Grant of arms

It is one of the ways in which a person may lawfully bear arms in a jurisdiction regulating heraldry, another being by birth, through inheritance.

However a governmental registration of arms by an official government agency, (e.g., Bureau of Heraldry in South Africa) does create and confirm new legal rights.

The College of Arms "grants" in the name of the monarch and in South Africa under the Heraldry Act (1962) the certificate is "issued".

In both cases the heraldic representation so issued and recorded affords the applicant sole ownership of the unique design.

Marcel van Rossum, OMBB Deputy Director Bureau of Heraldry A grant of arms or government registration of arms typically takes the form of letters patent, which provide self-contained proof, upon production of the letters patent, of the right conferred.