approved by both the petitioner and the Chief Herald. The final step is to prepare the letters patent, the official notice of an award of arms, which includes a drawing of the armorial bearings and the accompanying legal text and explanation of the symbolism of the bearings. Under Canadian bilingualism laws, letters patent are written in both English and French, though the petitioner may choose which language will be placed in the left column of the document. Completed grant documents are recorded in the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada and the notice of the grant is published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, under the section "Government House". The Government of Canada requires that the above processes be financed by the petitioner; that is the person requesting the grant or registration of arms, who pays the fees associated with the request and grant/registration. The processing fee for all petitioners is CAD$435 (plus GST), with the cost of one preliminary design ranging from $200 to $1,000. The cost of the final design, as illustrated on the letters patent, ranges from $900 to $3,500. In Canada, the petitioner does not "buy" a coat of arms, the arms themselves are freely given to qualified individuals, but fees must be paid to the heralds and artists for the services rendered. The average time needed to complete a grant is about 12 to 14 months, though it can take longer for particularly detailed or intricate arms. Online grant application From July 20, 2021, the Canadian Heraldic Authority announced on its Facebook page the launch of online grant application forms, in an effort to modernize the institution and make the "900-year-old tradition" available to all those who are eligible. Registration of existing arms Those individuals and institutions who already possess legitimate awards of arms may apply to the Canadian Heraldic Authority to have their arms registered. There is no cost associated with application for registration and it takes less time, approximately three months, than application for a new award of arms. Coat of arms of the CHA Blazon The blazon, or technical description in heraldic language, of the full armorial bearings is below, along with its plain English description: Crest Upon a helmet mantled Gules doubled Argent within a wreath of these colours a lion passant guardant Or royally crowned Proper its dexter forepaw resting on an escutcheon Argent charged with a