Corporate Bodies, such as local authorities, corporations, companies, limited companies, partnerships, schools or any other formally established group of people banded together for a common purpose, may apply for Arms. When granted, the corporate body may then use its Arms in the same way as a private person, to signify its identity and to mark its property or its products. The Arms are the visual equivalent of the corporate body's name, and may be used wherever the written name would be appropriate, either instead of the name or accompanying it. Guidance on the correct usage of corporate Arms may be obtained from the Court of the Lord Lyon.

The application for Arms should be made as a formal Petition to the Lord Lyon King of Arms, drawn up as in the fictitious specimen. At the top, the Petition should state the full Christian name and surname of an office bearer or official of the organisation concerned, then "for and on behalf of" and the corporate body's name, ending with "having Head Office at" and the address. Beneath "HUMBLY SHEWETH" a brief account of the corporate body's history, activities and standing should be given in numbered paragraphs, one fact per paragraph. The Petition should be accompanied by proofs of these facts, such as Articles of Association and Annual audited Accounts. The proofs should be listed and numbered as they are in the paragraphs setting out the facts they prove in a separate Schedule of Proofs, as shown in the genealogical specimen. A final paragraph should state the Petitioner's plea in the formal wording shown. This is repeated in the Prayer, after "MAY IT THEREFORE", in the wording shown.

The completed Petition should be signed and dated by the Petitioners and sent with its proofs and Schedule of Proofs to the Lyon Clerk at the Court of the Lord Lyon. Arms are granted only to proven reputable corporate bodies, and generally they are required to have been successfully in existence for at least three years before they can be granted Arms. Arms are not granted to transient bodies or associations.

A covering letter with the Petition may set out the Petitioners' own ideas of the form of the Arms preferred, which should be relevant to the corporate bodies' activities, and which the Lord Lyon King of Arms will discuss with them. The Petition may be withdrawn at any time if this agreement is not achieved.

When these matters have been agreed, the Lord Lyon will pronounce his judgement and instruct the Lyon Clerk to prepare the Letters Patent. The Petitioners will then receive from Lyon Clerk a draft text for the Letters Patent for them to check and approve, and a note of the fees to H.M. Treasury and the Herald Painter, which must now be paid.

Once the draft text has been approved and the fees paid, the Lyon Clerk will in due course send them the Letters Patent granting the Arms. A copy of the Arms and the text of the Letters Patent is placed on record in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland in name of the Petitioners, and the process is complete.