The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) says it will replace all vehicle number plates in Ghana within two years under a new digital vehicle identification system.
The nationwide exercise will begin on January 1, 2027, and end on December 31, 2028.
During this period, all vehicles in the country will be re-registered and issued with the new digital number plates.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra on Friday, July 10, 2026, the Chief Executive Officer of the DVLA, Julius Neequaye Kotey, confirmed that the nationwide vehicle re-registration exercise will officially begin on January 1, 2027.
He said the authority is currently preparing for a pilot phase, which will start on August 1, 2026.
The pilot programme will begin with the registration of government vehicles.
After that, the registration of all unregistered vehicles will start on September 1, 2026.
Mr Kotey said July 31, 2026, has been set aside to complete system upgrades before the pilot begins.
According to him, the new digital number plate system will improve the way vehicles are identified in Ghana and help reduce revenue losses linked to vehicle registration.
He said the new system will connect 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.
This will allow security and enforcement agencies to quickly access vehicle information whenever it is 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 give any update on the proposed law needed to support the new system during the briefing.
However, Mr Kotey said the authority remains committed to introducing the new number plate system and the nationwide vehicle re-registration programme. He also appealed to driver unions and other stakeholders to support the initiative.
The planned changes require amendments to the Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 (L.I. 2180), which sets the rules for vehicle number plates in Ghana.
In December 2025, the DVLA announced that the digital number plate policy had been put on hold because the proposed amendment was still before Parliament for approval.
The authority first announced the new registration system in October 2025. Under the original plan, newly registered vehicles were expected to receive the digital number plates from January 2026, while more than four million existing vehicles were to be re-registered between April 2026 and December 2027.
The DVLA also said the new number plates will have Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips, making it easier for law enforcement agencies to instantly verify vehicle information.
The authority has also reminded owners of vehicles registered before 2023 to transfer their records from the old manual system to the new digital platform.
The Director of Driver Training, Testing and Licensing at the DVLA, Kafui Semenyo, said this process will confirm that vehicle owners have paid the required taxes and that their vehicles are properly registered.
He added that it will also help establish legal ownership of vehicles and allow the police to quickly access vehicle information, 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 says the new system will improve accountability, strengthen road safety enforcement, and create a more reliable vehicle identification database across the country.
