As a bill, it was presented to the House of Commons by Home Secretary Theresa May on 26 May 2010, making it the first government bill to be introduced to the 55th Parliament of the United Kingdom by the Cameron ministry.

[1] The bill passed the House of Commons on 15 September 2010, and was unopposed by the Opposition.

At report stage on 17 November 2010, however, peers accepted a Labour amendment to pay compensation to people who had already paid the charge to purchase an ID Card.

[2] The amendment remained in place until the bill returned to the House of Commons, where it was rejected by the Speaker as it imposed an additional charge on the public purse not authorised by the Commons, which holds financial supremacy over the House of Lords.

The Lords accepted the Commons disagreement to their amendment, and the bill received Royal Assent on 21 December 2010.