(Approved by Privy Council 2008)

1. Repeal of Existing Order

The existing Order for the Admission of Freemen dated 12^th October 1551 and all subsequent Orders or amendments made or expressed to be made pursuant thereto are hereby repealed. However, this repeal shall not prejudice or affect any right or interest acquired, or any liability incurred, or anything done or purported to be done pursuant to the said Order.

2. Qualifications for Admission

The following persons if aged 18 years or more shall be entitled to admission to the Freedom of the City of Oxford subject to compliance with the provisions of this Order and any valid amendment thereto namely: –

(a) The son or daughter or stepson or stepdaughter or grandson or granddaughter or son in law or daughter in law of any Freeman, whether living or dead, whose name is enrolled on the roll of Freemen of the City.

(b) An apprentice (whether male or female) of a Freeman whether living or dead whose name appears on the roll of the Freemen of the City provided that during the lifetime of such Freeman such apprentice shall have served him or her for a continuous period of 2 years.

(c) A candidate (whether male or female) for admission to the Freedom nominated by the Lord Mayor of the City during his or her year of office whose nomination has been approved by the Committee of the Freemen of the City of Oxford (and if so, admitted such candidate shall be referred to as the Lord Mayor’s Childe).

3. Pre-conditions for Admission by Patrimony

Any son or daughter or stepson or stepdaughter or grandson or granddaughter or son in law or daughter in law of a Freeman desiring to be admitted shall produce to the head of the department of the City Council responsible for legal services the following evidence of his or her entitlement to be admitted namely:

1. (In the case of a son or daughter) his or her birth certificate or adoption certificate showing the name of an enrolled Freeman as father or mother or adoptive father or mother or
2. (In the case of a stepson or stepdaughter) his or her birth certificate or adoption certificate and a parent’s marriage certificate showing the name of an enrolled Freeman as the spouse of that parent or
3. (In the case of a grandson or granddaughter) his or her birth certificate or adoption certificate and a parent’s birth certificate showing the name of an enrolled Freeman as the father or mother of that parent or
4. (In the case of a son-in-law or daughter-in-law) his or her marriage certificate showing that he or she has an enrolled Freeman as his or her mother-in-law or father-in-law

4. Pre-conditions for Admission by Apprenticeship

It shall be the duty of any Freeman taking an apprentice, if so, requested by that apprentice, to advise the head of legal services of the City Council within the first 6 months of the term of the apprenticeship and to produce a copy of the deed of apprenticeship. When that has been done then it shall be the duty of the Freeman within 3 months of termination of the apprenticeship to advise the head of legal services that the apprentice has completed his or her term of training satisfactorily whereupon the apprentice shall be entitled, should he or she so request of the City Council, to be admitted to the Freedom.

5. Pre-conditions for Admission as Lord Mayor’s Childe

Any Lord Mayor wishing to nominate a candidate for admission as the Lord Mayor’s Childe shall not later than 3 months before the end of his or her term of office submit to the Secretary for the time being of the Freemen of the City of Oxford the name of his or her candidate for admission and such other particulars as might reasonably be required and within one month the secretary shall advise the Lord Mayor whether or not such candidate is acceptable to the Freemen of the City and if no objection be raised then the Lord Mayor shall be entitled to admit such candidate to the Freedom before the end of his or her term of office.

6. Death of a Master during the period of Apprenticeship

If a Master should die before his or her apprentice has completed a 2 year term of apprenticeship then if the apprentice is able to find another Freeman willing to accept him or her as an apprentice the period of training served under that second Freeman shall when aggregated with that served under the deceased Master entitle the apprentice to apply for Admission to the Freedom provided always that the term or terms served as apprentice of different Freemen shall total no less than 2 years duration.

7. Admission of Aliens

Nothing in this Order shall prevent the admission of an alien to the Freedom of the City of Oxford.

8. Power of amendment

1. Subject to the provisions of this clause, the Freemen of the City of Oxford may amend the provisions of this Order.
2. Any amendment must be made by Freemen in Common Hall, of which not less than 21 days’ notice has been given either by notice inserted in the Freemen’s periodic journal, or by separate notice served by post, in each case addressed to all Freemen for whom a current address is known.
3. The notice of Common Hall must include notice of the resolution, setting out the terms of the proposed amendment.
4. No amendment shall be valid which would vary this clause or deprive any existing Freeman of the Freedom of the City of Oxford.
5. No amendment shall be valid until such time as it shall have been approved by Oxford City Council and until three months shall have elapsed after its submission to the Privy Council, nor shall it be valid until it shall have been amended to include any such changes that the Privy Council should by notice served within that period of three months require to be included