Free Quebec General Bill of Sale
Quebec is the province where the phrase "sold as-is" does the least work — and general goods are no exception. The Civil Code imposes a legal warranty of quality on the seller of any property (article 1726): the item must be free of latent defects that make it unfit for the use it was intended for, and a written clause that excludes that warranty may not protect a seller who knew about a defect. So a Quebec bill of sale for a machine, an instrument, or a piece of equipment does its most important work in two places: the description of the intended use, and the honest written disclosure of everything you know is wrong with the thing.
Free PDF includes a light diagonal watermark. Go Pro to remove it. Already subscribed? Sign in.
Quebec General Bill of Sale — What You Need to Know
Tax Details
GST/HST may apply if the seller is a GST-registered business. Private individual-to-individual sales of used personal property are typically exempt.
Exemption: Gifts between related individuals (spouses, and people related by blood, marriage or adoption) are exempt from QST when both sign Revenu Québec form VD-80.1-V. Vehicles passed on from an estate are also exempt.
Inspection Requirements
No inspection is required for general personal-property sales.
Quebec General Sale — Step-by-Step Checklist
- Describe the item precisely: make, model, year, serial number, condition, and any defects known to you.
- STATE THE INTENDED USE — the legal warranty measures a defect against the use the item was sold for, so naming it defines the standard.
- Disclose every known defect in writing: a defect the buyer knows about at the time of sale is excluded from the article 1726 warranty. Silence keeps it inside.
- Encourage inspection: an apparent defect a prudent, diligent buyer could have seen also falls outside the warranty.
- State the price, the payment method, and the date of delivery.
- Check the RDPRM (Quebec's personal property registry) for a registered security interest on financed equipment.
- Both parties sign, in the language they actually read, and each keeps a copy.
Common Pitfalls
- Importing an "as-is, no warranty" clause from an Ontario or American template: an exclusion should name the legal warranty plainly, and it may not protect a seller who knew about a defect.
- Leaving the intended use blank: without it, "unfit for its purpose" becomes whatever the buyer later says the purpose was.
- Telling the buyer about a defect verbally instead of writing it down — proving they knew is then your problem.
- Skipping the RDPRM search on used machinery or equipment.
Pro Tip
In Quebec the Civil Code writes half your contract for you. Name the intended use, disclose every known defect, invite the inspection — and the warranty that protects the buyer will also protect the honest seller.