The Overall Submission Process
How long does the overall submission process take?
Like many good things, 9 months to a year.
- Month 0: Send paperwork in.
- Month 1-2: paperwork posted to kingdom letter for commentary (depends on what time of the month your paperwork was received, usually.)
- Month 2-3: commentary closes, results are proofread and published.
- Month 3-4: submission is either returned for further work, or is forwarded up to Society level. You will receive a notification at this point, so long as your contact information on your submission form is up-to-date and LEGIBLE.
- Month 4-6: submission is posted at Society level, and receives commentary. You can now follow the progress on the Online System for Commentary and Response (OSCAR) (use CTRL-F to search for your name).
- Month 7: submission is decided upon at monthly meeting.
- Month 8-9 (and sometimes longer): letter is written, proofread, and published.
Official notification letters may take a bit longer, depending on the volume of submissions, common holidays, or the schedule of large events such as Pennsic.
Registered items will also show up in the Ordinary and Armorial (O&A), which is updated monthly.
Holidays, large SCA events, and Real Life Events ™ can and often do extend the submission process.
How can I track my submission through the process?
You should work directly with your consulting herald if you have questions about your submission.
OSCAR is the system for heraldic commentary and response, and that commentary is not public. This is because confidential information may be discussed, and because commenters speak more freely in a closed environment.
In addition, issues raised in commentary may or may not be a factor in the final decision. For that reason, just because something was brought up doesn’t mean the submission is not registerable. Conversely, just because a problem was not noted in commentary does not mean that a submission is registerable. For this reason, we ask that heralds not share the commentary directly with submitters, although issues or questions raised in commentary may require follow-up with submitters. In that case, Blue Tyger will usually contact the submitter and/or consulting herald.
Once your submission passes to the Laurel level, you can follow the progress on OSCAR (use CTRL-F to search for your name.)
Additional details
iLoIs are issued around the start of the month, and have a one-month commentary period. Kingdom-level decisions are issued in the middle of the month, roughly two weeks after commentary closes on the internal letter.
For example, a submission which arrives in January will be on an iLoI dated on or around February 1. The commentary deadline will be around March 1, and the decisions will be issued in the middle of March. Notifications will be sent by the end of March.
External letters of intent are up for commentary for two months, and are considered at the Laurel meetings in the month following the end of this commentary period.
For example, an external LoI issued in March will normally be scheduled for the June decision meetings. It typically takes roughly two months for the LoAR to be published, so an item on that March LoI, decided in June, will appear on an LoAR that’s published in August.
Once a submission has left kingdom, you can check its general status in OSCAR. Note that some decisions require additional research and discussion after the meetings, and decisions can change as a result. For this reason, the decisions are not final and cannot be disclosed until the official LoAR is issued.