SRACQ and SRASL Explained: Applying to CEGEP Outside the Montreal Region
By Muntasir • Published Aug 14, 2026 • Updated Sep 20, 2026 • Admissions & Applications, Canadian Universities & Colleges
SRACQ handles CEGEP admission for Quebec City, Chaudière-Appalaches, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie and Côte-Nord, while SRASL handles Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Both work like SRAM: one application, ranked choices, but separate deadlines and separate college lists.
🎓 SRACQ coordinates admission for 15 member CEGEPs across six regions
🎓 SRASL coordinates admission for 7 CEGEPs and study centres in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
⏱️ SRASL's Fall 2026 round 1 ran January 22 to March 1, 2026
⏱️ SRASL runs five rounds total, ending with direct admission at individual colleges in August
📩 Use the service that matches your target college, not the one closest to home
Why Quebec Has Three Regional Admission Services
Quebec does not run one CEGEP application system. Colleges group into regional services, and you apply through whichever one covers your target college. SRAM covers Greater Montreal. SRACQ and SRASL split the rest of the province between them, so applying outside Montreal means using one of those two instead.
SRACQ: Quebec City and the Surrounding Regions
SRACQ (Service régional d'admission au collégial de Québec) is the regional admission service for 15 member colleges spread across Centre-du-Québec, Chaudière-Appalaches, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie, Capitale-Nationale, and Côte-Nord. That territory stretches from south of Quebec City to the North Shore, so a single applicant portal covers colleges hundreds of kilometres apart. SRACQ lists more than 120 DEC programs across its member colleges and gives applicants a personal file to track their status online.
Regular fall admission runs on SRACQ's own schedule and portal, separate from SRAM's. Late admission opens in August, once regular rounds close, with individual colleges filling remaining spots directly. Processing on late applications typically takes 24 to 72 hours.
SRASL: Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
SRASL (Service régional de l'admission des cégeps) covers seven institutions in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean: Collège d'Alma, Cégep de Chicoutimi, Cégep de Jonquière, Cégep de Saint-Félicien, and the study centres in Charlevoix, Chibougamau, and Forestville.
SRASL runs a five-round system for fall admission. For Fall 2026, the rounds ran as shown below.
| Round | Window |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | January 22 to March 1, 2026 |
| Round 2 | March 20 to May 1, 2026 |
| Round 3 | May 12 to June 1, 2026 |
| Round 4 | June 9 to August 3, 2026 |
| Round 5 | Direct admission with individual colleges, August 17 to 28, 2026 |
Each round accepts one application per student. If your first-round choice does not work out, you apply again in the next round rather than waiting on a single pending file. Round 5 skips the regional service entirely. You apply straight to whichever college still has open seats.
Documents Work the Same Way
SRACQ and SRASL pull from the same provincial ministry system SRAM uses. If your last school record sits inside Quebec's network, the service retrieves it directly and you submit nothing. If you studied in another province or country, expect to submit transcripts and, for international records, a comparative education evaluation, the same categories SRAM requires. Confirm the exact list on your chosen service's own documents page before your deadline. Applicants who left school years ago rather than coming straight from Secondary 5 follow a related mature student admission path.
Applying to More Than One Region
Applicants weighing colleges in different regions apply to SRAM, SRACQ, and SRASL at the same time. Each is a separate application with its own fee and account. What you cannot do is submit two applications to the same regional service in the same round, each service allows one file per round.
Which Service Do You Use
Use the service that matches the college, not the one closest to your home. A Montreal-region resident applying to a Quebec City CEGEP applies through SRACQ, not SRAM. Check your target college's own admissions page if you are unsure which regional service processes its applications.