Free Quebec Horse Bill of Sale
Quebec is the one province where "sold as-is" does not mean what horse traders elsewhere assume. Under the Civil Code of Quebec (article 1726), a seller owes the buyer a legal warranty of quality — the animal must be free of latent defects that make it unfit for its intended use — and that statutory warranty is far harder to contract away than a common-law as-is clause. In practice this makes the written bill of sale (acte de vente) the single most consequential document in a Quebec horse deal: what the seller disclosed, what use the horse was sold for, and what the buyer knew all decide whether a later lameness or vice becomes a legal claim.
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Quebec Horse Bill of Sale — What You Need to Know
Tax Details
Horses are personal property in Canada. GST/HST may apply if the seller is a GST registrant (farm or business). Private individual-to-individual sales are typically GST/HST exempt.
Exemption: Private sales between individuals are generally exempt from GST/HST. Purchases from a registered GST farm may attract 5% GST.
Inspection Requirements
No provincial inspection is required for a horse sale, though a pre-purchase veterinary exam is strongly recommended.
Quebec Horse Sale — Step-by-Step Checklist
- Write the acte de vente in the language both parties actually read, with the horse's full identity: name, breed, colour, markings, microchip or tattoo, age, sex, registration number.
- State the INTENDED USE explicitly — dressage, trail, driving, breeding, companion. Quebec's legal warranty measures defects against the use the horse was sold for.
- Disclose every known defect, vice, or past injury in writing: a defect known to the buyer at the sale is excluded from the warranty, so honest disclosure protects the seller.
- Book the pre-purchase veterinary exam — an apparent defect a prudent buyer could have seen is outside the warranty, which makes the exam the seller's protection too.
- Set price and terms; GST/QST apply only when the seller is a registrant selling in the course of business.
- Hand over the current Coggins (EIA) certificate — CFIA has required digital EIA test certification since December 2021 — plus vaccination records.
- Transfer breed-registry papers through the association, and keep signed copies of everything.
Common Pitfalls
- Copying an as-is clause from an Ontario or American template: Quebec's article 1726 warranty is statutory, and boilerplate exclusions are read narrowly against the seller.
- Leaving the intended use blank: without it, "unfit for its intended use" becomes whatever the buyer says it was.
- Verbal disclosure of a known vice: if it is not in the written act, proving the buyer knew is the seller's uphill battle.
- Skipping the pre-purchase exam: it converts hidden defects into apparent ones, narrowing the warranty for the seller and informing the buyer.
Pro Tip
A Quebec horse deal is decided by the written act: state the intended use, disclose every known defect, get the vet exam. Do those three and the Civil Code warranty works with you instead of against you.