Knowledge about early papal documents is scant because no originals survive from before the 9th century, and extant copies of earlier documents are often much abridged. But it is clear that the popes at first imitated the form of the letters of the Roman emperors. The papal protocol consisted only of the superscription and address and the final protocol of the pope’s personal “signature”—not a mention of his name but merely a blessing. Toward the end of the 8th century, it became customary in certain documents to mention in the final clauses the name of the scribe responsible for the drawing up of the document; this was given with the date of issue, indicated by month and indiction, immediately following the subject matter of the document. There followed another clause, the great dating formula, datum per manus (“given by the hand of…”), naming a high chancery official and giving the date by reference to the regnal years of both emperor and pope. Both were used in documents containing decrees of permanent legal force, which came to be called privileges. Under Pope Leo IX (1049–54), the benediction written by the pope was changed into a monogram not written by him, but his signature was now introduced, placed in a round symbol, the rota. By the early 13th century, papal documents had evolved into two distinctive groups: solemn privileges and letters. Solemn privileges can be distinguished by their enlarged letters (elongata) of the first line, by the phrase in perpetuum (“in perpetuity”) at the end of the address, by a threefold amen at the end of the text, by use of the rota, the pope’s signature, the monogram, signatures of the cardinals, and by the datum per manus. Among letters, those whose bull was fastened on silken cords (litterae cum serico) brought some benefit to the recipient, while those with bulls fastened on a hempen cord (litterae cum filo canapis) contained either orders or the papal delegation in a dispute.

The number of solemn privileges began to decline from the mid-13th century, and eventually they were completely discontinued, their function being partly taken over by the litterae cum serico, which became increasingly elaborate in form. A new type of document also developed, the papal bull, distinguishable primarily by its use of formulas such as ad perpetuam rei memoriam (“that the matter may be perpetually known”) in the superscription. Yet another new papal document appeared at the end of the 14th century, the brief (breve), used for the popes’ private or even secret correspondence. Written not in the chancery but, instead, by papal secretaries (an office dating from about 1338), the briefs were sealed on wax with the imprint of the papal signet ring.

The papal chancery of the 4th to the 8th centuries was similar to the late-Roman imperial chancery. Its notaries (notarii, scriniarii), organized in a guild (schola), were headed by the primicerius notariorum and the secundicerius notariorum (first and second of notaries) and included the especially important notaries of Rome’s seven ecclesiastical regions. But, during the 9th century, the bibliothecarius, the papal librarian, became the most important chancery official; a little later, various important bishops and dignitaries seem to have acted occasionally as datarius (the official named in the datum per manus formula). During the mid-11th century, a phase of German influence led to the temporary employment of notaries from the court of the emperor Henry III, who drew up papal privileges according to imperial formulas. A more important and permanent outcome of German influence was the gradual replacement of the bibliothecarius by a chancellor as the highest chancery official. The chancellor was invariably a cardinal, and in his absence another cardinal acted in his place as vice chancellor. Lesser chancery personnel still included the seven regional notaries; increasing business involved the use of lesser paid scribes in addition to the established notaries. From the late 11th century, a papal chapel, modelled on those of contemporary emperors and kings, developed, and its staff was often employed in chancery tasks.

From the early 13th century, the vice chancellor became the permanent head of the chancery, the office of chancellor remaining vacant. During that century the vice chancellors were ordinary clerics, who renounced the office if elevated to the cardinalate; thus, the chancery became directly subordinate to the pope himself. Both the numbers and the official standing of the notaries in the chancery, which then functioned entirely separately from the chapel, gradually increased. Higher chancery officials were often distinguished canonists (legal experts), such as Sinibaldo Fieschi (later Pope Innocent IV), Godfrey of Trani, and Richard of Siena. From the beginning of the 14th century, bishops or cardinals filled the office of vice chancellor. During the Great Schism (1378–1417) there were two papal chanceries and two vice chancellors, one in Rome and one in Avignon.

Under Innocent III the procedure of the papal chancery had changed. Letters concerning matters of import to the papal Curia (de Curia) were drafted by the pope himself or else by a cardinal, the vice chancellor, or a notary. But the majority of the papal documents were elicited by their recipients, who had first to present to a notary the substance of their petition in a form the text of which largely anticipated the wording of the desired document. Professional proctors attached to the Curia assisted in the drafting and were also responsible for the documents during later stages of the procedure. Once a petition was approved, the notaries or the abbreviatores drafted a suitable document, drawing on a selection of formula books. After a final copy (engrossment) had been made and checked, it was read, if necessary, to the pope or in a special department of the chancery, the Audientia litterarum contradictarum. It was then passed to the Cistercian lay brothers who had charge of the papal bull, sealed, and given to the petitioner, who had had to pay a fee at almost every stage of the proceedings.

Insufficient research has so far been done on the papal chancery during the 14th and 15th centuries. Whereas formerly, when the vice chancellor was absent, one of the notaries had deputized for him, a new official, the regens cancellariam, was now created to fulfill this function. The number of notaries increased steadily, and, from the 13th century onward, an increasing number of public notaries worked in the papal administration. In order to distinguish between them and the papal notaries proper, the latter became unofficially known as protonotaries. The notaries were now in charge of the letters of justice, while the letters of grace were handled by the abbreviatores. The scribes remained in charge of the engrossments. A computator, aided by several assistants, was responsible for collecting fees.