The Fonciq API for the Quebec land registry
Open →
Guide · Fonciq API
Programmatic access to the land registry: your options
The Registre foncier du Québec has no API. You can still avoid hours of manual lookups: by hand, with a home-made script, or with the Fonciq API, which orders the index, the deed and the plan on your organisation’s own Registre account. Here is what each option takes.
The registry
How the registry is consulted
Lookups go through a Registre foncier client account. The Registre bills the account holder CAD 1.50 per document consulted, whichever option you choose. The amount comes from the official rate sheet in force since April 2026. Official Registre foncier rate sheet (April 2026).
The options
Three ways to consult the registry
Option: manual lookup
A person opens the portal, searches for the lot and downloads each document. It is simple for a few files. Time grows with volume, and copying the registrations into your tools is done by hand.
Option: a home-made script
A development team writes a script, sometimes called a scraper, to automate those lookups. It has to be written, maintained when the portal changes, and made robust against errors and retries, and its use has to be checked against the Registre’s terms of use, which you must read yourself.
Option: the Fonciq API
The Fonciq API is a documented service (OpenAPI): one call orders the index of immovables, a deed PDF or a cadastral plan on your organisation’s own Registre account. Index rows come back as JSON or CSV, with the source PDF. Each call costs CAD 0.99 excluding Registre fees; the Registre also bills its own CAD 1.50 to the account holder, with no Fonciq margin.
| Manual lookup | Home-made script | Fonciq API | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | A person, document by document. | Your team writes and maintains the code. | Your HTTP calls, against a published OpenAPI contract. |
| Registre fees | CAD 1.50 per document, to the account holder. | CAD 1.50 per document, to the account holder. | CAD 1.50 per document, to the account holder, with no Fonciq margin. |
| Tool cost | None. | Development and maintenance time. | CAD 0.99 per call, excluding Registre fees. |
| Output | PDF. | Whatever your script produces. | PDF, with index rows as JSON or CSV. |
| Volume | Limited by the person’s time. | To design and monitor. | Batches: up to 500 lots per request, 540 indexes per day per Registre account. |
Limits
What Fonciq does not do
- Fonciq does not sell a script and installs nothing on your side.
- Fonciq does not provide a Registre account: your organisation opens its own and registers it in the developer dashboard.
- Studio has no batch upload. Bulk lookups go through the API or the managed bulk programme.
- Structured deed reading is coming later: it is neither available nor billed.
- Fonciq is not affiliated with the Registre foncier du Québec or its suppliers.
Start
Get started
A fq_test_ key charges nothing. Keys are created in the developer dashboard.
Create a key →The Fonciq API for the Quebec land registry →First call, step by step (in French)
Law 25: designated privacy officer (RPRP) · Requests answered within 30 days · Client data hosted in Québec · AI processing in Montréal. Privacy policy (French)
Frequently asked questions
Short answers.
- Can the Quebec land registry be accessed programmatically?
- Yes, through the Fonciq API. The Registre foncier du Québec has no API of its own: the Fonciq API is Fonciq’s. It orders index pages, deeds and cadastral plans on your organisation’s own Registre account, and returns index rows as JSON or CSV, with the source PDF.
- How much does a registry lookup cost?
- The Registre bills the account holder CAD 1.50 per document consulted. Each Fonciq API call also costs CAD 0.99 excluding Registre fees, so one consulted index costs CAD 2.49.
- Is Fonciq a script that queries the registry?
- No. Fonciq is a documented service, offered as an alternative to writing and maintaining a home-made script. Fonciq does not sell scripts.
- Do I need a Registre foncier account?
- Yes. Index and deed orders run on your organisation’s own Registre account, which you register in the developer dashboard.
- Can many lots be processed at once?
- Yes, with the API’s batches: up to 500 lots per request, within the cap of 540 indexes per day per Registre account.