Guide to Successful Submissions

If you follow the guidelines below, your submissions will meet all the paperwork requirements of the College of Heralds of Atlantia and the Society College of Arms. There may still be problems with conflicts or style issues, but they will not fail merely because of preventable problems with the forms themselves.

Use Only the New Forms

These are Atlantia-specific variants of the submissions forms mandated by the Laurel Office and have been approved by the Laurel Office for use. Use only forms which bear the name of the College of Heralds of Atlantia at the top and the date of 2 August 2006, in the version line at the bottom right of the form. Do NOT use generic forms or forms from other kingdoms. Do NOT use older versions of the submissions forms.

Make Sure the Forms Are the Right Size

This is particularly important for the armory forms where the emblazon area (shield for devices, square for badges) must meet specific size restrictions set by the Laurel Office. These restrictions appear on the form itself immediately adjacent to the emblazon area. Before you start to fill in the forms use a ruler to make sure the emblazon area meets the size requirements.

If you download the forms in PDF format and find that they do not meet the size requirements, you will need to check the print settings in the Acrobat software you are using to view and print the forms. You should NOT use any form of print scaling or “Fit to Page” option. If the printer options or the Acrobat options have a “Fit to Page” box checked, uncheck it. If you are using Acrobat 7, the Page Scaling option under Page Handling should be set to “None”.

Send the Right Number of Copies on the Correct Forms

Use the Individual Name form only for name elements (primary name, alternate persona name, household name, etc.) to be registered to an individual. Use the Branch Name form only for the names of territorial groups, orders or awards or guilds or households associated with branches. Fieldless badges must be submitted on the Fieldless Badge form. Badges with specified fields must be submitted on the Fielded Badge form. Devices may be submitted on the form with the shield-shaped emblazon area.

For a name submission, the Golden Dolphin Office needs two (2) copies of the written forms and any documentation. For any armory submission, the Golden Dolphin Office needs one (1) form with only a black and white line drawing of the armory and three (3) copies of that form with the emblazon colored in. The color copies MUST be colored using Crayola Classic markers or equivalent. The Laurel Office at present will NOT accept emblazon sheets whose colors derive from color inkjet printers, color laser printers, or color copiers or which contain metallic inks. Emblazon sheets colored with colored pencils, water color inks, etc. may fail to meet current Laurel Office standards for heraldic tincture and will be returned.

Make Sure All Information Is Legible, Accurate and Complete

Fill in the form legibly, printing all critical information where possible.

All forms MUST have a Society Name, Legal Name and postal address information in order to be processed. The boxes that indicate whether the current submission is a new submission or a resubmission and, in the case of name submissions, what type of name is involved should also be filled in to avoid delay in processing. Armory submissions MUST have enough information in the “Proposed Blazon” area to allow Golden Dolphin to confirm the intended tinctures and charges. If uncertain as to the correct formal blazon, use common English, e.g., “I want two purple lions facing one another on either size of a red tower on a yellow background.”

It is NOT required that a submitter fill in the boxes on the name forms restricting changes, specifying a desired gender and/or requesting authenticity. Leaving all these boxes blank significantly increases the likelihood of registration. Note that requesting authenticity specifically authorizes changes to the name to bring it in alignment with period style as currently understood by the College of Arms. If a submitter prefers the name as submitted, changes for authenticity should NOT be requested.

Complete documentation should be provided for all name elements. For armory which uses a restricted charge (e.g., a coronet), documentation should be provided as to the submitter’s right to use that charge. For armory that uses a charge or a design that has not been used previously in the Society, documentation in support of the period usage of that charge or design should be provided. Failure to do so is grounds for return.

Photocopies of all relevant documentation is required for any source not on the list of sources not requiring photocopies in the Administrative Handbook on the Laurel Office web site. In the case of documentation from books or periodicals, a photocopy of the title page must be included. In the case of documentation from the internet, a complete URL must be provided.

The number of photocopies for documentation will depend on the nature of the submission. For name submissions, two (2) copies are required. For armory submissions, three (3) copies are required.

Include the Appropriate Fees

The current fee for any new submission is ten dollars ($10) per submission element, i.e., each element for which a separate form is required. For a submission consisting of a primary Society name, a device, a household name and a badge for that household the total fees required would be forty dollars ($40) as there are four elements. No further payment is required for resubmissions made within one year of the date of notification of the previous submission’s being pended or returned.

All checks or money orders should be made out to: "SCA, Inc., College of Heralds of Atlantia." Do NOT send cash through the mail!

Note that it is Atlantian policy that branch heralds and at-large heralds may NOT accept cash and write checks or buy money orders on behalf of submitters. Submitters may make checks or money orders out directly to the College of Heralds as noted above. Cash fee payments must go through the appropriate group bank account with a check from the group to the College of Heralds forwarded to the Golden Dolphin Office and the amount included as a transfer within the kingdom on the group’s quarterly and annual financial reports.

Make Sure the Forms Show a “Herald of Record”

Triton Herald’s policy is that the Golden Dolphin Office may only accept submissions made through a warranted herald or a recognized consultation table. Any submission not made at a recognized consultation table must have a warranted herald listed on the line for “Consulting Herald”. Processing of the submission may be delayed if this information does not appear on the forms or if the individual listed is not warranted by Triton.

Send the Forms to the Right Place

Forms should be mailed to the Golden Dolphin Herald. They may also be submitted through recognized consultation tables or hand-delivered to the Golden Dolphin Herald at an event. Use of express or postal services which require a signature may result in delays in delivery and processing and should be avoided.