The regulation was announced on March 3, 1951, by Royal Decree, four years before the Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles came into effect, and remained in force in modified form until the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved on October 10, 2010.

[3] On March 27, 1953, the Executive College of Aruba (Dutch: bestuurscollege) announced in the newspaper a competition to design a coat of arms for the island territory of Aruba.

The College wanted to see an expression of the island's autonomy, following the political decentralization of the Dutch Antilles in accordance with the ERNA in 1954.

[4] The coat of arms was originally designed by the Atelier voor Heraldische Kunst (Studio for Heraldic Arts), located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

[7] The official description of the coat of arms:[1] Shield: quartered by a cross Argent, the first Azure an aloe plant Or, the second Or the Hooiberg hill Vert issuant from barry wavy sea of Azure and Argent, the third Or two dexter hands Gules shaking each other fesswise, the fourth Gules an Argent cogwheel Crest: a lion couchant Gules Supporters: a pair of laurel branches Vert, tied at the bottom The coat of arms consists of seven main elements:[7]