Signet Office

The Signet Office was a historical department within the English royal administration, responsible for a small seal known as the signet. This office emerged as a competitor to the older Chancery, particularly as royal control over the privy seal diminished.12

The signet's rise was linked to the need for a more personal and accessible royal seal. Initially, royal documents required a complex process involving warrants from the signet, then the privy seal, before finally being issued under the great seal in Chancery. The king's secretary, head of the Signet Office, became increasingly central to royal administration, handling state papers that eventually surpassed the importance of Chancery records. The Signet Office was abolished in 1851.12