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Coats of arms have been and still are granted by Letters Patent from the senior heralds, the Kings of Arms. A right to arms can only be established by the registration in the official records of the College of Arms of a pedigree showing direct male line descent from an ancestor already appearing therein as entitled to arms, or by making application through the College of Arms for a grant of arms. Grants are made to corporations as well as to individuals.

Q. Do coats of arms belong to surnames?

A. No. There is no such thing as a 'coat of arms for a surname'. Many people of the same surname will often be entitled to completely different coats of arms, and many of that surname will be entitled to no coat of arms. Coats of arms belong to individuals. For any person to have a right to a coat of arms they must either have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past.

Q. Can the College of Arms tell me what my clan badge is?

A. No. The first point to note is that the apparently quite widespread, but new, belief that everyone has a clan, and can wear some specific tartan or display a clan badge, is quite erroneous. Only those of Scottish descent can be associated with a clan in any way. The clan system is an entirely Scottish phenomenon, and consists of a few groups of families, centred on old and historically prominent families, with other associated families (some of the same name as the principal lineage, but many not). To count as a clan, with a chief, these groups need to be recognized as such by the chief Scottish herald, the Lord Lyon King of Arms. This leads on to the second point, which is that it is Lord Lyon, and not the English College of Arms, who has authority and responsibility over matters relating to clans.