If you operate in Québec—or sell into the province Quebec Bill 96 is now business-critical. Effective 2025, deferred provisions alter requirements for product inscriptions, public signage, advertising, websites, and language of work. Quebec Bill 96 reinforces French as the language of commerce and employment, elevating standards for packaging, storefront presentation, and internal practices. This guide provides a practical roadmap—changes in 2025, entities in scope, and workflow alignment across legal, brand, and operations.

What changed in 2025 (at a glance)

• Francization threshold lowered: As of June 1, 2025, businesses with 25+ employees (for six months) must register with the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) and undertake the francization process; previously, the threshold was 50+. Deadlines and post-registration steps are defined by the OQLF.
• Signage & advertising stricter: Exterior public signage that includes non-French trademarks must feature French that is “markedly predominant.” In practice, French must have far greater visual impact—often interpreted as at least “twice as large,” with supporting placement and contrast rules.
• Product inscriptions & trademarks: On packaging and labels, French must be at least as prominent as any other language. The recognized-trademark exception remains, but descriptive or generic terms embedded in an English mark must appear in French on the product or a permanently attached medium.
  
• Compliance timeline: Most core rules hit June 1, 2025; a widely cited grace period runs to June 1, 2027, for selling through certain pre-existing inventory. Verify your specific category and stock dates against counsel. 

Who is in scope—and how it reaches you

• Any enterprise with workers in Québec: language-of-work rules, internal communications, and software interfaces used by staff must support French. The francization duty now starts at 25 employees, with registration and diagnostic steps on defined timelines.
• Brands selling into Québec (retail or e-commerce): product inscriptions, instructions, warranties, and marketing materials must respect the French-prominence rules; online storefronts visible to Québec consumers are included. 
• Sign owners & tenants: storefronts and exterior signage visible from outside must show French as markedly predominant, including where a non-French trademark appears. 

Packaging, labeling, and websites: what “good” looks like

Packaging & labels

Ensure complete French for mandatory information (name, function, quantity, instructions, warnings) with equal or greater prominence (size, contrast, location). 

If your English trademark includes descriptive terms (e.g., “X Shampoo – Color-Safe”), place the descriptive term in French on the product or a permanently attached medium. 

Websites & e-commerce

Provide a fully equivalent French experience, not a truncated version: menus, product pages, cart/checkout, legal pages, support, and help center content. If you collect data or present Ts&Cs, the French version must be accessible and of equal prominence. (Best-practice alignment.) 

Public signage & advertising

If you keep a non-French mark on an exterior sign, add accompanying French text that dominates visually (size, placement, lighting). Re-measure and mock up layouts before fabrication. 

Language of work and the francization journey

From 2025, more organizations must register with the OQLF (≥25 employees), submit an analysis of the linguistic situation, and—if required—implement a francization program with a target to obtain a francization certificate. Plan for:

• Inventory of internal tools (intranets, HRIS, POS, productivity apps) used in Québec—ensure French interfaces and documentation where staff rely on them.
• Templates & SOPs: employment offers, policies, training materials, and safety instructions available in French.
• Progress reporting: assign an internal owner to interface with the OQLF and track corrective actions and timelines. 

Five common pitfalls—and how to avoid them

1. Treating Québec as a late add-on: Retro-translating packaging or UX strings at the end leads to reprints and defects. Build French requirements into design tokens and bill of materials.
2. Misreading the trademark exception: The mark may stand, but descriptive/generic words inside or near it still trigger French. Review art files with legal and language experts. 
3. Underestimating “markedly predominant”: It’s more than font size—visual impact matters (placement, contrast). Use mockups and photography to validate. 
4. Missing the 25-employee trigger: Headcount thresholds are rolling; once you meet them for six months, register with OQLF and begin the process. Calendar the next steps. 
5. Ignoring e-commerce scope: Products sold online to Québec customers must comply with French inscriptions and visibility standards; listings and after-purchase comms count. 

A practical compliance roadmap for 2025–2026

• Month 0–1: 

Confirm scope. Map Québec touchpoints (packaging SKUs, signs, channels, apps) and identify whether Quebec Bill 96 francization duties apply (≥25 employees). 

• Month 1–3: 

Redline assets. Update dielines for French prominence, create signage comps with markedly predominant French, and build a bilingual web style guide.

• Month 3–6: 

Execute. Print/produce new packaging and exterior signage; deploy French parity across e-commerce and help center.

Quarterly: Audit & attest. Track error rates, rework, and OQLF milestones. For inventory, validate any sell-through to 2027 under counsel. 

Where TransLinguist fits

TransLinguist helps teams operationalize compliance without derailing timelines:

• Translation & Transcreation (Canadian French): Packaging, instructions, warranties, and digital content aligned to prominence and parity rules tied to Quebec Bill 96.
• Terminology & QA: Centralized glossaries, bilingual style sheets, and layout checks for “markedly predominant” French on signage and ads.
• Remote & On-Site Interpreting + Captions: For Québec town halls, safety briefings, and hybrid sessions, with post-event transcripts that support documentation.

Conclusion

By 2025, Quebec Bill 96 isn’t theoretical—it’s the new normal. Teams that plan around OQLF thresholds, packaging prominence, and signage dominance spend less on rework and defend decisions with evidence. Treat the requirements as design inputs, not last-minute fixes, and your launches will move faster. If you want a partner to standardize language choices, validate artwork, and support bilingual events, TransLinguist can help you meet Quebec Bill 96 with confidence—and turn compliance into clear, consistent customer experience.

Ready to put a compliance plan in motion? Talk to TransLinguist about packaging and signage reviews, Canadian-French content, and OQLF-aware workflows that pass audits and protect brand trust.

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