For the first three decades of the Society's existence, all heraldic device submissions had to be checked against extant SCA arms, heraldry taken from or alluding to works of fiction, and coats of arms granted to families alive or extinct. Following a major revision of the SCA's rules for heraldic submissions, SCA armorial bearings are now checked for conflict only against major coats of arms, devices and symbols that exist in the real world, and arms awarded within the Society itself.