Quebec’s notary documents are unique in North America, and they are incredible sources of information about ancestors. These documents can contain marriage contracts, wills, estate inventories, guardianships, leases, powers of attorney, mortgages, loans, deeds, sales, apprenticeships, and business partnerships.
One of the biggest genealogy announcements made last year was that Ancestry had partnered with the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) to digitize 300 years of the province’s notary records.
Not all of the notary documents (Actes) and indexes (Répertoires), however, have been digitized. This is a work in progress until 2020, and Ancestry will likely update the collection once or twice a year as digitized documents become available.
How to find notary records on Ancestry
To find notary documents and indexes on Ancestry, start by entering your ancestor’s name. If a number of your ancestors lived in Quebec, search first for those with unusual surnames.
Search for women, using their maiden name. In Quebec, it has always been common, if not mandatory, for notaries to use women’s maiden names.
If your ancestors’ have a popular surname, and you know the notary some of your relatives used, add the notary’s name to the Keyword search box to narrow down the results. It is common for relatives to use the same notary. It is also common for people to use different notaries throughout their lifetime.
Répertoire vs acte
In the search results, you will see Répertoire and sometimes you will see Acte.
The Répertoire is the notary’s index of documents, written in chronological order. Judging by what is available to subscribers, it appears that Ancestry is focusing its initial efforts on digitizing the répertoires as quickly as possible, and then will digitize the actual documents.
In some cases, if you are lucky, the digitized acte (notary document) is available on Ancestry, and it can be a few or several pages long.
How to order notary documents from BAnQ
If you find only the répertoire on Ancestry, you can easily order a digital copy of the acte from BAnQ for only 25 cents per page or a minimum order of $4.35. My last order was $22.62 plus tax for 87 pages in PDF format, which represented several actes.
Here’s how to order an acte.
Note the répertoire details
Click on View Record on Ancestry to see the details of the répertoire, the notary’s index. Take note of the Record Date, Record Place, Notary, Notarial Act Number, Record Type, and all Participants.
BAnQ website
With that information in hand, go to the BAnQ website, and select English in the top-right corner.
Go to the Help section (or Using our services section). Click on Reproduction services.
If the Reproduction services page appears in French, click on English in the top-right of the screen.
Next, select Digital copy services.
On the Digital copy services page, look at the online reproduction request form and schedule of fee and charges.
Order online
Now, you are ready to open the online reproduction request form and order the actes you want.
Contact info
In Section 1 — Your Contact Information, fill in all of the boxes required.
Details about the acte
In Section 2 — Basket, select Digital File in Type of reproduction. Click on Add to basket to open this section of the order form.
Provide a detailed description: Notary acte, acte number, type of record, names of the participants. (See example below.)
Enter the notary’s name and location in the Author section and the date of the acte in the Publishing date section. (Or you can enter this information at the beginning of the detailed description box.)
Choose the Format. The least expensive format is PDF file at 25 cents per page, and this is the version most genealogists will find useful.
One acte per basket
Once you have completed the information for one acte, click on Add to basket. This will open another basket for entering your next acte. BAnQ asks that you order one acte only in each basket.
Statement of public use
In Section 3 — Statement of public use, if there is no intention to use the actes in a public manner, select No. In that case, no other information is required. Leave the remaining boxes blank.
Delivery
In Section 4 — Delivery, select Email.
Billing
In Section 5 — Billing, complete the information. No credit card details are required until BAnQ contacts you by email or telephone.
Confirmation
Once you have completed the remaining information for billing, click Send. Within seconds, you will see a message, in French, on the BAnQ screen, confirming your order was received. Very soon afterward, you will receive an email confirmation message, in English, if you completed the English form.
Payment
In two to four weeks, you will receive another email message, in English, advising that your order is ready.
Call the number provided in the email. If you live outside Montreal, it will be a long-distance call. After you dial the number, you will hear a recording in French providing instructions. Without listening to the recording in its entirety, enter the four-digit extension number, which will take you to User Services where someone will answer your call.
After you briefly explain why you have called, you will be asked to provide your credit card information. Payment is by credit card only.
Within about 30 minutes of providing your credit card details, you will receive an email from We Transfer, directing you to click on Download to receive your actes.
Help available
If you have questions about the archival collections at BAnQ, fill in the online contact form. (Click on English in the top-right corner for the English form.) You can also call 514-873-1100 or the toll-free number 1-800-363-9028 from all regions of Quebec outside the Montreal region. (The toll-free number is for Quebec only.)
Most people receive a response to their online inquiry within 24 to 48 hours. More complicated questions may require a longer response time.
Related articles published on this blog:
How to find your ancestors in Ancestry’s new Quebec notary collection
Ancestry’s new Quebec notary collection even better than realized
I recently needed a notarial marriage contract from 1637. I followed these instructions, they were accurate for the most part. They have changed slightly: there is an option at the “basket” section for high resolution digital file, (this is $35, don’t choose this!). Instead I chose “copy of archival materials”. Within 3 days I had received the PDF file by email: the original record PLUS two typewritten versions of the transcription of this 3 page notarial record, making my life a lot easier! Oh, and this only cost me $2.80.
I’m glad it worked out for you. When I saw the $35 charge for a high resolution digital file, I called BAnQ, concerned the price had increased. I was glad to learn the cost for a PDF is still one of the best deals. Thanks for sharing.