WThe Bureau of Heraldry is the South African heraldic authority, established in Pretoria on 1 June 1963. It is headed by a State Herald and its functions are to register arms, badges, flags and seals, to keep a public register, to issue registration certificates and, since 1980, to advise the government on heraldic matters. Together with the Heraldry Council, it forms part of the National Archives and Records Service, which is currently under the authority of the Minister of Arts & Culture.
WThe Canadian Heraldic Authority is part of the Canadian honours system under the Canadian monarch, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General of Canada. The authority is responsible for the creation and granting of new coats of arms, flags, and badges for Canadian citizens, government agencies, municipal, civic and other corporate bodies. The authority also registers existing armorial bearings granted by other recognized heraldic authorities, approves military badges, flags, and other insignia of the Canadian Forces, and provides information on heraldic practices.
WThe College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovereign and are delegated authority to act on behalf of the Crown in all matters of heraldry, the granting of new coats of arms, genealogical research and the recording of pedigrees. The College is also the official body responsible for matters relating to the flying of flags on land, and it maintains the official registers of flags and other national symbols. Though a part of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, the College is self-financed, unsupported by any public funds.
WThe Council of Heraldry and Vexillology is the Heraldic authority for the French-speaking Community of Belgium. It is the institution that advises the Government of the French-speaking Community on all matters concerning civic, personal, and familial arms and flags. Grants of arms from the Council are published in the Belgian official journal.
WThe Court of the Lord Lyon is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of genealogies.
WThe Cronista Rey de Armas in the Kingdoms of Spain was a civil servant who had the authority to grant armorial bearings. The office of the King of Arms in Spain originated from those of the heralds (heraldos). In the early days of heraldry, anyone could bear arms, which led to disputes between individuals and families. These disputes were originally settled by the king, in the case of a dispute between nobles, or by a lower ranked official when the dispute involved non-nobles. Eventually, the task of settling these disputes was passed on to officials called heralds who were originally responsible for setting up tournaments and carrying messages between nobles.
WThe Flemish Heraldic Council advises the Flemish Government on all matters relating to heraldry. The Council was created on 11 April 1984, as the successor to the Subcommittee for Heraldry or Subcommissie Heraldiek, established in 1978. Its prime task was to supervise the granting of a coat of arms and a flag to all municipalities of the Flemish Region. Following the reorganization of the Belgian provinces, the council's field of action was extended to provincial arms and flags in 1994. Since 2000, the Council has likewise advised the Flemish Government on grants of arms to Flemish individuals and corporations. In the meantime, more than 200 of such grants have received official sanction. Grants of arms by the Flemish Government are published in the Belgian official journal.
WThe Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland, the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald authorises the granting of arms to Irish bodies and Irish people, including descendants of emigrants. The office was constituted on 1 April 1943 as successor to the Ulster King of Arms, established during the Tudor period of the Kingdom of Ireland in 1552. The Ulster King of Arms' duties were taken over by the Norroy and Ulster King of Arms.
WThe Institute of Heraldic Consultants (IHC) of the Episcopal Conference of Slovakia (ECS) was established at the plenary session of ECS on March 10 – 11, 2008, when the Guidelines for the Creation of Heraldic Symbols in the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia were approved. IHC is a member of the Council for Science, Education and Culture of ECS as an expert in the field of ecclesiastical heraldry. The Corps of Heraldic Consultants of the Roman and Greek Catholic Church is therefore an executive and advisory body for the design of coats of arms of parishes, deaneries, or dioceses and in practice regulates church-heraldic works in Slovakia. According to the adopted guidelines for the creation of heraldic symbols, only a coat of arms of the Church whose description (blazon) and depiction in writing has been withdrawn in writing by one of the Heraldic Consultants may be put into use. The approved coat of arms can also be registered in the Heraldic Register of the Slovak Republic, maintained by the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, which currently represents the highest heraldic authority in Slovakia.
WThe National Archives of Finland is a Finnish government agency under the Ministry of Education and Culture. It is responsible for archiving official documents of the Finnish state and municipalities. It consists of three locations in the capital Helsinki and seven former regional archives, which were incorporated into the National Archives in 2017 and have since been its branches.
WThe National Archives of Norway (Riksarkivet) is the institution responsible for preserving archive material from Norwegian state institutions, as well as contributing to the preservation of private archives. It does this work in cooperation with the regional state archives, together with which it forms the National Archival Services of Norway (Arkivverket).
WThe National Archives of Sweden is the official archive of the Swedish government and is responsible for the management of records from Sweden's public authorities. Although the archives functions primarily as the government archive, it also preserves some documents from private individuals and non-public organizations. The mission of the archives is to collect and preserve records for future generations.
WThe State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia is a heraldic authority in Georgia, established at the Parliament of Georgia on February 29, 2008. Located in Tbilisi, the council advises the government of Georgia on all matters related to heraldry. The council is headed by a chairman who is appointed by the Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia. Since its creation in 2008, the Council has been chaired by Eldar Shengelaya. Mamuka Gongadze is Deputy Chairman of the State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia.
WThe office called Toison d'or was that of the King of Arms of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Founded in 1431, it was one of the four offices of the Order. The Toison d'or King of Arms was also the primary King of Arms for the Duchy of Burgundy and the Southern Netherlands, and held precedence over all other officers of arms of those lands.
WThe Institute of Heraldry, officially The Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army, is an activity of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army solely responsible for furnishing heraldic services to President of the United States and all Federal Government agencies. 18 U.S.C. § 704 and permit the institute to issue directives on how military insignia are displayed, the criteria for issuance, and how insignia will be worn on military uniforms.