The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has announced plans to decentralise the printing of driver’s licences to its offices across the country as part of efforts to end prolonged delays faced by applicants.
Under the new system, DVLA offices will be equipped to print driver’s licences locally, reducing reliance on the centralised printing facility at the Authority’s head office.
The current system depends on only two machines at the head office to serve applicants across the country, resulting in delays that can last several months and, in some cases, up to a year.
The announcement was made during the commissioning of a new DVLA office at Amrahia in the Adenta Municipality on Friday, August 21.
Speaking at the ceremony, DVLA Chief Executive Julius Neequaye Kotey said the decentralisation programme would allow individual offices to print licences and significantly reduce waiting times.
“Every office will now print, but we are printing instantly for only replacement of cards. When your six years have expired, we will now print for you instantly,” Mr Kotey said.
He explained that instant printing would initially apply only to replacement cards, while applicants seeking a new driver’s licence would still have to complete the mandatory three-month licensing process.
“But when you are coming for a new licence, you have to go through the three months before you get your card. That is ISO; it goes beyond Ghana. It is an international standard,” he said.
Mr Kotey said the move was intended to end the situation where applicants pay for their licences but wait for months before receiving their cards.
