Bill 96 Website Compliance for Businesses Selling to Quebec
Bilingual sites done right — compliant by design, not by plugin
Since June 1, 2025, Quebec's Bill 96 requires websites serving Quebec to offer a French version of equal quality. We retrofit your existing site or build a genuinely bilingual EN/FR-native one — real content parity, not auto-translation the OQLF considers insufficient.
A machine-translated French tab is not compliance
Bill 96 doesn't ask for a French version — it asks for a French version of equivalent quality and function. If your Quebec-facing site is English-first with an auto-translate plugin bolted on, you are exposed. The OQLF can inspect, and the penalties are real.
Fines run from $3,000 to $30,000 CAD per offence — and can be doubled or tripled for repeat offences, per legal entity.
Auto-translation plugins produce French the OQLF can deem inadequate: wrong terms, broken layout, missing pages — the version isn't truly 'equivalent'.
A bilingual site bolted on badly splits SEO signals and hreflang, so you lose Google rankings instead of gaining a French audience.
The 25-employee threshold and francization rules keep tightening — 'we'll deal with it later' becomes an inspection you didn't prepare for.
What 'Compliant by Design' Actually Means
Real bilingual parity that stands up to an OQLF look — built into the site, not bolted onto it after the fact.
Bilingual by Design, Not by Plugin
We build the French version as a first-class citizen: separate, hand-written French content with the same structure, features and calls to action as the English site. No auto-translate widget, no half-translated checkout — the parity the law expects.
Content & Function Parity
Every page, form, product, email and error message exists in both languages with equal quality. Bill 96 is about equivalent experience, so we audit each interactive element — not just the marketing copy — to make sure French users get the full site.
Professional Québécois French
French written and reviewed by people, using Québécois terminology your customers actually use — courriel, magasinage, clavardage — validated against OQLF-standard vocabulary. Real localization, not a dictionary swap.
SEO & hreflang Kept Intact
We implement correct hreflang, canonical tags and a bilingual sitemap so Google serves the right language and your rankings survive the change. Done right, the French version opens a new Quebec audience instead of cannibalizing traffic.
Retrofit or Rebuild — Your Call
Have a site you like? We retrofit it for compliance from $3,500 CAD. Site is dated or fragile? A new bilingual EN/FR-native build starts at $5,900 CAD. We tell you honestly which is cheaper for your case before you commit.
Compliance-Ready, Documented
We deliver a bilingual site built with Bill 96 language rules in mind and a plain-language summary of what was made compliant. Final legal sign-off stays with your counsel — we give them a site that's easy to approve.
Two European e-commerce clients
Proven in Europe · Web + SEO executionThese are European projects, shown only as proof that our team can execute bilingual web and SEO at a high level — they are not Québécois clients and not Bill 96 cases.
One European e-commerce client: storefront and funnel rebuild driving +240% online sales. Another European e-commerce client: content and technical SEO overhaul growing organic traffic +180%. The same execution now serves Canadian businesses facing Bill 96.
“Bill 96 doesn't punish businesses for being anglophone — it punishes a French version that isn't truly equivalent. We build the French side as a real, hand-written experience with full content and function parity, so an OQLF look finds a compliant site, not a translation plugin.”
SprintMarkt team
On our Bill 96 approach, SprintMarkt
From Free Audit to a Compliant Bilingual Site
A process built around one honest question at each step: is the French experience truly equivalent to the English one?
Free Bill 96 Website Audit
We review your current site against Bill 96 expectations: is there a French version, is it equal in quality and function, are forms, checkout and emails covered, is hreflang correct. You get a clear, no-jargon findings list and a fixed quote — retrofit or rebuild.
Free Bill 96 Website Audit
We review your current site against Bill 96 expectations: is there a French version, is it equal in quality and function, are forms, checkout and emails covered, is hreflang correct. You get a clear, no-jargon findings list and a fixed quote — retrofit or rebuild.
Scope & Fixed Quote
Based on the audit we scope exactly what needs French parity and price it in writing — retrofit from $3,500 CAD or a new bilingual build from $5,900 CAD. No vague 'it depends', no surprise change orders once we start.
French Content & Structure
We build the French version natively: page structure, professional Québécois copy, forms, product data, transactional emails and error states — all reviewed by a person. Content parity is checked element by element, not page by glance.
Bilingual SEO & Technical Setup
We wire up hreflang, canonicals, language switcher and a bilingual sitemap so search engines index both versions correctly. Your existing rankings are protected and the French version becomes a genuine channel to Quebec.
QA, Launch & Compliance Summary
We test both languages across devices, confirm every interactive path works in French, launch, and hand you a plain-language compliance summary your legal team can review. You go live knowing the French experience is truly equivalent.
How We Build It
Not Sure If Your Site Is Bill 96 Compliant?
Get a free Bill 96 website audit. We tell you exactly where your French version falls short of 'equal quality' — and whether a retrofit or a rebuild is the cheaper path. No pressure, no obligation.
Get my free Bill 96 auditSelling to Quebec from Ontario? Bill 96 still applies to you.
You don't have to be based in Quebec. If your website serves Quebec customers, Bill 96 expects an equal-quality French version. As an Ontario-based partner, we help Ontario businesses that sell into Quebec get compliant — and turn that mandatory French version into a real channel to a market most anglophone competitors ignore.
See exactly where your site is exposed — for free
We review your live site against Bill 96 expectations and send you a clear findings list: what's missing in French, where content or function parity breaks, and whether a retrofit (from $3,500 CAD) or a rebuild (from $5,900 CAD) is right for you. No obligation, no sales pressure.
Free, no-obligation audit. We reply within one business day.
Bill 96 Website Compliance — FAQ
Bill 96 (the reform of Quebec's Charter of the French language) requires businesses that serve Quebec to make commercial communications — including websites — available in French of equivalent quality to any other language. It applies broadly to businesses operating in or selling to Quebec, with additional francization obligations kicking in at the 25-employee threshold. You do not need to be physically located in Quebec: if your website serves Quebec customers, it is in scope.
Penalties under the Charter generally run from $3,000 to $30,000 CAD per offence for a legal entity, and can be doubled or tripled for repeat offences. The OQLF (Office québécois de la langue française) can inspect and act on complaints. Beyond the fine, the bigger cost is usually lost trust and lost Quebec customers who land on an English-only or poorly translated site.
No. Bill 96 asks for a French version of equivalent quality and function, not a machine-translated overlay. Auto-translation plugins commonly produce awkward or wrong terminology, break layouts, skip interactive elements like forms and checkout, and are not indexed as a real French version by search engines. The OQLF can deem such a version inadequate. We build the French side as genuine, human-written content with full parity — 'compliant by design'.
It depends on the size of the site and whether we retrofit or rebuild. A focused retrofit of an existing marketing site is typically a few weeks; a full new bilingual EN/FR-native build takes longer. The free Bill 96 audit gives you a fixed timeline and quote up front, so you know exactly what to expect before you commit.
Yes. Bill 96 is about serving Quebec, not about where your head office sits. If your website markets or sells to Quebec customers, it should offer an equal-quality French experience. As an Ontario-based partner, we specifically help Ontario businesses selling into Quebec get compliant — and use the required French version to reach a market most of their anglophone competitors leave untouched.
The retrofit (from $3,500 CAD) takes your existing site and brings it to content and function parity: professionally written Québécois French for pages, forms, product data, transactional emails and error states; a proper language switcher; and correct hreflang, canonical tags and a bilingual sitemap so your SEO survives. If your site is too dated or fragile to retrofit cleanly, we'll tell you honestly and quote a new bilingual build from $5,900 CAD instead.
Get compliant before the OQLF comes looking
Start with a free Bill 96 website audit, or estimate your bilingual build in a couple of minutes. Retrofit from $3,500 CAD, new bilingual site from $5,900 CAD — priced in writing before any work begins.
Transparent, fixed pricing. Free, no-obligation Bill 96 audit available.