How do I register my child for health insurance and get their card (born in Québec or newly arrived)?

✓ Verified answer Written from official pages, with checked citations and a verification date.

General information, not advice. If your child was born in Québec and at least one parent is already registered for health insurance, you do not need to contact the RAMQ: you register the birth with the Directeur de l'état civil and the information is sent automatically. If neither parent is registered, the RAMQ sends you a letter listing the documents to provide so it can assess your child's eligibility. For a child born outside Québec, registration is done online in some situations, otherwise by phone; for an adoption, by phone. Where applicable, the RAMQ then sends the child a health insurance card.

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Key facts

Born in Québec, one parent registered: No step with the RAMQ: register the birth with the Directeur de l'état civil and the information is sent automatically.
Born in Québec, no parent registered: The RAMQ sends you a letter listing the documents to provide (e.g. work or study permit, sworn statement) before assessing eligibility.
Born outside Québec: Online registration possible if you or the other parent are, at the time of birth, settled in Québec or staying in Québec for more than 6 months. Other situation: phone the RAMQ (anywhere in Québec: 1 833 203-5524).
Adoption: Registration by phone only, with the child's identity documents.
Time to receive the card: The pages read do not state a delay for a child's first card.
Family arriving in Québec: Each family member fills out their own form and provides their own documents: 1 person = 1 form.

What is your situation?

Which health insurance card is it about?

Your procedure, step by step

Start the official procedure Official page: Birth or adoption (RAMQ) (opens in a new tab)https://www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/citoyens/naissance-adoption

Child born in Québec: register your child with the Directeur de l'état civil using the form from the hospital or given to you by the midwife.
If at least one parent is already registered for health insurance (as a person who lives or stays in Québec), no step is needed with the RAMQ: the information for health insurance and, where applicable, drug insurance is sent to it automatically.
If neither parent is registered: the RAMQ sends you a letter with the list of documents to send it to show your presence in Québec (examples: work or study permit, sworn statement). When it receives them, it assesses the child's eligibility.
Child born outside Québec: first gather the child's identity documents. You can register the child online if you or the other parent are, at the time of birth, settled in Québec or staying in Québec for more than 6 months; for any other situation, phone the RAMQ.
Adopted child: phone the RAMQ, after gathering the child's identity documents.
Drug insurance: if you or the other parent can get a private plan, you must include your child in it and tell your insurer as soon as possible. Otherwise, a child born in Québec is registered automatically in the public plan, where applicable.
If you need to replace or correct your child's card later, the process is the same as for yours: online or by mail (see the lost or stolen card answer).
Birth outside Québec or adoption: also check whether you are entitled to the Allocation famille from Retraite Québec.

Start the official procedure Official page: Birth or adoption (RAMQ) (opens in a new tab)https://www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/citoyens/naissance-adoption

Your progress is kept on this device only: nothing is sent to Demande au Québec. Some steps only apply in certain situations: skip the ones that do not concern you.

General information drawn from official sources. It does not replace legal, medical or financial advice. For your situation, contact the organization concerned or a professional.

Sources

Naissance ou adoption (Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ))
M'inscrire ou me réinscrire à l'assurance maladie (Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ))
Remplacer ou corriger une carte d'assurance maladie (Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ))

Checked on October 6, 2026. Rules, deadlines and fees can change: always confirm on the official page above. Demande au Québec is an independent website, not a government site.

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