To get a “Sir” title in England, someone has to nominate you for a knighthood through the UK honours system, and the King has to approve it on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and independent committees. You cannot apply for yourself. The nomination is judged against a national-level standard of achievement, screened for suitability, and, if successful, takes roughly one to two years to result in an announcement on either the New Year Honours List or the King’s Birthday Honours List.1UK Honours System. Nomination Guidance
“Sir” is the formal style for a man who holds a knighthood or a baronetcy, always paired with a first name. The equivalent for women is “Dame.” A knighthood belongs to the individual for life and is not passed to children. Baronetcies are the exception: they are hereditary and carry the “Sir” prefix down the generations.2Encyclopedia Britannica. British Nobility The wife of a knight is addressed as “Lady” followed by his surname; the husband of a Dame gets no corresponding title.
Which Honours Actually Give You the Title
Not every British honour comes with “Sir” attached. Only the standalone Knight Bachelor and the top two ranks of certain orders of chivalry carry the prefix.3UK Honours System. Orders, Decorations and Medals The Knight Bachelor is the oldest form of knighthood in England, granted directly by the Crown without belonging to any order, and it gives the title but no post-nominal letters.
Within the orders of chivalry, only the Grand Cross and Knight or Dame Commander ranks make you “Sir” or “Dame.” The Order of the British Empire is by far the most common route, and inside it that means a KBE, DBE, or GBE.4College of Arms. The Order of the British Empire This is the point most people get wrong: a CBE, OBE, or MBE is a real honour, but it does not make the recipient a “Sir” or “Dame.”
The Bar You Have to Clear
A knighthood sits near the top of the honours hierarchy. The published standard is a “major contribution in any activity, usually at national level” where the work is seen as “inspirational and significant” by others in the field and reflects “commitment over a long period of time.”5GOV.UK. Nominate Someone for an Honour or Award – Types of Honours and Awards In practice that describes people who have changed their industry, transformed a public institution, or built a charitable effort of national reach.
The field itself is open. Science, the arts, education, sport, business, voluntary work, community leadership, public service — any of them can produce a candidate, provided the contribution has improved life for others, raised Britain’s standing, or shown moral courage.6GOV.UK. Nominate Someone for an Honour or Award – Overview
Suitability Checks Can Sink a Nomination
Clearing the achievement bar is not enough. Before any name reaches the final list, probity and propriety checks run across government departments, including HM Revenue and Customs, which assesses whether a candidate’s tax affairs pose any reputational risk to the Crown.1UK Honours System. Nomination Guidance Unresolved tax problems, criminal convictions, or active bankruptcy can block an honour even when the professional case is strong.
How the Nomination Works
Nominations come from other people. Anyone — a friend, colleague, employer, or stranger — can put a candidate forward by completing a form through the Cabinet Office’s Honours and Memorialisation Secretariats, submitted online, by email, or by post.1UK Honours System. Nomination Guidance There is no self-application route.
The form asks for the candidate’s details and a written case for why they deserve the honour. Each nomination must be backed by at least two supporting letters from people who know the candidate personally and can speak to what they have done.1UK Honours System. Nomination Guidance Nominations are accepted year-round with no fixed deadlines, and nominators are advised not to try to time a particular list.
One thing catches nominators out: you don’t get to choose the level. You cannot request a knighthood specifically. The independent committees decide what level of honour, if any, the evidence supports.
What Happens After You Nominate
A nomination enters a multi-stage review. Independent honours committees made up of experts in the relevant field assess the candidate against the published criteria and decide whether the contribution merits recognition and at what level. Their recommendations feed into the Main Honours Committee, which agrees a consolidated list. That list goes to the Prime Minister, who provides strategic direction and forwards it to the monarch. The King makes the final decision.1UK Honours System. Nomination Guidance
A few honours skip the Prime Minister entirely. Appointments to the Order of the Garter, the Order of the Thistle, and the Royal Victorian Order are the Sovereign’s personal gift and are made without ministerial advice.3UK Honours System. Orders, Decorations and Medals
Announcements come twice a year, in the New Year Honours and the King’s Birthday Honours. From nomination to announcement typically takes one to two years. If two years pass without an outcome, the nomination has likely lapsed.1UK Honours System. Nomination Guidance
Accepting the Honour and the Investiture
Before a knighthood is announced publicly, the candidate is contacted and asked whether they wish to accept. People do decline, and refusals are meant to remain confidential unless the individual chooses to go public.
For those who accept, the title is conferred at a formal investiture. The knight-elect kneels on their right knee on a knighting stool, and the King “dubs” them by laying the flat of a bare sword blade on the right shoulder and then the left, before presenting the insignia.7The Royal Family. Knighthoods and Damehoods Dames are not dubbed with the sword. Members of the clergy are also not dubbed, because the use of a sword is considered inappropriate for their calling.
Investitures are usually held in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace or the Grand Reception Room at Windsor Castle, and occasionally at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh or overseas during state visits. Ceremonies are hosted by the King, the Princess Royal, or the Prince of Wales.8The Royal Family. Investitures
If You Are Not a British Citizen
Citizenship changes what the honour lets you call yourself. Citizens of Commonwealth realms where the King is head of state, such as Australia and New Zealand, can receive substantive knighthoods and use “Sir” or “Dame.” Citizens of any other country, including the United States, receive honorary knighthoods only. They may put post-nominal letters like KBE after their name, but they cannot call themselves “Sir” or “Dame.”9The Gazette. American Citizens with Honorary British Knighthoods and Damehoods
Honorary knighthoods are recommended by the Foreign Office rather than through the public nomination route, and recipients are not dubbed with the sword.7The Royal Family. Knighthoods and Damehoods If a foreign holder later becomes a British citizen, they can apply to convert the honour to a substantive one and then use the “Sir” title.9The Gazette. American Citizens with Honorary British Knighthoods and Damehoods
How the Title Can Be Taken Away
A knighthood is not permanent. Removing an honour is called forfeiture, and it happens more often than people expect. The Forfeiture Committee, which advises the King, automatically considers cases where a holder has been convicted of a criminal offence carrying a prison sentence of more than three months, been struck off or censured by a professional regulatory body, or been convicted of a sexual offence.10GOV.UK. Having Honours Taken Away (Forfeiture)
The Committee’s remit is broader than those triggers. Any conduct that brings the honours system into disrepute can prompt a review, including behaviour that predates the award. A past criminal conviction, even a spent one, can be grounds for forfeiture, though personal disputes are unlikely to qualify.11UK Honours System. Forfeiture
Anyone can report concerns about a holder by contacting the Cabinet Office. If the Committee recommends removal, the recommendation goes through the Prime Minister to the King for approval. Once forfeited, the individual must return their insignia to Buckingham Palace and can no longer reference the honour anywhere, on business cards, websites, or otherwise. Forfeitures are published in the London Gazette.10GOV.UK. Having Honours Taken Away (Forfeiture)