The Home Office will not place any restrictions on the purchase of card readers as such restrictions would not be of any consequence to the effective management of identity checking services provided by the National Identity Scheme.
The ability of any card reader to verify information against the National Identity Register is dependent on the controls in place that regulate whether or not that reader is permitted to carry out that function. Only organisations accredited by the Identity and Passport Service will be provided with the necessary digital certificates to enable their readers to verify identity against information held on the National Identity Register. Such digital certificates allow for revocation of such services should the reader be stolen or the service misused.