To become a Sir in England, you have to be knighted through the British honours system. Someone who knows your work nominates you, independent committees in the Cabinet Office vet the nomination, and the King formally confers the knighthood on the Prime Minister’s advice. The whole process usually runs 12 to 24 months, and it turns on one thing: a track record of exceptional achievement or sustained service that has genuinely improved other people’s lives. You cannot apply for a knighthood yourself, and you cannot buy one.
What “Sir” Actually Is
A knighthood is a personal honour, not a rank of nobility. That distinction matters because “Sir” is often confused with “Lord.” A Lord holds a peerage, a higher rank that historically came with a seat in the House of Lords. A knighthood sits below that. It gives you the prefix “Sir” before your first name, public recognition, and an invitation to a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. It does not make you an aristocrat, and it is not hereditary. When a knight dies, the title dies with them.
Knighthood once meant military service to the monarch. Today it recognizes exceptional work in fields like science, the arts, public service, charity, business, sport, and community life. Lower honours such as the CBE, OBE, and MBE are part of the same framework, but knighthood is the level at which you earn the right to be called “Sir.”
Who Is Eligible
British citizens and permanent residents are eligible for a substantive knighthood, meaning the kind that actually lets you use “Sir.” Official guidance focuses on impact rather than credentials or job titles, and there is no minimum age. Contributions can come from almost any area of public life. The nomination has to show what changed because of the person’s work, not just that they held impressive posts.
Foreign nationals can receive honorary knighthoods, typically on the recommendation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for strengthening the relationship between their country and the United Kingdom. There is a catch: honorary knights are not dubbed at the ceremony and cannot use “Sir” or “Dame” before their name.1The Royal Family. Knighthoods and Damehoods Bob Geldof and Bill Gates both hold honorary KBEs; the public often calls them “Sir,” but neither is formally entitled to the prefix. If an honorary knight later becomes a British citizen, they can apply to convert the award into a substantive one.
Knighthoods cannot be awarded posthumously. If a nominee dies during the vetting process, the nomination is withdrawn immediately.2The Honours System of the United Kingdom. Nomination Guidance
How the Nomination Works
Anyone can nominate someone. You do not need a government connection or special credentials. The nomination starts with an online form on the official Cabinet Office site and asks for detailed information about what the nominee has accomplished and how their work has improved things for other people.3UK Honours System. How to Nominate Each nomination also needs at least two supporting letters from people who know the nominee personally and can speak to the substance of their contributions.2The Honours System of the United Kingdom. Nomination Guidance
Once submitted, the file enters a slow, deliberate pipeline. The Honours and Memorialisation Secretariats in the Cabinet Office coordinate the process and pass nominations to independent committees of experts in the relevant field. Those committees decide whether the record clears the bar. In parallel, the government runs probity and propriety checks, including a risk assessment from HMRC, to make sure nothing about the candidate would embarrass the system.2The Honours System of the United Kingdom. Nomination Guidance
A successful nomination typically takes 12 to 18 months to work through. If two years pass without an award, the nomination lapses and the nominator has to resubmit.2The Honours System of the United Kingdom. Nomination Guidance The committees’ recommendations go to the Prime Minister, who advises the King on the final list. Honours are announced twice a year: on New Year’s Day and on the King’s official birthday in June.4GOV.UK. Honours Lists
The Routes That Produce the Title “Sir”
Not every honour comes with a knighthood, and not every knighthood is the same. The title “Sir” attaches to a specific set of appointments.
Knight Bachelor
The Knight Bachelor is the oldest and most common form, dating to the reign of Henry III in the 13th century.5Encyclopedia Britannica. Knight Bachelor It is not tied to any order of chivalry. Recipients get the title “Sir” but no post-nominal letters.6UK Honours System. Orders, Decorations and Medals It is the standalone version of the honour.
Knighthoods Within the Orders of Chivalry
Knighthoods are also awarded inside formal orders, each with its own ranks. Only the top two ranks of each order carry the title “Sir”:
- The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, founded in 1917: Knight Grand Cross (GBE) and Knight Commander (KBE) confer “Sir.” The lower ranks (CBE, OBE, MBE) are honours but do not.6UK Honours System. Orders, Decorations and Medals
- The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, established by King George I in 1725: Knight Grand Cross (GCB) and Knight Commander (KCB).6UK Honours System. Orders, Decorations and Medals
- The Royal Victorian Order, founded by Queen Victoria in 1896 for personal service to the monarch: Knight Grand Cross (GCVO) and Knight Commander (KCVO).6UK Honours System. Orders, Decorations and Medals
- The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George: Knights Grand Cross (GCMG) and Knights Commander (KCMG).6UK Honours System. Orders, Decorations and Medals
The Order of the Garter
The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain, and it works differently. Members are chosen personally by the King rather than through the standard nomination system, and membership is reserved for people who have held public office, contributed to national life, or served the Sovereign personally.7The Royal Family. The Order of the Garter Members use the post-nominals KG (men) or LG (women). Appointment to the Garter sits well above a standard knighthood and is treated as a rare distinction.
The Investiture: When You Actually Become “Sir”
Becoming a knight in name happens at an investiture ceremony, usually at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, and occasionally at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh or overseas during state visits. Around 30 investitures take place each year, with over 60 recipients at each one.8The Royal Family. Investitures
The key moment for new knights is the dubbing. The recipient kneels on a special investiture stool, and the King or a senior member of the Royal Family lightly touches each shoulder with a sword.8The Royal Family. Investitures That act, called the accolade, is the moment the knighthood becomes official. Honorary knights are not dubbed and do not kneel.1The Royal Family. Knighthoods and Damehoods The new knight then receives the insignia of their order, with family attending.
You Cannot Buy a Knighthood
Websites and private services claim to sell British titles, including lordships and supposed knighthoods. None of them produce a genuine knighthood. The Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 makes it a criminal offence to accept or offer money or anything of value as an inducement for procuring a title of honour.9Legislation.gov.uk. Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 Both the person paying and the person accepting can be prosecuted.
Some companies sell “Scottish lairdships” tied to souvenir plots of land, or manorial lordships rooted in feudal property ownership. These create no genuine title. Under English common law you can also call yourself whatever you like short of fraud, so some people adopt “Sir” or “Lord” as a legal first name by deed poll. The Passport Office will issue a passport in the new name but will note that the title is a name, not a formal honour. None of this touches the real honours system.
How a Knighthood Can Be Lost
A knighthood can be revoked. The Forfeiture Committee, which sits within the Cabinet Office, reviews cases where retaining an honour would bring the system into disrepute. The committee automatically considers cases where a knight has been:
- Sentenced to more than three months in prison for a criminal offence;
- Struck off or censured by a professional regulatory body, particularly for conduct linked to the reason the honour was granted;
- Found guilty of a sexual offence under the relevant legislation in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
Forfeiture can also be based on conduct that predates the award, including spent criminal convictions that were not disclosed. The committee is not limited to those automatic triggers; any evidence that keeping the honour would damage the system’s reputation can prompt a review. Personal grudges and private disputes are not grounds for forfeiture.10The Honours System of the United Kingdom. Forfeiture
Women Receive “Dame,” Not “Sir”
Women are not knighted as “Sir.” The equivalent honour is a damehood, which confers the title “Dame” before the recipient’s first name. There is no female equivalent of the Knight Bachelor appointment, so women reach the title “Dame” only through the orders of chivalry, at the ranks of Dame Commander and Dame Grand Cross: DBE and GBE in the Order of the British Empire, DCB and GCB in the Order of the Bath, DCVO and GCVO in the Royal Victorian Order.6UK Honours System. Orders, Decorations and Medals The nomination and vetting process is the same.