We help enter a coat of arms in heraldic registers and obtain the certificate. We take on the whole cycle — from the first approach to the heralds to the finished result: designing and registering the arms. Registered arms become a full part of the family’s succession programme.
How it works
Arms recognised at state level
Arms can be registered officially — at state level, where arms are granted by the Crown or the head of state. Such arms are confirmed by Letters Patent, entered in a state register and pass to descendants. The oldest and most authoritative heraldic authority in the world is the College of Arms in London, in existence since 1484.
Heraldic authorities grant and register arms by their own rules, and every family’s path is different. For example, the College of Arms in London grants arms on behalf of the British Crown to its subjects. Citizens of Commonwealth countries have a separate procedure — honorary arms — but it requires documented descent from a subject of the Crown.
If there is no such ancestor, the London route is not closed. The College records pedigrees in its official registers, kept since the fifteenth century, and can devise arms to a legal entity from a Commonwealth country. We check in advance which route is open to you, so that we move towards the result without illusions.
Where it is possible
England and Wales — LondonThe College of Arms, since 1484. Grants arms on behalf of the British Crown; honorary arms for citizens of Commonwealth countries and devisals to organisations from those countries.
Scotland — EdinburghThe Court of the Lord Lyon — a state heraldic court. Grants arms on behalf of the Crown and keeps the Public Register of All Arms since 1672.
Ireland — DublinThe Chief Herald of Ireland. Grants arms also to descendants of Irish emigrants in other countries with proven descent. New applications are currently on hold.
MaltaThe Chief Herald of Arms of Malta, since 2019. Grants and registers personal and corporate arms, including to applicants from other countries, on the basis of merit and public service.
Canada — OttawaThe Canadian Heraldic Authority grants arms on behalf of the Crown to Canadian citizens and organisations.
South Africa — PretoriaThe Bureau of Heraldry — state registration of personal and corporate arms with a certificate.
How we work
Applicant dossierA statement in English on standing, education, professional qualifications, honours, public and charitable work — in the form accepted by the heralds.
Pedigree in the College formatWe bring the results of genealogical research to the standard of the official registers: dates and places of birth, marriage and death for every generation, documentary proof of every family link.
Approach and correspondenceWe prepare and send the approach to the Officer in Waiting, conduct all correspondence in English and handle follow-up questions.
FindingsA written answer: what exactly is available and in what timeframe, with a recommendation on next steps.
Heraldic briefWe select themes from documented facts of the pedigree — places, occupations, social standing, service — and set out wishes for the composition in a form suitable for the herald. The brief defines what the arms will look like.
Receiving the armsSubmitting the petition to the heraldic authority, agreeing the design with the herald and support through to the official document. In London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Ottawa and Malta this is Letters Patent; in South Africa, a certificate of registration.
Timing
The first stage — from the dossier to the heraldic authority’s position — usually takes 2–3 months.
The work is led by a personal concierge manager assigned to you for the whole project, as part of our concierge service.
Officially registered arms are no longer a drawing but a right of the family. They are treated differently, and they pass by right to the next generation together with the family’s work.