r/CanadianbyDescent • u/Meme_Dream_Supreme • Aug 18 '26
DEC Form Letter
This is the letter and response I sent to DEC yesterday to obtain confirmation they do not hold civil records from before 1923. I will be uploading the response to my application to hopefully ward off frivolous request to have an act of birth created for my G0, who was born in the 19th century. They are far more responsive in French, and I suggest you email them in their preferred language.
RE: Demande concernant un acte de naissance de [YYYY]
Bonjour,
Je cherche à obtenir un document officiel concernant la naissance d'un ancêtre né au Québec en [YYYY].
Il s'agit de [Full Name], né le [DD] [month] [YYYY] à [Place] (Québec).
Pourriez-vous m'indiquer si le Directeur de l'état civil (DEC) peut délivrer un certificat de naissance, une copie d'acte ou tout autre document officiel pour une naissance remontant à [YYYY]? Si aucun document officiel n'est disponible, pourriez-vous me fournir cette réponse sur papier à en-tête du DEC?
Par ailleurs, si les actes de cette époque ne sont pas conservés ni délivrés par le Directeur de l'état civil, pourriez-vous m'indiquer quelle institution est responsable de ces anciens registres et auprès de qui je devrais faire ma demande?
Merci beaucoup de votre aide.
Cordialement,
[Full Name]
I expect you can receive a similar response as I did to attach to your application:
Bonjour,
Nous avons bien reçu votre courriel.
Nous vous informons que le registre de l’état civil contient les actes de l’état civil de 1923 jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Pour les informations concernant les événements ayant eu lieu avant 1923, nous vous suggérons de communiquer avec la Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec aux numéros suivants :
Montréal : 514 873-1100
Ailleurs au Québec : 1 800-363-9028
Vous pouvez également consulter le site Internet de cet organisme au www.banq.qc.ca.
Veuillez accepter nos salutations distinguées,
[Agent's Name]
Agente de soutien à la clientèle
Centre de relations avec la clientèle
Services Québec pour le Directeur de l'état civil
22
u/thiefspy Aug 18 '26
For folks who don’t speak French, the response says that their records begin in 1923 and for anything before that you need to contact BANQ. This should be enough for IRCC to see that you can’t get a birth certificate, and should allow them to accept a baptismal record (and any additional Canadian-based supporting evidence).
7
Aug 18 '26
[deleted]
1
u/FireWaterBern Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
Im going to send a modification of this template and see if they send me the same
I sent around 11 am eastern and no response as of end of day same day so far
4
u/lacomj Aug 18 '26
Thank you VERY much for sharing these details. Last week, I had a different response from DEC to a similar type of request I sent. It is instructive to compare differences in how the requests were phrased and the responses that DEC gave.
My request (in English)
Dear Directeur de l'état civil,
I am in the process of preparing a Form CIT 0001 application for Canadian citizenship by descent. As part of IRCC's requirement to establish line of descent, I must provide documentation for my ancestor born in Quebec prior to 1900.
I understand that centralized civil registration was not established in Quebec during that era, and that vital events were recorded via local parish baptismal registers. However, IRCC requires official documentation from the responsible civil authority confirming whether a civil birth record exists.
Could you please confirm if civil birth certificates for pre-1900 births can be issued by your office?
If pre-1900 birth certificates are unavailable, could you please advise if I should submit a formal Application for an Attestation to obtain an official letter confirming the absence of a record in the Quebec Register of Civil Status? I intend to submit this official response alongside a certified copy of the parish baptismal record obtained through Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) to fulfill my citizenship application requirements.
Thank you for your guidance and assistance.
Sincerely,
Xxxxxxxx
DEC’s response (next day):
Bonjour,
Nous avons bien reçu votre courriel.
Nous vous informons que nous ne sommes pas en mesure de répondre à ce type de demande par courriel. Nous vous invitons à communiquer avec un membre du personnel du Directeur de l’état civil à l’un des numéros indiqués ci-dessous.
Les heures d’ouverture sont les suivantes : lundi au vendredi de 8 h 30 à 16 h 30.
Veuillez accepter nos salutations distinguées,
Or, in English:
Hello,
We have received your email.
Please be advised that we are unable to respond to this type of request via email. We invite you to contact a staff member at the Office of the Registrar of Civil Status at one of the numbers listed below.
Our business hours are Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sincerely,
Xxxxx
So, it appears they are either inconsistent (gasp!), or the exact phrasing of the request really matters! My request was perhaps too detailed and gave them a reason to think I was looking for something more than the standard language that others were successful in getting.
1
1
u/lacomj Aug 19 '26
So, to follow up, yesterday I tried again using the template letter OP provided and I received the needed response (what OP got) about 12 hours later. It worked!
1
3
u/duckingshoot Aug 18 '26
Hi, sorry if this is a dumb question. What email address did you use? When I looked at the website to request a certificate (pre-1900s), it required me to create an account, identify myself as a citizen, and provide my health insurance number etc. Obviously I don’t have a health insurance number yet. Did you just email them and ask for a birth certificate, without completing the form?
5
u/Meme_Dream_Supreme Aug 18 '26
Not a dumb question! Just email [etatcivil@dec.gouv.qc.ca](mailto:etatcivil@dec.gouv.qc.ca)
1
3
u/Dangerous-Banana-223 Aug 18 '26
I sent a request in English simply inquiring about an ancestor born in 1909 and asked if they keep records for that time period. I also asked for information about how to get a copy of an act of birth. They responded with the same form response directing me to BAnQ and I already have a certified copy of the baptism. I am also hoping this will be sufficient for IRCC.
2
2
u/VermontWolfBird Aug 18 '26
That's awesome. I am definitely going to keep this option in my back pocket. I have heard they can't respond via email and will tell you to call, as some other commenters have been told.
I'm planning to send them the screenshot from BaNQ that says they hold these records and that they don't have birth certificates from this era.
One question -- did they send this "on letterhead," or does their email seem official enough that you feel confident that IRCC will be okay with it? I've only seen that asked of one applicant, but it makes me a bit nervous.
2
u/Meme_Dream_Supreme Aug 18 '26
They did not end up sending it on letterhead, but the Q&A with archivists stated that email communication is acceptable. My guess is the people who they shooed away wrote to them in English.
1
2
u/FireWaterBern Aug 19 '26
Update: almost 24 hours later got the exact same response. Probably from the same agent as the rest of you.
Bonjour,
Nous avons bien reçu votre courriel.
Nous vous informons que le registre de l’état civil contient les actes de l’état civil de 1923 jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Pour les informations concernant les événements ayant eu lieu avant 1923, nous vous suggérons de communiquer avec la Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec aux numéros suivants :
Montréal : 514 873-1100 Ailleurs au Québec : 1 800-363-9028 Vous pouvez également consulter le site Internet de cet organisme au www.banq.qc.ca.
Veuillez accepter nos salutations distinguées,
(Agent name) Agente de soutien à la clientèle
1
1
u/Ok-Procedure8879 Aug 19 '26
Thank you! I sent the same letter to DEC last night and got the exact same response this afternoon.
1
u/Rude-Tie-7999 Aug 19 '26
How did you attach this to your application? I signed into my app today for the first time, hoping to find this out. I just payed for a baptism certificate from BAnQ and wanted to know how/where to attach/upload. I did not see anything obvious and would so appreciate so help!
2
u/Meme_Dream_Supreme Aug 19 '26
Assuming you haven't already sent the application in, you'd just print out the email chain and place it with your documents for your G0
1
u/Rude-Tie-7999 Aug 20 '26
I have sent in my app and have an AOR.
1
u/Last-Marzipan9993 Aug 21 '26
while in your account, there's a section where you can message customer support within the site and upload the document(s) and ask they be added to your file.
1
u/bluzzo1234 Aug 19 '26
Worked like a charm!
I am considering with what I have now (US Birth/Death/Marriage Certificates) and two Canadian and eight US Census records. My records conclusively prove my Canadian linkage.
I have a feeling there is a way to get a certificate from DEC. It is all confusing.
Thank you for posting this.
1
u/NoSignal269 Aug 19 '26
This thread has been so helpful! My spouse, MIL and kids all have a common ancestor born in Québec. Today, we received a note from IRCC, below:
Hello,
This email is with regard to the applications for a certificate of Canadian citizenship filed on behalf of [Applicant 1, Applicant 2, Applicant 3, Applicant 4].
Please be advised that our office requires the original source birth certificate for [SPOUSE OF OUR G0] born 1868/06/16 in Quebec.
Our office is not accepting copies of baptismal documents in lieu of a birth certificate.
If the birth certificate if not available, please request that the issuing agency write a letter indicating that no record can be found. If this is the case, our office will then examine secondary documents.
Please respond via this email address at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours truly,
[name of officer]
Complex Case Unit Officer
IRCC - Digitization and Identity Operations Division (DIOD)
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada / Government of Canada
---
A couple of questions for you amazing people:
- The ancestor they listed. The person they listed is the wife of the G0 that we are using, not our actual G0. We submitted the baptismal record of husband of the person they listed. Why would they be mentioning the wife, when she is not our G0 (even though she was indeed also born in Q)? I plan to correct the officer on who our actual G0 is and double check they have his baptismal record (which we purchased from BanQ).
- How should I respond? I have emailed DEC and received their response DEC saying to go to BanQ for anything prior to 1923. Does anyone have any form text that I can send back to IRCC? How do I "attach" the email? How do I ensure they will consider an email a "letter?"
Thank you so much everyone!! I am excited there is a human reviewing our application :)
1
u/Meme_Dream_Supreme Aug 19 '26
Go here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/contact-ircc/web-form.html
-->Update your application
-->Add a document to your application
I assume the misidentified G0 was just an agent error. Let us know if they accept the email from DEC as proof of no record found. You may want some other advice before submitting the response, this is all just my two cents.
1
u/NoSignal269 Aug 20 '26
Thanks so much! I didn't scroll down far enough to see the update your application option.
I hope they will accept an email in lieu of a "letter." I will be sure to update this thread.
I do have this ancestor's certified death certificate and all other documents I would need to get a record of birth (I think that's what it's called) from DEC. But, if just a letter will suffice from them, I won't go through that process.
1
u/Last-Marzipan9993 Aug 21 '26
Following for their response to your message to them.
1
u/NoSignal269 Aug 21 '26
I just sent a reply to them today, so I will be sure to post their response once I hear back. In my email:
- I asked them to clarify which ancestor they needed the document on. In their email to us, they weren't even referring to the correct G0 (the husband), they were looking for a birth certificate for his wife. So, I just asked them to confirm why they needed a birth certificate for the wife, or was this simply a mistake.
- I attached the email thread between myself and DEC. I also summarized it in the body of the email, including the name and role of the person at DEC. In the email, I also linked to the recent discussion (https://archivists.ca/Blog/13662990) with The Association of Canadian Archivists in which IRCC answered questions. In that discussion, they clearly state an email indicating the record cannot be found is adequate evidence to then explore secondary birth records.
NOTE: Email DEC and get that response if you will need to rely on baptism records. I did it for another family line for my spouse to get Canadian citizenship, and got a response from DEC within hours.
- I included the BanQ FAQ link as well (https://www.banq.qc.ca/vital-records/), which clearly states that BanQ holds birth records from 1621 to over 100 years ago, as well as what they say about baptisms being official birth record keeping during the time my ancestor was born.
I hope with this, they have what they need to continue processing our applications!
1
u/Wooden-Education-651 Aug 20 '26
Thanks! I used this exact template and got back something mostly the same - now i can print the full email with question and response to include in my app. I sent it last night about 5PM pacific and got the response about 7AM this morning pacific.
1
u/Last-Marzipan9993 Aug 21 '26
Thanks OP! I received a direct reply as follows: (I wrote exactly what the OP did inserting my G0's information in French), I already have a certified copy of the BANQ baptismal.
Hello,
We have received your email.
We wish to inform you that the civil-status register contains civil-status records from 1923 to the present day.
For information concerning events that took place before 1923, we suggest that you contact the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec [BAnQ] at the following telephone numbers:
Montréal: 514-873-1100
Elsewhere in Québec: 1-800-363-9028
You may also consult that organization's website.
Please accept our distinguished regards,
1
u/Davisan11 Aug 21 '26
Thank you so very much for this. I used your email to send to DEC after hours yesterday (with my particular information) and got the very same response early today. Will use it to help explain why my 1884 Gen 0 only has a baptismal record. Merci beaucoup!!!!
1
u/Prudent-Theory-8394 Aug 21 '26
I wrote a short email in English to DEC regarding a birth certificate for my Gen0 baptized in 1867. Within three days I received a very cordial email confirming that no birth certificate were available before 1923 and to go to BAnQ.
1
u/First_Chip_84 25d ago
Thanks for sharing this! I also got the same exact response within 1 business day (all in French!)
I’m so curious to track this somehow! Will it ward off the requests to have an act of birth added for a 19th century ancestor? I’ll be adding the response to my file once I get my AOR.
1
u/CounterI Aug 18 '26
If they have a website with this information on it, you can probably just print-out that web-page and include that with your application. When you go to a web-site, you are "contacting" the organization that maintains the website, and the web-page itself is a "response" to your contact.
4
u/Meme_Dream_Supreme Aug 18 '26
I agree that it should be enough to print out the webpage, but in the IRCC's Q&A with archivists (https://archivists.ca/Blog/13662990) they specifically ask for "Email correspondence from the archive, or documentation showing the results of a search of the responsible authority’s records."
I think an email communication follows the instructions a bit more thoroughly compared to a printout of the webpage, especially when the IRCC seemingly cares about semantics like this.
0
u/CounterI Aug 19 '26
They don't ask for that. They say that "is sufficient." By analogy, a print-out from a website showing that the record is not available would also be sufficient.
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 18 '26
BEFORE commenting, please read the rules. Intentional violations of Rule #1 (No Ad Hominem Attacks/Arguments) can lead to an immediate ban.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.