English fluently, with some exceptions;
• you are afflicted with a mental illness of deficiency;
• you have been charged with or convicted of a criminal act.

You are also disqualified if you are:

• a judge;
• a coroner;
• a practising advocate or notary;
• a peace officer;
• a firefighter;
• a member of:
  • the National Assembly of Québec,
  • the House of Commons of Canada,
  • the Conseil exécutif,
  • the Privy Council,
  • the Senate.

If you are disqualified, you must make this known by completing the application for exemption form.

You cannot be a juror if your spouse:

• holds one of the positions listed above, except as a firefighter;
• has been charged with or convicted of a criminal act.

To apply for an exemption your must:

• complete the form Application for exemption or disqualification from jury duty or for postponement of jury duty to a later session which you received with your summons;
• include supporting documents with your application (for example, a doctor's certificate, a photocopy of an airline ticket);
• mail your completed application to the sheriff or send it by email:
  • For the Montréal Appeal Division sherif-div_appel_montreal@justice.gouv.qc.ca
  • For the Québec Appeal Division sherifdivisionappeldequebec@justice.gouv.qc.ca 

In general, prospective jurors have 20 days to file their application for exemption.

However, in some cases the deadline is less than 20 days. You must pay attention to the deadline stated in the letter from the sheriff.

All applications for exemption will be processed rapidly.

If your application for exemption is rejected, or has not been answered by jury selection day, you must attend the jury selection.

At the jury selection, you will have another opportunity to ask the judge for an exemption.