Hi Tiny,

Although the Scottish Tartans Authority, call themselves the authority, they have no official status.

The Scottish Register of Tartans (called the Register) is a national repository of tartan designs. It is an on-line website database facility maintained by the National Archives of Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government.

They are the official people and this is their site:

http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/index.aspx

Although a tartan could be designed using the STA's programme and woven by one of their affiliated mills, it is not recognised till it is registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans. There are many tartan design software programmes and many people have registered tartans with the SRT that have never been anywhere near the STA. The Scottish Register of Tartan's database contains all the registered tartans, not just the ones designed through the STA. They are the people who will tell you whether your tartan is original or a copy.

Regards

Chas