Can Anyone Have a Coat of Arms? How Grants Work Today

First, what “having a coat of arms” really means

Every official heraldic authority starts from the same point. The College of Arms in London puts it plainly:

“There is no such thing as a ‘coat of arms for a surname’.” (College of Arms, FAQs)

Arms are granted or confirmed to one person and passed down to that person’s descendants under the rules of each country. Two people with the same surname may be entitled to completely different arms, and most people of any surname are entitled to none at all. If that is new to you, our guides to what a family coat of arms really is and the difference between a coat of arms and a crest explain the background.

That leaves two legitimate ways to bear arms:

• Inherit them by proving descent, generation by generation, from a person who was granted or confirmed arms.
• Petition for new arms from the heraldic authority that has jurisdiction over you, or adopt arms privately where no authority exists.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: the College of Arms

New arms for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are granted by letters patent from the senior heralds, the Kings of Arms, acting under authority delegated by the Crown. The College also serves other countries where the King is head of state (it gives New Zealand as an example), with the exception of Canada and Scotland, which have their own authorities.

How a petition works

1. Contact the College. Enquiries go to the “Officer in Waiting,” and one of the officers of arms drafts your petition, which is called a memorial, to the Earl Marshal.
2. Eligibility is judged case by case. The College says there are “no fixed criteria.” It takes into account honours from the Crown, civil or military commissions, university degrees, professional qualifications, public and charitable service, and good standing in national or local life. It suggests sending a CV.
3. Design. If the Earl Marshal approves, he issues a warrant and the design is worked out with you. It must follow the rules of heraldry and differ from every coat of arms already on record.
4. The grant. The arms are painted on vellum by a College artist, the text is written out by a scrivener, and the letters patent are signed and sealed by the Kings of Arms, with a copy entered in the College’s official registers.

The College publishes its fees, which are payable when the memorial is submitted. As of 1 January 2026, it listed £9,600 for a personal grant of arms and crest. Fees change, so confirm the current figure with the College.

Honorary arms for Americans

U.S. citizens cannot receive an ordinary grant, but the College can grant honorary arms to Americans who meet the same criteria and who record in its registers a pedigree showing descent from a subject of the British Crown. According to the College, that forebear may be a recent one, an emigrant from Britain or Ireland, or “a more distant ancestor such as inhabitant of the north American colonies before the recognition of American independence in 1783.” Its FAQ adds that descent from Crown subjects in places such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Ireland during British rule also counts.

Scotland and people of Scottish descent: the Court of the Lord Lyon

Scottish heraldry is part of the law of Scotland. The Lord Lyon King of Arms heads a court, and the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland has recorded all arms lawfully used there since 1672. Lyon’s office states that using arms in Scotland that are not properly recorded in the Register is a criminal offence. There are three main personal routes:

• A new grant. The petitioner should be, in the words of the Lyon King of Arms Act 1672, a “virtuous and well-deserving person,” and the governing factor is usually a Scottish domicile or owning a house or land in Scotland. Souvenir plots of a few square feet do not count.
• Matriculation. If you can prove descent from someone who held Scottish arms, you can petition to matriculate those arms with a mark of difference showing your place in the family. Lyon says it does not matter where you live.
• A grant to an ancestor. If you neither live in Scotland nor own property there, Lyon’s FAQ says you may be able to apply for arms to be granted in the name of an ancestor who lived in Scotland, if you can prove descent from that ancestor.

Lyon accepts petitions from Commonwealth citizens, “in particular those of Scottish descent,” except from Canada and South Africa, which have their own authorities. It also notes that “it is not generally possible for non-British citizens to be granted Scottish Arms,” so Americans should write to the Lyon Clerk before preparing anything. Every statement in a petition needs legal proof, usually birth and marriage certificates, and Lyon says the process “generally takes between 30 – 36 months.”

One common confusion: a clan has no coat of arms. Clan members may wear a badge made of the chief’s crest within a belt and buckle bearing the chief’s motto. Our guide to Scottish clan crests covers this in detail.

Ireland: the Chief Herald of Ireland

Heraldic authority in Ireland passed from the Ulster King of Arms, an office created in 1552, to the Chief Herald of Ireland in 1943. The office has been part of the National Library of Ireland ever since; its first Chief Herald was Edward MacLysaght, and every grant is recorded in its Register of Arms. When it accepts applications, its guidance has covered Irish citizens, long-term residents and people abroad with substantial ties to Ireland, including ancestral ties.

Important: at the time of writing (October 2026), the National Library states that the Office “is not accepting any new applications for grants or confirmations of arms until further notice due to resourcing capability.” Its historic manuscripts remain a research resource, and many are digitised in the Library’s online catalogue. For background, see our guide to Irish family crests.

Canada: the Canadian Heraldic Authority

The Canadian Heraldic Authority was created in 1988, when the Governor General was authorized by letters patent to exercise the Sovereign’s heraldic powers in Canada. A grant is treated as an honour from the Crown. Canadian citizens, permanent residents and corporations can apply, and individual applicants must document their contributions to Canadian society. The Authority says grants to non-Canadians are rare and require “a strong, direct and recent link to Canada,” and that it cannot grant arms posthumously.

At the time of writing, its application page states that “due to operational limitations, the Canadian Heraldic Authority is not accepting any new applications at this time.” Existing grants can be browsed in the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada.

The United States: no official authority

No government office grants or registers personal arms in the United States. The U.S. Army’s Institute of Heraldry designs insignia and emblems for the armed forces and other federal bodies, not for private families. Canada’s heralds describe the situation in countries like this: “Anyone can create and use a coat of arms or other heraldic emblems, as long as the emblems are unique and not already in use by somebody else.” Such arms are called “self-assumed arms.” In practice, Americans have four options:

1. Honorary arms from the College of Arms, if you can document descent from a British Crown subject.
2. A Scottish petition (matriculation or a grant to an ancestor) if you have documented Scottish ancestry and Lyon accepts your case.
3. Assumed arms that you design yourself. Make them genuinely new, never a copy of someone else’s arms, and follow the conventions explained in how to read a coat of arms, heraldic colors and heraldic symbols.
4. A private record. The American Heraldry Society, founded “to study and promote the proper use of heraldry in America,” publishes a roll of its members’ arms and a Roll of Early American Arms documenting arms borne in the present-day United States before 1825. A society roll is a record of use, not a legal title.

The authorities at a glance

A practical checklist before you apply

1. Check whether arms already exist in your direct line. Old armorials such as Burke’s General Armory (1884) list arms by surname and can give you a lead, but only an authority’s records can confirm it. See how to verify a coat of arms.
2. Document your pedigree. Gather birth, marriage and death records for every generation you will rely on. Authorities want proof, not family tradition.
3. Match the authority to your situation. Where you live and where your ancestors came from decide which door you knock on.
4. Collect design ideas, but wait on artwork. Lyon advises waiting for your grant before commissioning paintings, since the final design may differ from your sketch. A motto is usually chosen too; see family mottos explained.
5. Be patient. Expect correspondence, research and a wait measured in years.

See the arms recorded for your surname →

Sources

1. College of Arms, “FAQs: heraldry”: https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/resources/faqs
2. College of Arms, “Granting of Arms” (petitions, fees, honorary arms for U.S. and Commonwealth citizens): https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/services/granting-arms
3. Court of the Lord Lyon, “Petitioning for a Coat of Arms”: https://courtofthelordlyon.scot/coats%20of%20arms.htm
4. Court of the Lord Lyon, “Frequently Asked Questions”: https://courtofthelordlyon.scot/faqs.htm
5. National Library of Ireland, “Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland”: https://www.nli.ie/office-chief-herald
6. Governor General of Canada, “Heraldry: Frequently Asked Questions”: https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/faq
7. Governor General of Canada, “Application Form and Required Documents”: https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/grant-of-a-coat-arms-flag-badge/application-form-and-required-documents
8. Governor General of Canada, “Grant of Arms, Flags and Badges” (history of the Canadian Heraldic Authority): https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/canadian-heraldic-authority
9. American Heraldry Society, “A Roll of Early American Arms”: https://www.americanheraldry.org/heraldry-in-the-usa/roll-of-early-american-arms
10. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (London, 1884), Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/generalarmoryofe00burk

Frequently asked questions

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How to Verify Whether a Coat of Arms Is AuthenticHow to Read a Coat of Arms: The Parts, the Blazon and Three Real ExamplesFamily Mottos: Where They Come From and What They Mean