How to Apply
To become a freeman of the City of London by redemption, two personal visits to the Chamberlain's Court are required whether applying by nomination or through a livery company. The first visit is to apply for the freedom, the second (generally a month or so later) for the ceremony of admission. Applications and admissions cannot be made by post, telephone, fax or proxy.

APPLICATION - Applicants are seen by appointment (Tel 020 7332 1306), individually and in confidence, each working day between the hours of 10.00am and 12.30pm and 2.00 to 3.30pm. Your application will be submitted to the next Court of Aldermen for formal approval, following which you will receive a letter inviting you to telephone the Chamberlain's Court to arrange a date for your Freedom ceremony. The hours for admission are as for application.

ELIGIBILITY - The qualifications and regulations governing freedom admissions may seem few and not particularly demanding, but they are stringently enforced. A freeman of a livery company who is a British subject by birth or by naturalisation; above the age of 21 years; not an undischarged bankrupt; never having been convicted of a criminal offence. (Applicants need not disclose convictions which are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.)

DOCUMENTATION - An applicant who is presented by a livery company is requires to bring certification signed by the clerk of the livery company as evidence of admission to the freedom of that company. This document (or a photocopy) is eventually stored in perpetuity in the Chamberlain's Court archives (see illustration).

All applicants are required to produce full birth certificates or adoption orders. Illegitimacy is not and has never been a bar to obtaining the freedom of the City by redemption or servitude. Only full names exactly as they appear on birth certificates or adoption orders are accepted unless a name or names have been changed by marriage, by Change of Name Deed or by Royal licence. A change of Name Deed must also be High Court enrolled, which means that notice of the change is placed on public record.

Women who are or who have been married are required to show their marriage certificates. There is nothing sexist about this; it is purely for evidence of change of name upon marriage. Naturalised British or British Commonwealth citizens must produce proof of nationality. All personal documents are returned immediately to the applicant.

Documentation Summary

• Freedom of livery company certificate.
  
• Full birth certificate or adoption order. (A full birth certificate details parents and exact place of birth. A full certificate can be obtained from the Registrar General, St. Katherine's House if necessary.)
  
• A woman who is or who has been married should bring her marriage certificate.
  
• A divorced woman should bring her divorce order.
  
• Naturalised British subjects should bring naturalisation documents.
  
• Photocopies of all documents are acceptable. All documents will be returned with the exception of freedom of livery company certificate. If you wish to retain your livery company certificate please supply a photocopy.

Fee

• £25 cash or cheque made payable to 'The Chamberlain of London'. Fees are given entirely to the City of London's Freemen's School, Ashtead, Surrey. There is no fee if your name appears on the City's Ward List, ie the City of London electoral roll. If your name appears on the City of London electoral roll your application does not require Court of Aldermen approval and only one appointment is necessary. Please state 'Ward List, redemption, livery company' when making your appointment.

Information concerning the applicant is entered directly into a computer by the Clerk of the Chamberlain's Court or one of his staff. Applicants are encouraged to watch the computer screen closely throughout to ensure correct information is entered, although many express dismay at seeing modern technology being used in such traditional circumstances; they had anticipated a quill pen! The Chamberlain's Court has been computerised since 1984 and such records are covered by the Data Protection Act of the same year.

The computer produces a print-out of an applicant's personal details followed by this declaration,

I hearby declare that I am not an alien, but I am above the age of twenty-one years and that I have not previously been admitted to the freedom of the City. I further declare that I have never been adjudged bankrupt, nor made any composition or arrangement with my creditors in respect of which I have not paid 100p in the pound, nor ever been convicted of any criminal offence.

The information required for a freedom application is basic and covers full names, date and place of birth, home address, telephone number, occupation, livery company (if any). Parental details are also included because these are vital to researchers and especially to anyone trying to identify a specific freeman with a common name. For this reason full birth certificates or adoption orders are required because they show parents; names, whereas the short ones do not.

When all relevant details have been entered the computer produces a print-out of the information to be signed by the applicant. The applicant is also asked to subscribe to a declaration of good character (see above) but need not disclose any convictions which are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. At this stage the fee is paid and a computerised receipt is issued.

Formal Approval
The application will be submitted for formal approval to the next Court of Common Council (for applications by nomination) or the Court of Aldermen (for livery company applications), the names of applicants being printed on court agendas. Common councilmen and aldermen may object to any application, although this rarely happens, and the Corporation of London has absolute discretion to admit or refuse to admit an applicant. The insistence upon applicants' attending in person ensures the complete accuracy of personal details, eligibility and so forth and avoids embarrassment or misunderstanding before the agenda stage is reached.

The Freedom Ceremony
Following Court approval, the Clerk of the Chamberlain's Court invites successful applicants to make appointments for their ceremonies. No time limit is imposed between court order and admission.

As patrimony, servitude and applications from those on the electoral roll of the City of London do not need approval of the Courts of Common Council or Aldermen, the processing of the application and the admission ceremony may be completed in one single appointment at the Chamberlain's Court.

Age for Admission
While there is no upper age limit for applying for the freedom, the lower age limit is 21, despite the Family Law Act 1969 which reduced the age of majority to eighteen. Following this Act, the livery companies were asked to consider the matter in relation to the freedom of the companies and of the City. They were not in favour of reducing the age because it would entail altering both admissions by patrimony and servitude, and in any event they were not prepared to offer freedom by redemption to any person under the age of 21.

The Court of Common Council agreed with these findings and considered that to lower the age of admission to eighteen years would serve no useful purpose.

Aliens
All applications for the freedom of the City of London are required to sign a statement which begins, ‘I hereby declare that I am not an alien… ’. Alien in this context means people who are not British or British Commonwealth citizens. Naturalised British or British Commonwealth citizens applying for the freedom are required to produce proof of nationality, usually a certificate of naturalisation, letter from the Home Office or passport.

The reason for the exclusion of aliens from the freedom of the City is that the declaration of a freeman commences with the words ‘I do solemnly declare that I will be good and true to our Sovereign… ‘ which cannot be possible for a non-British or non-Commonwealth person.

Before 1884 naturalisation was effected by private acts of Parliament and, in an age before modern-style passports and naturalisation documents, aliens had to petition the Courts of Common Council or Aldermen to be admitted to the freedom of the City. British-born sons of aliens frequently petitioned Common Council in the first half of the 19th century, the last being in 1855.

In 1857 the officers of the Law, Parliamentary and City Courts Committee reported to the Court of Common Council that as the declaration of a freeman was equivalent to the oath of allegiance, persons not subscribing to the declaration could not be admitted to the freedom of the City.

Foreigners of distinction who are offered the Honorary freedom are not required to make the declaration of a freeman. The Honorary freedom is the only way a foreign national may be granted the freedom of the City of London.

Unadmitteds
'Unadmitted' refers to those who, having successfully made application for the freedom of the City, but fail to return for the actual freedom ceremony.

In earlier times, if an applicant did not take up the freedom within three months of the date of the Court order at which the application was approved, the order expired but this is no longer the case.

Admission Procedure

The Ceremony
The person to be admitted to the freedom of the City of London is referred to as 'the freeman' although this status is not actually assumed until the ceremony has been completed.

The hours for admission to the freedom of the City are each working day, traditionally between the hours of 10.00am and 3.30pm by appointment, and freemen may choose the day and time to suit themselves.

The short but solemn freedom admission ceremonies take place in the Chamberlain's Court Room in Guildhall. Each ceremony is conducted individually unless double or group ceremonies for members of the same family, profession or other organisation are particularly requested.

Officers of the Corporation of London authorised to admit to the freedom are:

• The Chamberlain of London - the principal officer
  
• The Clerk to the Chamberlain's Court
  
• The Assistant Clerk
  
• The Court Assistant
  
• The Comptroller and City Solicitor (as Vice- Chamberlain)

No special dress, gown or robe is worn by freemen but, as the Chamberlain's Court is still technically a court of law, the dignity of a court of law is upheld. Chamberlains of London have been known to refuse to admit someone to the freedom because they were considered improperly dressed!

The Chamberlain wears a gown when admitting in his Court. In 1915 the makers described it as 'of rich black silk trimmed with black silk velvet on sleeves and bottom edge, with broad facings and edgings of real sable fur' and the same style is worn today. It is likely that a gown of this kind has been worn by Chamberlains of London for several centuries. Similar garments can be seen in paintings and portraits of the 16th and 17th centuries, the 'business suit' of wealthy merchants and noblemen.

The Clerk of the Chamberlain's Court wears a plain gown of Ottoman silk which has a rosette of the same material attached to the back of the collar, and the Assistant Clerk and Court Assistant wear plain black gowns.

The Comptroller and City Solicitor wears a black silk gown, and both the Comptroller and the Chamberlain wear bands or tabs, a pair of linen strips hanging down in front from the collar, as worn by barristers and by Protestant clergy of earlier centuries.

Friends and family of freemen are welcome to attend the ceremonies. Some people prefer to regard the occasion as a private matter between themselves and the Chamberlain's Court staff. Nominators may attend but this is not essential.

At the appointed time freemen and guests, if any, are escorted to the Court Room by the Beadle and placed in position facing the bench. All remain standing throughout. If nominators are present they stand either side of the freeman; other guests stand to one side of the room where they are able to observe the proceedings.

The Beadle announces to the Court the name of the person to be admitted to the freedom and the way in which it is to be obtained, by redemption, nomination, patrimony or servitude. If by redemption the Beadle will also give the date of the Court of Common Council or Court of Aldermen at which the order for admission was passed. If the freedom is by nomination the names of the nominators may also be announced.

The admission officer, who stands behind the bench, bows to the assembly who return the bow. He then invites the freeman to approach the bench and read aloud the declaration of a freeman, beginning with his or her own names in full.When this has been done the freeman signs the Letter Book (also known as the freemen's declaration book) which is countersigned by the officer in charge. The copy of freedom is presented, together with a copy of a book entitles, 'Rules for the Conduct of Life'. The officer delivers a few words about the origins of the book, and may add something on the nature of the freedom. Finally, the freeman is offered the 'right hand of fellowship' and is greeted as a Citizen of London. Freemen who are members of a livery company, for example Coachmakers, will be greeted as 'Citizen and Coachmaker of London'.

Proceedings may vary a little depending upon who is officiating at the ceremony, the number of freemen being admitted and guests present, but the reading of the declaration, signing the book, presentation of the copy of freedom and 'Rules of Conduct of Life', the handshake and the greeting are essential to the time-honoured ceremony of admission to the Freedom of the City of London.

THE DECLARATION - It is likely that an oath of some sort has always formed part of the ceremony of admission to the freedom of the City, and a 17th century inventory of the Chamberlain's Court refers to a chained bible on which the freemen's oaths would have been taken.

The 17th century oath was much longer than today's declaration, and this version remained of similar length and wording until the restrictive laws concerning religion were relaxed in the early 19th century, when the oath underwent an important change and became a declaration, thus allowing Nonconformists, Roman Catholics, Jews and people of all other faiths to become freemen.

In the days before widespread literacy, the oath or declaration would probably have been read aloud to the freemen by the Chamberlain or his clerk, to which freemen would agree to swear and sign their names or marks.

The declaration took its present form in the mid-19th century and has been in use ever since.

The declaration of a Freeman:

I [NAMES IN FULL] do solemnly declare that I will be good and true to our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second; that I will be obedient to the Mayor of this City; that I will maintain the Franchises and Customs thereof, and will keep this City harmless, in that which in me is; that I will also keep the Queen's Peace in my own person; that I will know no Gatherings nor Conspiracies made against the Queen's Peach, but I will warn the Mayor thereof, or binder it to my power; and that all these points and articles I will keep well and truly, according to the Laws and Customs of this City, to my power.

Recording of a new Freeman of a Livery Company who already is a Freeman of the City of London
Following admission to the freedom of a livery company, a person who is already a freeman of the city of London but not a freeman or liveryman of any other London livery company should attend at the Chamberlain's Court, Guildhall, to be recorded in the Company. This procedure is required only if this is the new freeman's first or 'mother' company. If this is the new freeman's second or subsequent livery company no action is necessary.

By appointment only, telephone the Chamberlain's Court, Guildhall 020 7332 1369. Ask for an appointment to be recorded.

Documents and fees

• Copy of freedom of the City of London
  
• Livery company certificate which will be kept in perpetuity by the Chamberlain's Court. Photocopy acceptable.
  
• Fee £10

The copy of freedom will be retained by the Clerk of the Chamberlain's Court until the Court of Aldermen has ordered the Chamberlain to make the recording, and a memorandum to that effect has been written on the reverse of the copy of freedom (between four and six weeks). If the copy of freedom has been framed the memorandum will be written on a separate strip of parchment.

It should be noted that a freeman of a livery company who should follow this procedure but who does not, is ineligible to proceed to the livery, to take apprentices, to vote at Common Hall, neither will children subsequently born to him/her have the right to the freedom of the City by patrimony in the livery company.