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Regulations governing disclosure and use of company ownership information have grown as part of anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism efforts. Beneficial ownership transparency is also advocated for anti-corruption, understanding wealth ownership, and improving human rights and modern slavery due diligence. Open Ownership commissioned research to answer questions about private sector use of beneficial ownership data, including which entities use it, different use cases, primary drivers, challenges, and emerging trends. The research found that compliance with government regulations is the biggest driver of beneficial ownership data use, but data availability and quality are significant challenges. Private beneficial ownership data service providers are the main source of data, which often comes from government registers, but availability is limited and data is often unreliable and incomplete. Challenges in using beneficial ownership data limit its potential in areas beyond compliance, such as managing operational and reputational risk and supply chain management. The research concludes that standardization around definitions, structure, verification, and quality of data in government registers is lacking, and governments should address these challenges to facilitate private sector compliance and unlock additional benefits of beneficial ownership data use. Recommendations include implementing public beneficial ownership registers with standardized definitions and verification, following Open Ownership Principles, and consulting financial institutions to improve verification processes. Private sector actors should harmonize beneficial ownership data use, lobby governments to resolve data availability and quality issues, and play an active role in data verification.