The Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry is the only order based upon the right to bear arms as a qualification for membership.

Any person aged eighteen or over, of good moral character and reputation is eligible for membership in the Order provided the candidates prove descent from an immigrant ancestor who settled on or before 04 July 1776 within a territory that became the forty-eight contiguous states of the United States of America and who had a proven right to bear arms in the settler’s country of origin.

An applicant is proposed by two members of the Order who know the applicant. Only one proposer is necessary if the applicant is a member of lineage societies with local chapters: DAR, SAR, SR, OFPA, DFPA, Colonial Wars, etc.