Register a coat of arms (local grant or foreign grant)
Registrar of Coat of Arms · sources read 3 Oct 2026
Fill Form CA1, submit six coloured copies of your proposed coat of arms with its blazon and pay KSh 10,000. If the College of Arms approves, you pay KSh 26,000 for the vellum parchment and the grant is published in the Kenya Gazette.
- Fee
- KSh 10,000Local grant of arms: application (Form CA1)KSh 26,000Local grant: vellum parchment for engrossment (after approval)KSh 5,000Registration of a foreign grant of arms (Form CA2)
- Where
- Registrar of Coat of Arms (Coat of Arms Registry), Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice. Forms CA1 and CA2 are on statelaw.go.ke.
What you need
- Local grant: Form CA1 and six coloured copies of the proposed coat of arms with blazon, covering 75% of an A4 page
- Foreign grant: Form CA2 and six coloured certified copies of the Grant of Arms from a proper authority
- After execution: a 13 cm by 17 cm photo of the framed grant, for the Registry's records
Steps
- Fill Form CA1 (Form CA2 for a foreign grant), attach the six coloured copies and pay the application fee.
- Your application, design and blazon go before the College of Arms for a decision.
- If approved, pay KSh 26,000 for the vellum parchment, collect it for engrossment, then deliver the engrossed grant to the Coat of Arms Registry to be executed.
- Frame the executed grant and hand in a 13 cm by 17 cm photo of it to the Registry.
- The Registrar publishes your grant of arms in the Kenya Gazette.
Watch out
- Approval isn't automatic: a College of Arms chaired by the Attorney General, with four heraldry experts, decides.
- Budget for two payments on a local grant: KSh 10,000 to apply, then KSh 26,000 for the vellum once approved.
Who can apply
- Anyone who wants a grant of arms: individuals, national and county governments, agencies, companies, schools and universities, churches, hospitals, clubs, professional bodies and others.
- Holders of a grant of arms issued outside Kenya can also have it registered locally.
Official sources (4)
- Procedure for Registration of arms statelaw.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Who can register arms? statelaw.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Coat of Arms and Blazons statelaw.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Forms statelaw.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026