The woman who was the Queen's representative to Quebec for ten years is facing six criminal counts.
Former lieutenant-governor Lise Thibault is charged with fraud, making false documents, using false documents, and breach of trust after a report alleging she misused public funds while in office.
Judge Pierre Verdon ordered a publication ban on evidence tabled during Friday's court proceedings.
Thibault will appear in court on October 27 to make a plea.
The investigators said they took two years to put together the case, then turned over their evidence to prosecutors, who then took the unusual step of presenting it to a crown judge, who spent two weeks evaluating the evidence and hearing from witnesses before deciding to approve the charges.
Thibault appeared last year before a Quebec legislature committee commissioned by Renaud Lachance, the province's auditor general.
A report written by Lachance and his federal counterpart, Sheila Fraser, alleges Thibault was reimbursed $700,000 between 1997 and 2007 for expenses unrelated to her official duties.
With files from The Canadian Press
