New registration number plates part of 'Reset Agenda' - DVLA

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in charge of Operations of the Driver

and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Iddisah Yeboah Seidu, has stated that the Authority is not left out in the government’s ‘Reset Agenda’.

He said, “The whole country is going through a reset mode, and DVLA is not left out. We are resetting everything to meet modern standards, and one of the key things to do is to securitize and digitize our number plates.”

Mr Seidu said this at a stakeholder engagement at Zuarungu in the Bolgatanga East District on the introduction of the new registration number plates for vehicles beginning in January 2026.

The engagement brought together key stakeholders, including officials of the DVLA, Police officers, members of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), motorbike dealers, the Ghana Road Safety Authority, and the media, among others.

The new plates would have features, including the Coat of Arms of Ghana, a biannual renewal sticker, a map of the Republic of Ghana, the name of the country, the Region of registration, vehicle number, registration centre code, random identification mark, and the national flag.

Mr Seidu said as part of efforts to make access easy for customers, the Authority would open an office in Navrongo, noting that, “We are digitizing and also physically moving towards you, so you will have no reason to refuse to register.”

The Deputy CEO called on the media to assist the Authority in sensitizing members of the public on the new registration exercise, and encouraged all vehicle owners to comply with the Authority to serve them better.

Mr Kafui Semevo, the Director of Driver Training, Testing, and Licensing of the DVLA, told the stakeholders that, “Starting from the first working day of January 2026, we are going to be concentrating on new vehicles, and we will start to issue the new numbers to these vehicles.”

He said the Authority would start to recall the already registered vehicles for re-registration in June 2026, and that the stakeholder engagement was intended to make them understand what the reform was about, and to encourage them to comply with the Authority to address some challenges with its current database.

“There are situations where we are unable to properly identify some of the vehicles on the road because the database is not up to date to reflect the vehicles on the road,” he said.

Mr Semevo said the situation affected enforcement and registration processes the Authority undertook in the past, saying, “Now, what we are seeking to do is to use this system to update our records.

“We want to use it to ensure that vehicles that are stolen or owners have not paid duty do not get into our database. We will also use this reform to ensure that the number plates are issued by the Authority itself, but no longer third parties,” the Director said.

He explained that with the third-party arrangement, people obtained number plates without the knowledge of the Authority.

“We have seen situations where people visit fitting shops, take several vehicles they assume will not return on the road, and go to embossers to get the plate embossed, and they affix it on their vehicles without any authorization.

“In this arrangement, we are going to be doing the embossment

ourselves. We are going to make sure that before a vehicle gets a number plate fixed on it, that number plate is verified and activated because the plates will come with the Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chip embedded in them.

“This way, we will be sure all the vehicles on our roads are properly identified, and when it comes to enforcement, it will be convenient for all of us,” Mr Semevo said.

He said the Authority would ensure that the exercise would be done in a manner that would not create inconveniences for customers.

“We will have several outlets for this exercise, and we will also ensure that people access the service on request, so that we do not have people crowding our offices,” he added.

Mr Emmanuel Abaidoo, the Upper East Regional Manager of the DVLA, commended the stakeholders for their participation in the programme and said their involvement reflected the strong partnership between the Authority and its stakeholders.

Some participants who spoke to the Ghana News Agency after the programme described the initiative as “good” but expressed concern about the cost component, and said it would be unfair for the Authority to shift the cost to customers.