It needed official symbols, and its first state president, Josias Hoffman decided to have them professionally designed in the Netherlands.

At his request, King Willem III of the Netherlands had a flag and coat of arms designed by the Hoge Raad van Adel [nl] during 1855, and sent them out to South Africa.

By the time the designs reached Bloemfontein, in January 1856, Hoffman had resigned and been succeeded by Jacobus Boshof.

As the Orange River Colony (1902–10), the territory had a different coat of arms, granted by King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

The official blazon is:[5] On a shield Argent, between three bugle horns Azure, garnished and stringed Gules, a representation of the seal of the Orange Free State Republic as adopted in 1856 viz., on a white roundel, in chief a tree on an island, between dexter, three sheep and sinister a natural lion supporting the tree with his dexter paw, in base a voortrekker wagon on an island, all proper; on a ribbon draped fesswise, the motto GEDULD EN MOED, above the tree the word VRYHEID and below the wagon the word IMMIGRATIE; behind the shield, on two staves in saltire with ball and spear points Or, two flags of the same Republic draped on both sides, each with seven stripes visible, alternately white and orange and a canton of three stripes, red, white and blue.