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GIST

Armorial Bearings, Names, Uniforms and Badges (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (No. 16)

Registering a name, uniform, badge or heraldic representation now costs US$30 for an individual, US$50 for an SME and US$200 for a company, replacing the 2023 fees.

The fee schedule that has governed this register since 1971 has been replaced. The First Schedule to the Armorial Bearings, Names, Uniforms and Badges Regulations, 1971 is repealed and substituted, and the 2023 amendment (SI 100 of 2023) is repealed with it.

Fees run across three tiers: women, universities and research institutions; SMEs; and corporate bodies. Applying to register a name, uniform, badge or heraldic representation costs US$30, US$50 or US$200, and restoring one costs the same. A correction, rectification, addition or alteration to an entry or certificate is also US$30, US$50 or US$200 — the schedule prices it identically whether or not the change affects the actual name, uniform, badge or heraldic representation, so the distinction it draws makes no difference to what you pay.

Requesting a statement of the grounds of a decision costs US$25, US$40 or US$150. A general certificate of registration is US$15, US$20 or US$80. Certifying a document is US$10, US$15 or US$40 per page, while a copy of a document and a search per file are US$1 at every tier. A lodging box is US$120 a year regardless of tier.

One inconsistency is worth knowing about: the instrument's header cites Chapter 1:01 while its operative words cite section 31 of the Armorial Bearings, Names, Uniforms and Badges Act [Chapter 10:01]. The two cannot both be right, and the instrument does not resolve it.

Claiming a research institution, academic institution, student or SME rate requires the declaration of entity form gazetted with the instrument. An SME is defined by employees and assets: micro 1–5 and up to US$30 000, small 6–30 and US$30 001–500 000, medium 31–75 and US$500 001–1 000 000. Local applicants may pay in Zimbabwean dollars at the prevailing bank rate. No commencement date is stated; the instrument was gazetted on 18 April 2025.

What changed

  • The First Schedule to the Armorial Bearings, Names, Uniforms and Badges Regulations, 1971 is repealed and replaced.
  • The 2023 amendment (No. 15), SI 100 of 2023, is repealed.
  • Application to register a name, uniform, badge or heraldic representation: US$30, US$50 or US$200 by tier.
  • Restoration of a registration: US$30, US$50 or US$200.
  • Correction, rectification, addition or alteration of an entry: US$30, US$50 or US$200, whether or not it affects the actual name, uniform, badge or representation.
  • Statement of grounds of a decision: US$25, US$40 or US$150.
  • General certificate of registration: US$15, US$20 or US$80; certifying a document US$10, US$15 or US$40 per page.
  • Copies per page and searches per file are US$1 at every tier; lodging box rental is US$120 a year.
  • The instrument cites its parent Act inconsistently — Chapter 1:01 in the header, Chapter 10:01 in the operative words.

Who this affects

  • organisations registering names, uniforms, badges or heraldic representations
  • SMEs claiming the reduced tier
  • women, universities and research institutions claiming the lowest tier
  • intellectual property agents and lawyers

Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.