Current Updating Declaration with the REQ: 2026 Guide

What Is a Current Updating Declaration?

A current updating declaration is the document a registered business files with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ) to report a change to the information in its statement of information: a director leaving, a new president, a new address or a change in business activities. The Registraire states that a business has 30 days to report a change using this declaration.

The legal basis is the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (LPLE). Section 41 requires a registrant to update the information covered by sections 33 to 35.2 « dans les 30 jours de la date où survient un changement, à moins que la loi ne prévoie un délai plus court ».

There are three updating declarations, which should not be confused:

According to the Registraire's RE-401.G guide, a current updating declaration cannot be used to retroactively correct information that should never have appeared in the register, such as a misspelled director's name: a correcting declaration is required instead. A director who has actually resigned, however, is removed through a current updating declaration.

This article is for information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

What Changes Must Be Reported?

All information that sections 33 to 35.2 of the LPLE require to be entered in the register must be kept up to date. For a business corporation, common changes include:

• Directors: the name, domicile, date of birth and position of each director, along with the dates they took office and ceased to hold office.
• Officers: the president, secretary and chief executive officer when they are not members of the board.
• Name and other names: the business's name and any other name used in Québec in carrying on its activities.
• Addresses: the domicile (head office), elected domicile and addresses of establishments in Québec.
• Activities: the two main activities and their codes, in order of importance, as well as those of each establishment.
• Number of employees in Québec: by range and, for businesses with 5 to 24 employees, the proportion of employees who cannot communicate in French at work, a requirement in effect since June 1, 2025.
• Shareholders: for a legal person, the three shareholders holding the most voting rights, and whether there is a unanimous shareholder agreement restricting the board's powers.
• Ultimate beneficiaries: the individuals concerned, the date they became ultimate beneficiaries and the date they ceased to be, except for exempt categories (non-profit organizations, reporting issuers, etc.).

For a partnership, the partners and the purpose pursued must also be reported.

Two rules may come as a surprise. For each new director, the registrant must provide a copy of a piece of identification issued by a government authority (passport, driver's licence, health insurance card, etc., according to the list in the RE-401.G guide). Also, according to the same guide, the name, date of birth and dates of office of a director already listed cannot be changed through a current updating declaration.

As for addresses, an individual can have only one professional address in the register, but can declare it to prevent their home address from being published. Changes to a head office address are covered in detail in our guide to changing a business address with the REQ.

The 30-Day Deadline and the Bankruptcy Exception

The deadline runs from the date the change occurs, not the date you think of it. For a director, this is the date they take office or cease to hold office: the RE-401.G guide defines the end of a term of office as the date the person ceases to perform their duties, including through resignation, death, removal, expiry of their term or replacement.

Illustrative example. A director resigns on October 6, 2026; her replacement is appointed on October 20. These are two changes, each with its own date. The safest approach is to report them together no later than November 5, 2026, or 30 days after the first change.

Some situations have no grace period. A registrant who becomes bankrupt within the meaning of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act must file a declaration stating this without delay; the guide specifies that the relevant box in the current updating declaration must be checked. A legal person that decides to liquidate or dissolve must also report this without delay.

The implications go beyond penalties: information about directors can be set up against third parties from the time it is registered and constitutes proof in favour of third parties acting in good faith. A director who has left but is still listed remains a board member in a bank's eyes.

Current or Annual: Which Declaration Should You File?

If a change occurs during the annual updating declaration filing period, the business can file only the annual declaration and include all the changes that have occurred. The annual declaration filing periods are May 15 to November 15 for a legal person, and January 1 to June 15 for a sole proprietorship or partnership.

Illustrative example. Your business corporation changes its president on October 10, 2026, and has not yet filed its 2026 annual declaration. The annual filing period for legal persons runs until November 15, 2026. You can file the annual declaration, listing the new president, no later than November 9, 2026 (30 days after the change). If the 2026 annual declaration has already been filed, a current updating declaration is required.

The deadlines, fees and penalties for the annual declaration are explained in our article on the REQ annual declaration.

Step by Step in Mon bureau

The Registraire's page states that you must use the online service to file a current updating declaration, available in Mon bureau under Business management.

1. Prepare the documents: a dated resolution or resignation, the name, date of birth and address of each person being added, a copy of their identification, their positions and activity codes, if applicable.
2. Sign in to Mon bureau with your clicSÉQUR express or clicSÉQUR – Entreprises code.
3. Click Business management, then Services for updating information in the register.
4. Select File an annual or current updating declaration and read the Before you begin page.
5. Complete only the affected sections (addition, amendment or removal).
6. Choose regular processing (free) or priority processing (for a fee).
7. Click Submit, then check the statement of information once the declaration has been processed: the business is responsible for verifying the legality and accuracy of what it submits.

The address rules associated with the NEQ are summarized in our article on corporate addresses in Québec.

Who Can Sign and File?

The declaration must be signed and dated by the person authorized by the business or by its representative. If the representative is a business (an accounting firm, for example), both the signatory's name and the business's name are entered; an authorized intermediary enters its own Québec enterprise number (NEQ).

For electronic filings, the LPLE presumes that the person transmitting the document on the business's behalf is authorized, provided they have first verified the identity and consent of the person for whom they are acting.

Two special cases:

• A trust operating a commercial enterprise must use paper form RE-403 for its annual or current updating declaration.
• The RE-401.G guide (2025-06) still describes paper form RE-401, reserved for sole proprietorships, partnerships and associations. Québec.ca's current instructions are to use the online service, which is the option with a 5-business-day processing time: a paper application falls under « autres demandes », processed in 15 to 30 business days.

Changing the Business Name: Language Rules

A Québec business's name must be in French, as must any other name used in Québec. Section 17 of the LPLE prohibits, among other things, a name that does not comply with the Charter of the French language, could be confused with another business's name or incorrectly indicates its legal form. A trademark can be declared as another name only if it is registered or in the process of being registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

The procedure depends on which name you are changing:

For a business corporation, an amendment to the articles must be authorized by a special resolution, and the articles of amendment are signed by the authorized director or officer. According to the Registraire, a separate current updating declaration is required only if the former name was used for one or more establishments, in which case it must be filed within 30 days of the amendment to the articles. Allow enough time: the Registraire's service statement classifies articles of amendment as « autres demandes », processed in 15 to 30 business days with regular processing and in fewer than 15 business days with priority processing, compared with 5 business days for an online current updating declaration.

Fees, Priority Processing and Processing Times

Filing a current updating declaration is free unless you request priority processing. According to the Registraire's RE-101 fee schedule (version 2026-09), the non-taxable priority processing fees in effect in October 2026 are as follows:

The Registraire's service statement for citizens (updated January 9, 2026) gives a processing time for an online current updating declaration of 5 business days with regular processing and 1 to 2 business days with priority processing. Priority processing is mainly useful when a bank or lender is waiting for an up-to-date statement of information; it does not change the statutory 30-day deadline.

Fines and Consequences of Late Filing

The LPLE provides for a fine for anyone who fails to file a declaration within the prescribed time: from $500 to $5,000 for an individual, and from $1,000 to $10,000 in other cases. The same amounts apply to a false or misleading declaration. In addition:

• fines are doubled for a repeat offence;
• when the offence is committed by a director, officer or attorney, the minimum and maximum amounts are double those prescribed for an individual;
• anyone who helps, authorizes or encourages someone to commit the offence commits it themselves.

The Registraire first sends a notice: the registrant must remedy the failure within 60 days, and the notice states that penal proceedings may be instituted and the registration may be cancelled. Except in the case of a false or misleading declaration, no proceedings can be instituted unless the business has had this opportunity to comply. Separately, the Registraire can cancel the registration of its own motion of a business that has not filed its annual declarations for two consecutive years. Revoking a cancellation costs $134.00 with regular processing, in effect in October 2026.

What About Federal Requirements?

A corporation incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act has two registers to keep up to date. It must notify Corporations Canada of any change to the board of directors and any change to the registered office address within 15 days, and file its annual return within 60 days of its anniversary date. Moving the registered office to another province requires an amendment to the articles.

In Québec, a legal person incorporated outside Québec remains subject to registration if it has its domicile there, carries on an activity there or holds an immovable real right there, and is therefore subject to the 30-day rule in section 41. A notice filed with Corporations Canada does not update the Québec register. The LPLE does allow the Minister to enter into agreements with another government for the transfer of documents ^[1], but the only partnership Corporations Canada announces with Québec concerns the initial registration of a federal corporation, not subsequent changes. A current updating declaration with the REQ therefore remains mandatory, and section 39 places responsibility for the accuracy of the record on the business: file both declarations, then check the statement of information with the REQ.

Illustrative example. A federal corporation based in Montréal replaces a director on November 2, 2026: notice to Corporations Canada is due no later than November 17, and the current updating declaration with the REQ no later than December 2. Prepare both on the same day.

Checklist Before Clicking Submit

1. The exact date of each change is documented (resolution, resignation, minutes).
2. The 30-day deadline, or 15-day federal deadline, is calculated from the earliest of these dates.
3. You have checked whether the annual declaration filing period is open (May 15 to November 15 for a legal person).
4. An error is corrected through a correcting declaration.
5. Each new director has provided valid government-issued identification.
6. The positions (president, secretary, chief executive officer) are entered with the correct code.
7. Any new name or establishment name is in French and complies with section 17 of the LPLE; a change to the name in the constituting documents first requires articles of amendment.
8. The principal shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries, number of employees and, if you have 5 to 24 employees, the proportion of non-French-speaking employees are up to date.
9. The person signing or submitting is authorized.
10. Once processing is complete, the statement of information reflects the changes.

If the change you need to report is a new business address in Montréal, 2727 Coworking offers business addresses in Griffintown, along the Lachine Canal.

Sources

1. Filing a current updating declaration with the enterprise register (Québec.ca)
2. Filing an annual updating declaration with the enterprise register (Québec.ca)
3. Guide RE-401.G to the annual or current updating declaration, 2025-06 (Registraire des entreprises)
4. Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, CQLR, c. P-44.1 (LégisQuébec)
5. Business Corporations Act, CQLR, c. S-31.1 (LégisQuébec)
6. Fees and payment methods RE-101, 2026-09 (Registraire des entreprises)
7. Registraire des entreprises service statement for citizens (Québec.ca)
8. Amending a business corporation's articles with the enterprise register (Québec.ca)
9. Steps following the incorporation of your business (Corporations Canada)
10. Registering a federal corporation in a province or territory (Corporations Canada)