# How To: Create a VerusID

Register a self-sovereign identity on the Verus blockchain.

Estimated time: 10–15 minutes
Cost: 100 VRSC for a root mainnet ID (80 VRSC with referral — the 20 VRSC discount is split among the referral chain; see Referral System). Alternatives: free IDs via Valu (Verus Discord #valu channel, /getid), cheap IDs on PBaaS chains, subIDs (set by namespace owner). Testnet: ~100 VRSCTEST (free test currency).
Difficulty: Beginner

• Verus CLI installed and daemon synced (setup guide)
• A funded wallet address (R-address) with enough VRSC/VRSCTEST
• Terminal access

If you don't have one yet:

./verus -testnet getnewaddress "my-wallet"

Expected output:

<R-address>

Save this address — you'll use it as your control address and primary address.

You need VRSC (or VRSCTEST) at this address. Check your balance:

./verus -testnet getbalance

Testnet: Request VRSCTEST from the community Discord faucet.
Mainnet: Purchase VRSC from an exchange or receive from another user.

Before committing, verify your desired name isn't taken:

./verus -testnet getidentity "YOUR_DESIRED_NAME@"

If you get Identity not found, the name is available.

This hides your name choice to prevent front-running:

./verus -testnet registernamecommitment "YOUR_NAME" "YOUR_R_ADDRESS"

Example:

./verus -testnet registernamecommitment "alice" "<R-address>"

Expected output:

{
  "txid": "abc123def456...",
  "namereservation": {
    "version": 1,
    "name": "alice",
    "parent": "iJhCezBExJHvtyH3fGhNnt2NhU4Ztkf2yq",
    "salt": "7f8a9b2c3d...",
    "referral": "",
    "nameid": "iXYZ123..."
  }
}

⚠️ Save this entire output! You need it for the next step. If you lose the salt, your commitment is wasted.

./verus -testnet registernamecommitment "alice" "<R-address>" "existingid@"

Wait for the commitment transaction to be mined (at least 1 block, ~1 minute):

./verus -testnet gettransaction "YOUR_COMMITMENT_TXID"

Look for "confirmations": 1 or higher.

Using the output from Step 4, register the identity:

./verus -testnet registeridentity '{
  "txid": "YOUR_COMMITMENT_TXID",
  "namereservation": {
    "version": 1,
    "name": "alice",
    "parent": "YOUR_PARENT_FROM_STEP4",
    "salt": "YOUR_SALT",
    "referral": "",
    "nameid": "YOUR_NAMEID"
  },
  "identity": {
    "name": "alice",
    "primaryaddresses": ["YOUR_R_ADDRESS"],
    "minimumsignatures": 1,
    "version": 3
  }
}'

⚠️ CRITICAL: The namereservation must include ALL fields from Step 4's output — version, name, parent, salt, referral, and nameid. Missing any field causes a hash mismatch error and registration will fail. The safest approach is to copy the entire namereservation object from your Step 4 output exactly as-is.

Note: On testnet, parent will be "iJhCezBExJHvtyH3fGhNnt2NhU4Ztkf2yq" (VRSCTEST). On mainnet, it will be "i5w5MuNik5NtLcYmNzcvaoixooEebB6MGV" (VRSC). Always use whatever value was returned in Step 4.

Expected output:

a1b2c3d4e5f6...   (transaction ID)

After 1 confirmation:

./verus -testnet getidentity "alice@"

You should see your identity details including your primary address. Check that canspendfor and cansignfor are true — this confirms the identity is in your wallet and you can control it.

Require multiple signatures to control the identity:

./verus -testnet registeridentity '{
  "txid": "YOUR_TXID",
  "namereservation": { ... },
  "identity": {
    "name": "alice",
    "primaryaddresses": ["R_ADDRESS_1", "R_ADDRESS_2"],
    "minimumsignatures": 2
  }
}'

Set separate authorities for revoking and recovering your identity:

"identity": {
  "name": "alice",
  "primaryaddresses": ["YOUR_R_ADDRESS"],
  "minimumsignatures": 1,
  "revocationauthority": "trustedfriend@",
  "recoveryauthority": "backupid@"
}

Last updated: 2026-02-07