RBQ licence, GST and QST numbers on your documents Quebec Invoice and Quote Requirements
In short
In Quebec, three sets of rules overlap on your documents: GST and QST rules (Revenu Québec and the CRA), the licence display rules of the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) for contractors, and the Charter of the French language.
For GST and QST, it all depends on the total amount, taxes included: your registration numbers from $100, then the buyer's name, the description and the payment terms at $500. The QST also asks for the tax amount and the description from the first dollar. This is the information your registered customer needs to claim input tax credits; they can ask you for it in writing.
Your RBQ licence number goes on all your estimates, bids, contracts, account statements and invoices, in the format "RBQ licence: XXXX-XXXX-XX". And the invoice is drawn up in French.
The requirements table
One row per item, with the rule and the official page that sets it. Amounts are the total value of the sale, taxes included.
| Item | Who it applies to | From what amount | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier's name (or business name, or the name of an intermediary) | GST and QST registrants, for their registered customers' tax credits | Any amount | Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab)CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| Invoice date | GST and QST registrants | Any amount | Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab)CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| Total amount of the invoice | GST and QST registrants | Any amount | Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab)CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| GST and QST amounts (if shown as one amount, state that it includes the GST and QST) | GST and QST registrants | Under $100: QST only. From $100: both taxes | Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab)CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| Supplier's GST and QST registration numbers | GST and QST registrants | From $100 | Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab)CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| Status of each supply, when the invoice mixes taxable and exempt supplies | GST registrants | From $100 | CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| Buyer's name (or business name, or authorized representative) | GST and QST registrants | From $500 | Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab)CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| Description of the property or service | GST and QST registrants | Under $500: QST only. From $500: both taxes | Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab)CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| Terms of payment | GST and QST registrants | From $500 | Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab)CRA (opens in a new tab) |
| "RBQ licence: XXXX-XXXX-XX" on estimates, bids, contracts, account statements and invoices | RBQ licence holders (exemptions below) | Any amount | RBQ (opens in a new tab) |
| Invoices, receipts and acquittances drawn up in French | Businesses carrying on their activities in Quebec | Any amount | Charter, s. 57 (opens in a new tab)OQLF (in French) (opens in a new tab) |
This table summarizes the official pages cited; it does not replace them. Where they differ, the official page prevails.
Why the amount changes the list
Revenu Québec says it plainly: the GST and QST systems impose no special invoice, except on restaurants and taxi businesses. The $100 and $500 thresholds instead set the information a registered customer must have to claim input tax credits (ITCs) and input tax refunds (ITRs).
Your registered customer can ask you for this information in writing, and you must provide it. In practice, an invoice that already shows it, whoever the customer is, saves the back-and-forth.
Revenu Québec and the CRA each publish their own table. They agree on the thresholds, with two nuances: the QST asks for the tax amount and the description from the first dollar, and the CRA adds the status of each supply when an invoice mixes taxable and exempt supplies.
Your RBQ licence: where and how to display it
Under the Building Act, contractors must display the licence number issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec. The number has 10 digits and is written this way: "RBQ licence: XXXX-XXXX-XX".
Where the RBQ requires the number
- Your estimates, bids, contracts, account statements and invoices.
- Construction site signs, if your company name appears on them.
- Any advertising, including business cards.
- Your website, and your business or personal social networks if you advertise your services there.
- Vehicles that display the business name and travel on public streets or construction sites: one display is enough for each vehicle or vehicle part (tractor, trailer) that shows the business name.
Exceptions published by the RBQ
- Promotional items (pens, cups, key rings, clothing) do not need the number.
- Members of the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ) or the Corporation des maîtres mécaniciens en tuyauterie du Québec (CMMTQ) do not have to display their RBQ licence number: their corporation's logo identifies them.
- Contractors domiciled outside Quebec are also exempt.
On the other hand, the RBQ prohibits displaying the Government of Québec flag or the RBQ logo on your documents.
The language of the invoice
Section 57 of the Charter of the French language provides that invoices, receipts, acquittances and other documents of the same nature must be drawn up in French.
Another language may be used alongside French (section 89). But no one may send such a document in a language other than French if the French version is not available to the customer on terms that are at least as favourable.
The Office québécois de la langue française also lists contracts and purchase orders among the commercial documents that must be given to the customer in French.
An invoice that shows everything
An invoice over $500 from a business that is registered, holds an RBQ licence and is not a member of the CMEQ or the CMMTQ: every item in the table appears on it. The tag on the right says from when it is required.
- Rénovation Exemple inc.Any amount
- RBQ licence: 0000-0000-00RBQ
- GST no.: your registration numberFrom $100
- QST no.: your registration numberFrom $100
- Date: October 20, 2026Any amount
- Customer: Gestion Exemple inc.From $500
- Window replacement, materials and labourQST: any amount
- Amount before taxes$1,840.00
- GST (5%)$92.00From $100
- QST (9.975%)$183.54QST: any amount
- Total, GST and QST included$2,115.54Any amount
- Terms of payment: net 30 daysFrom $500
On the quote that came before this invoice, the "RBQ licence" line was already required: the RBQ asks for it from the estimate on.
Fictional example: business, customer, licence number and amounts are made up. Each tax is calculated on the amount before taxes and rounded to the cent.
What this guide does not say
- This is not legal or tax advice. Check with your accountant, or with a lawyer for a contract.
- It does not cover mandatory billing for restaurants and taxi businesses, or the HST of other provinces.
- It does not cover rules specific to contracts with consumers: the sources consulted here do not address them.
- It names only what the official pages cited publish. A rule missing from this table is not necessarily missing from the law.
Putting it into practice
Official sources
- Revenu Québec, "Preparing Invoices" (opens in a new tab)Table of required information by value of the sale (under $100, $100 to $499.99, $500 or more).
- Canada Revenue Agency, "Input tax credits" (opens in a new tab)Section "Records you need to support your claim".
- Revenu Québec, "Details Concerning Small Suppliers" (opens in a new tab)The $30,000 threshold and voluntary registration.
- Régie du bâtiment du Québec, "Displaying your licence" (opens in a new tab)Number format, documents covered, exemptions.
- LégisQuébec, Charter of the French language (C-11), sections 57 and 89 (opens in a new tab)Text updated to August 12, 2026.
- Office québécois de la langue française, "Langue du commerce et des affaires" (in French) (opens in a new tab)Section "Documents commerciaux".
- Québec.ca, "Québec enterprise number (NEQ)" (opens in a new tab)What the NEQ is.
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Check with your accountant.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for a licensed contractor. The Régie du bâtiment du Québec requires the number on estimates, bids, contracts, account statements and invoices, in the format "RBQ licence: XXXX-XXXX-XX". Two exemptions are published: members of the CMEQ or the CMMTQ, identified by their corporation's logo, and contractors domiciled outside Quebec.
According to the RBQ: on your documents (estimates, bids, contracts, account statements, invoices), on construction site signs that show your company name, in any advertising and on your business cards, on your website and social networks if you advertise your services there, and on vehicles that display your business name. Promotional items are exempt.
According to Revenu Québec, a small supplier is not required to register for or collect the GST and QST. You are a small supplier if your taxable supplies, together with those of your associates, do not exceed $30,000 in a calendar quarter or over the four preceding calendar quarters. If you exceed the limit in a single quarter, taxes apply from the sale that takes you over it. A small supplier may also register voluntarily, and then collects the taxes. Check with your accountant.
None of the official pages cited in this guide (Revenu Québec, CRA, RBQ, OQLF) lists the NEQ among the items on an invoice. The NEQ is the 10-digit identifier assigned to each enterprise registered with the Enterprise register. To find out whether it must appear on your documents in your situation, ask your accountant or the Registraire des entreprises.
The Charter of the French language provides that invoices, receipts and acquittances must be drawn up in French (section 57). Another language may be added alongside French (section 89), but an invoice may be sent in another language only if its French version is available to the customer on terms that are at least as favourable.
ORYX Console
Your RBQ, GST and QST numbers, printed on every document.
The management software from ORYX Gestion Inc., built in Quebec for service businesses:
- RBQ, GST and QST numbers printed on your quotes and invoices
- Line-by-line quotes, with GST and QST calculated
- Invoices with GST and QST: Draft, Sent, Paid