A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

to another, asking them to give credence (french: créance) to the ambassador's claim of speaking for their country. The letter is presented personally by the ambassador-designate to the receiving head of state in a formal ceremony, marking the beginning of the ambassadorship. Letters of credence are traditionally written in French, the '' lingua franca'' of diplomacy. However, they may also be written in the official language of the sending state.

Presentation of credentials

Upon arrival at their post, the ambassador-designate meets with the foreign minister to arrange for an audience with the head of state. They bring both a sealed original and an unsealed copy of his credentials. The unsealed copy is given to the foreign minister upon arrival, and the original is presented personally to the head of state in a formal ceremony. Ambassadors do not begin their duties until their credentials are accepted, and their precedence within the

diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps (french: corps diplomatique) is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( ...

is determined by the date on which the credentials were presented. They are, however, entitled to

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

as soon as they enter the country. The ambassador-designate travels to the presentation ceremony in an official vehicle provided by the receiving state, accompanied by a military escort. In

constitutional monarchies A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

and

parliamentary democracies A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

, the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

acts according to legally-binding advice from the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

. The foreign minister will ''attend'' (be present with) the head of state at the actual ceremony, to symbolize the fact that the credentials are being accepted on the basis of government advice. The ambassador-designate uses both hands to present their credentials to the head of state.

''Chargé''-level relations

When two countries maintain relations at the chargé d'affaires level, the letter of credence will be written by the foreign minister of the sending state and addressed to the foreign minister of the receiving state. The chargé will present their credentials to the foreign minister. The head of state is neither addressed nor presented with the credentials, symbolizing the lower level of diplomatic relations between the countries. The chargé is not entitled to a military escort or an official car.

Commonwealth

High commissioners from Commonwealth nations do not present letters of credence. When two

Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonweal ...

share the same

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

as head of state, the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of the sending state writes an informal letter of introduction to the prime minister of the receiving state. When a Commonwealth nation is a republic, high commissioners are dispatched and received with letters of commission, which are written by one head of state and presented to another head of state. Both forms of letters were standardized in 1950–1951 after India became a republic, replacing a chaotic system where some high commissioners carried letters from the prime minister, some carried letters from the minister of external relations, and others carried no letters at all.

References

{{Diplomacy Diplomatic documents Letters (message)