Wax seals will no longer be used on official government documents – ending centuries old tradition

Published on July 19, 2025 at 07:02 PM

BONKERS laws meaning some Government documents have to be sealed with WAX are being scrapped after hundreds of years.

Cabinet Office minister is tearing up red tape which causes delays for staff working in taxpayer funded bodies.

Wax seal with sun design being stamped onto an envelope.
Wax seals have been used on some government documents for hundreds of years

They include a rule which forces the Intellectual Property Office, overseeing patents, to close some documents with an official wax “seal of the Patent Office”;.

Wax seals were first used in England to seal documents just before the

Edward the Confessor was the first English Monarch known to have used them.

Some of the most important documents in British history were sealed with wax, including Charles I’s death warrant and the decree ordering to be beheaded.

The DVLA – which completes around 45,000 handwritten forms a year – will be able to do away with the need for paper.

The Government is considering legislation to scrap these laws to help staff speed up processes.

A Cabinet Office source said: “You cannot solve today’s problems with outdated laws designed for a different era.

“Modernising the state and removing bureaucracy will empower ministers to do what we promised – deliver the Plan for Change, improve public services and raise living standards.”;

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