Applications for Grand Lodge Certificates are submitted by the Lodge where the Brother was initiated to the Grand Secretary, except for District Lodges where the District Grand Master issues Certificates through the District Grand Secretary, as per Rule 87. A fee for registration, as outlined in Rule 270, must accompany the application; no Certificate is issued until payment and the proposal form are received. Every Brother in good standing is entitled to a Certificate upon registration of the third degree, with provisions for first or second degree Certificates under special circumstances. Certificates should be presented in open Lodge, or sent by registered post if necessary, with a record in the minutes. The Brother must sign the Certificate upon receipt. If a Certificate is lost, a duplicate may be issued by the Grand Secretary upon proof of loss and payment of the required fee. These rules apply to specific areas including Bedfordshire, Essex, and others.
December 4th, 2025
February 10th, 2026
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(a) Applications for Grand Lodge Certificates must be made by the Lodge in which the Brother has been initiated to the Grand Secretary, on the appropriate form provided by him, except in the case of District Lodges where the District Grand Master is authorised by Rule 87 to issue Certificates, in which case the application must be made to the District Grand Secretary. *Until the Board of General Purposes has given a direction in relation to any particular area, the current Rule (above) will continue to apply. (a) (Amended): Applications for Grand Lodge Certificates must be made by the Lodge in which the Brother has been initiated to the Grand Secretary, except in the case of District Lodges where a District Grand Master is authorised under Rule 87 to issue Certificates, in which case the application must be made to the District Grand Secretary. *The above and amended Rule has been applied to the following area(s): Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumberland and Westmorland, Cyprus, Derbyshire, Dorset, Eastern Archipelago, Essex, Gloucestershire, Guernsey and Alderney, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Hong Kong and the Far East, Isle of Man, Jersey, Leicestershire and Rutland, Lincolnshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, South Wales, Suffolk, Warwickshire, West Wales and Wiltshire. Fee for Certificate must be paid (b) The fee payable for the registration of a Mason, in accordance with Rule 270, shall be paid and sent, together with the proposal form, on the registration of a Brother’s name by the Lodge in which he was initiated. No Certificate can be issued until the appropriate fee is paid and the proposal form duly completed is received. *Until the Board of General Purposes has given a direction in relation to any particular area, the current Rule (above) will continue to apply. (b) (Amended): The fee payable for the registration of a Mason, in accordance with Rule 270, shall be paid and sent by the Lodge in which he was initiated when next remitting the amounts due in accordance with Rule 147. No Certificate can be issued until the registration of initiation is received, and the Grand Secretary may refuse to issue a Certificate in the event that the registration fee is overdue and has not been paid. *The above and amended Rule has been applied to the following area(s): Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumberland and Westmorland, Cyprus, Derbyshire, Dorset, Eastern Archipelago, Essex, Gloucestershire, Guernsey and Alderney, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Hong Kong and the Far East, Isle of Man, Jersey, Leicestershire and Rutland, Lincolnshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, South Wales, Suffolk, Warwickshire, West Wales and Wiltshire. Who entitled to Certificate (c) Every Brother in good standing shall be entitled to a Grand Lodge Certificate immediately upon his being registered in the books of the Grand Lodge as having received the third degree; but a Brother may in special circumstances obtain a Certificate of the first or second degree, and, after he has been advanced to a superior degree, shall be entitled free of charge to exchange such Certificate for one of the superior degree. Presentation of Certificate (d) A Brother’s Grand Lodge Certificate should be presented to him in open Lodge, and the fact entered on the minutes, but, in cases where this cannot conveniently be done, the Certificate shall be sent to him by registered post, and the Secretary shall report the fact at the next regular meeting of the Lodge so that it be duly recorded. Certificate must be signed (e) A Grand Lodge Certificate must immediately upon receipt be signed in the margin by the Brother to whom it is issued. Lost Certificate (f) In case a Certificate be lost or destroyed, of which satisfactory proof must be adduced, the Grand Secretary may issue a duplicate to the Brother to whom the original was issued upon payment of the fee prescribed in Rule 270.