Biometric verification of the Ghana Card is now mandatory for transactions requiring the use of the national identity card following the coming into force of an amendment to the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2111).
The announcement was made by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Wisdom Yayra Koku Deku, in a statement published on his official Facebook page. According to him, it is now an offence to photocopy or visually inspect a Ghana Card for the purpose of a transaction. Instead, biometric verification is now required.
The NIA Chief Executive Officer further stated that an organisation that contravenes the new requirement commits an offence and is liable, upon summary conviction, to a fine of not less than 500 penalty units and not more than 2,000 penalty units. Individuals who violate the requirement are also liable to fines ranging from 50 to 500 penalty units, translating between GHC 600 and GHC 6000.
According to the statement, the new requirement follows the coming into force of an amendment to the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2111), which was laid before Parliament three months ago and gazetted today.
*Mandatory Use of the Ghana Card*
The National Identity Register Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2111) already prescribe several transactions for which the Ghana Card is mandatory where identification is required. Under Regulation 7, the national identity card must be used for, among others:
* applications for and issuance of passports;
* applications for and issuance of driver’s licences;
* opening individual or personal bank accounts;
* the purchase of insurance policies;
* the purchase, transfer and registration of land by an individual;
* pension-related transactions;
* transactions under the National Health Insurance Scheme;
* transactions with social security implications;
* consumer credit transactions;
* voter registration;
* payment of taxes;
* SIM card registration;
* applications for public or government services, facilities, approvals, permissions or benefits; and
* any other transaction which the National Identification Authority may determine and publish in the Gazette.
The latest amendment, according to the NIA, introduces mandatory biometric verification as the means of authenticating the Ghana Card during such transactions, replacing the long-standing practice of relying on photocopies or visual inspection of the card.
The Chief Executive Officer also announced that the Minister responsible for the National Identification Authority will, in the coming days, address the public on the measures being adopted to implement and enforce the amendment.
The amendment represents a significant step in strengthening identity verification in Ghana. By requiring biometric authentication rather than photocopies or visual inspection, the new verification regime seeks to ensure that the person presenting a Ghana Card is indeed its lawful holder, thereby reducing the risk of impersonation and identity-related fraud.
Its successful implementation, however, will depend on the availability of the necessary technological infrastructure, the accessibility of biometric verification services to both public and private institutions, and adequate public education on the new requirements. The Minister’s forthcoming address is therefore expected to provide greater clarity on the operational framework for implementing the amendment across the country.
In the meantime, the National Identification Authority has invited institutions that require identity verification services to apply for onboarding onto the NIA Identity Verification Platform by sending an email to [email protected]
