Story: News Desk

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has announced plans to replace all vehicle number plates in Ghana within two years, beginning January 1, 2027, as part of a new digital vehicle identification system. 

The exercise, which will run until December 31, 2028, will involve the re-registration of vehicles across the country under a new digital number plate regime. 

At a media briefing in Accra on Friday, July 10, 2026, the Chief Executive Officer of the DVLA, Julius Neequaye Kotey, said January 1, 2027, remains the official commencement date for the nationwide vehicle re-registration exercise. 

He explained that the authority was  currently preparing for a pilot phase of the programme, which begins on August 1, 2026. 

The pilot will start with the registration of government vehicles before the registration of all unregistered vehicles begins on September 1, 2026. 

Mr Kotey said July 31, 2026, has been set aside for completing system updates ahead of the pilot rollout. 

The DVLA CEO said the new number plate system was expected to strengthen Ghana’s vehicle identification process and reduce revenue leakages associated with vehicle registration. 

He explained that the system would integrate the DVLA’s vehicle database with other institutions, including the Ghana Highway Authority toll system, the National Insurance Commission (NIC) motor insurance database, the Ghana Police Service and the judiciary. 

According to him, the improved database would allow enforcement agencies to quickly access vehicle information when needed. 

“It is disheartening for state enforcement agencies such as EOCO or the Ghana Police Service to write to the DVLA for information on vehicles that were involved in crime, but the authority is unable to readily provide it,” Mr Kotey said. 

“Sometimes this information on vehicles is required to grant people bail, but because we do not have it readily available, they end up spending some days in police custody, and this must change,” he added. 

The DVLA did not provide an update on the passage of the legislation required to support the new system during the briefing. 

However, Mr Kotey reiterated the authority’s commitment to implementing the new number plate and vehicle re-registration framework and appealed to stakeholders, including driver unions, to support the initiative. 

The proposed changes require amendments to the Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 (L.I. 2180), which outlines the format and contents of vehicle number plates in Ghana. 

In December 2025, the DVLA announced that implementation of the digital number plate policy had been suspended because the proposed amendment was still before Parliament awaiting approval. 

The DVLA first announced in October 2025 that it would introduce a new registration system beginning January 1, 2026. 

Under the initial plan, new vehicles were expected to receive the digital number plates from January 2026, followed by the re-registration of more than four million existing vehicles from April 2026 to December 2027. 

The authority also indicated that the new plates would contain Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips to allow digital activation and instant verification by enforcement agencies. 

The DVLA  also reminded vehicle owners whose vehicles were registered before 2023 to migrate their details from the authority’s manual system onto its digital platform. 

The Director of Driver Training, Testing and Licensing at the DVLA, Kafui Semenyo, said onboarding would confirm that vehicle owners had met their tax obligations and that their vehicles were properly registered. 

He added that the process would establish legal ownership of vehicles and enable real-time information sharing with the police, especially in cases involving stolen vehicles. 

“If you do not onboard your vehicle, you cannot obtain your certificate or title and vehicle registration card; you cannot register your vehicle when the mandated new vehicle registration and re-registration exercise commences; and you will violate road traffic law and get sanctioned,” he warned. 

The DVLA said the new system was  expected to improve accountability, enhance road safety enforcement and create a more reliable vehicle identification database nationwide.