The Démarrer une Entreprise Service

Starting an enterprise involves dealing with any number of government departments and agencies. In an effort to streamline these dealings, the Québec government has developed the Démarrer une entreprise service (available in French only). The service guides you through the process of starting your new enterprise and lets you track the status of your applications. We recommend that you use this service if you are starting your enterprise and have not yet undertaken any steps with any government department or agency. To access the service, click the Démarrer une entreprise button at the right side of this page.

You can use the Démarrer une entreprise service if:

• you are resident in Canada; 
• you are 14 years of age or older; and 
• you are either:
  • a representative of the new enterprise you wish to start in Québec, or
  • a representative of an enterprise already constituted under a law of a jurisdiction other than Québec that wishes to do business in Québec. 

You must first determine whether you can use the Démarrer une entreprise service by completing a questionnaire. Once you have completed the questionnaire, you will also obtain a list of obligations to fulfill with various departments and agencies of the Québec government. 

If the enterprise can use the service, you will have access to the online service of the Registraire des enterprises so that you may constitute or register an enterprise, depending on its legal form. You will then obtain a Québec enterprise number (NEQ) to be used to identify the enterprise with each department and agency.

Once you have obtained the enterprise's NEQ, you will be directed to the Revenu Québec website to obtain a user code and to register the enterprise for various Revenu Québec files so the enterprise may meet its fiscal obligations, such as collecting the GST and the QST, reporting its income and making source deductions of income tax if it has employees.

You will then have to register the enterprise for clicSÉQUR to obtain a government user code which will provide access to other online services accessible through Zone entreprise. You will, for example, be able to track all of your applications. 

Finally, you can register for the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) if the enterprise has employees. In most cases, this step is undertaken later as an enterprise that is starting does not hire employees immediately. You can register ahead of time and request that the CNESST remind you in the enterprise's Zone entreprise space.

Note that you will also be informed of which obligations you must fulfill with provincial government departments and agencies that are not yet participating in the Démarrer une entreprise service.