Heraldry In America

Heraldry in America is a somewhat unusual situation. In countries like England and Scotland, arms must be "granted" by an official body, such as the Lord Lyon or the College of Arms. These countries have been granting arms from roughly the 12th century, depending upon which country and who you talk to. Note that I am not referring to symbology, which undoubtedly has been with us since cave painting, but the specific assigning of a coat of arms to an individual that can be handed down from one generation to the next. As an aside, I want to say again that arms are not granted to a family, but to an individual, who may bequeath it to his children. Said children do not have to keep it the same and as a matter of fact, quite often change a charge when they take it over.

So back to heraldry in these United States. There are no laws or regulations regarding the assumption of arms in America. There are several heraldic societies and places that will register your arms (including for free at this site) which basically makes a written record or database entry, but they do not have the power to grant arms, there is simply no provision for that here. One of the oldest and most distinguished is the American College of Arms. But despite their name's similarity to England's College of Arms, they are not a granting body any more than I am. As a matter of fact, I encourage people (if they have the money) to register with them because they have the most extensive database.

So what does all this mean to you? Basically, in the United States, you may create a coat of arms on the back of a cocktail napkin from the bar and assume those arms. Although there is no legal recourse, you should never buy a coat of arms from somewhere that you pick your last name from a book. You would be stealing someone else's armorial achievement and that's just not cool. So look around, do some research and then come up with something and we'll look it over and register it for free. If you're not a designer and would like help, we can do that too...

Your In Arms,

Michael C. Richards