---
title: "Quebec or Federal Child Support Guidelines: Which Apply? ✦ Goldwater Droit"
canonical_url: "https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/faqs/quebec-or-federal-child-support-guidelines"
last_updated: "2026-09-15T21:14:01.912Z"
locale: en
meta:
  description: "In Quebec, the provincial child-support model applies when both parents live in Quebec; the federal guidelines apply when they live in different provinces."
  "og:description": "In Quebec, the provincial child-support model applies when both parents live in Quebec; the federal guidelines apply when they live in different provinces."
  "og:title": "Quebec or Federal Child Support Guidelines: Which Apply?"
---

# Do Quebec or federal child support guidelines apply?

Which guidelines apply depends on where the parents live. Quebec has adopted its own complete guidelines—the model for determining child support under the Regulation respecting the determination of child support payments—and these replace the federal rules when both parents reside in Quebec, whether or not the case is a divorce. Under sections 2(1) and 15.1 of the Divorce Act, a province whose guidelines are designated applies its own rules in this way. The federal Child Support Guidelines apply where the parents reside in different provinces. In either case, the amount is income-based and calculated on a set formula and table rather than negotiated, which is why the correct set of guidelines must be identified first.

Divorce Act, ss. 2(1), 15.1 (provincial guidelines designation) Regulation respecting the determination of child support payments (Quebec model)