In addition to its decision on the flag, the government of Stojan Protić in Belgrade on December 9/22, 1918 also made a decision on the coat of arms. Guided by the motto that the state is represented by the people of three brotherly tribes – Serbs, Croats and Slovenes – the government accepted the principle of equality in that area and incorporated elements from the coats of arms of all three tribes in the state coat of arms. Maintaining some heraldic principles, the state coat of arms of the Kingdom consisted of a white two-headed eagle with a shield on its chest, divided into two fields. The Serbian coat of arms, made on the model of the one made by Stojan Novaković in 1882, was presented in the right-hand field. It consisted of a red cross with four firesteels in each corner of the cross on the white background. The left-hand field was occupied by the Croatian coat of arms which consisted of a checkerboard with 20 white and red fields. The lower part of the shield was occupied by the old Illyrian (Slovenian) coat of arms – an upturned white crescent on the blue background with a white five-point star between the ends of the crescent.

On the model of the Serbian coat of arms, under the St Vitus's Day Constitution of 1921, the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia remained basically the same as that of the Stojan Protić government from December 1918 with only slight changes. The coat of arms consisted of a two-headed white eagle on a read shield, with crowns on each of its heads. The coat of arms of all three tribes remained on the shield on the eagle's chest, with slight changes. The Serbian coat of arms consisted of a white cross on a red shield with four firesteels in each corner of the cross; Croatian shield consisted of a 25-field red and silvery checkerboard; Slovenian coat of arms had three golden six-point stars above a white crescent on a blue shield. The coat of arms was surrounded by a red ermine cloak, with the royal crown on top, like it was during the time of the Kingdom of Serbia. There were two fleurs-de-lys underneath the eagle, one under each claw. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia kept this coat of arms until World War II.

During the people's liberation war and the second session of AVNOJ in late November 1943, when the foundations of the new Yugoslav society were set, the coat of arms of Socialist Yugoslavia was created through collaboration between artists Đorđe Andrejević Kun and Antun Augustinčić, while they were decorating the room of the Jajce Home of Culture, where the session was to be held. At the decision of the AVNOJ Presidency, Augustinčić previously carved the future coat of arms in wood, with five torches representing the five Yugoslav nations as the main elements and under a previous decision, the date of the session, November 29, 1943, was included in the coat of arms. Kun sketched the wheat, to which the five torches were added. This coat of arms of new Socialist Yugoslavia was adopted after World War II. Under the FPRY Constitution, the Yugoslav coat of arms was described as the coat of arms with a field surrounded by wheat stalks tied in the bottom by a ribbon bearing the date of the Second AVNOJ Session in Jajce, November 29, 1943. A five-pointed star stood between the tops of the wheat stalks and the five torches were placed in a slanted position in the middle and their flames created a single flame.

The coats of arms of the Socialist Republics of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro were created nearly at the same time in 1945-1946. Under the 1963 Constitution, when the name of the state changed into the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia, the state coat of arms kept its previous appearance and the only modification was that a sixth torch was added to the five torches in the centre.

The SFRY coat of arms did not change until the 1990s when the Yugoslav union disintegrated.

The attempt to preserve the Yugoslav state after the secession of some republics led to the formation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. FR Yugoslavia was made up of two equal member-states – Republic of Serbia and Republic of Montenegro, which promulgted the Constitution on April 27, 1992. The FRY Constitution regulated the state coat of arms. Under the Law on the Coat of Arms of FR Yugoslavia of October 20, 1993, the coat of arms consisted of a red shield with a silver double-headed eagle with the golden beak and tongue, golden legs and claws. A shield with four square fields with the coats of arms of the Republic of Serbia and Republic of Montenegro placed alternatively was situated on the eagle's chest. The coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia was in the first and fourth square on a red background with a silver cross and four silver firesteels in the corners and the coat of arms of the Republic of Montenegro was in the second and third fields, with a passing lion with a golden tongue and body on a red background. This coat of arms remained the same in the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, although modifications of the flag, coat of arms and national anthem were discussed.