The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) is targeting a nationwide rollout of radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled number plates in 2027, following the completion of their design and the commencement of pilot testing.
The Chief Executive Officer of the DVLA, Julius Neequaye Kotey, said the technology would modernise vehicle registration, improve road safety and strengthen law enforcement through faster access to vehicle information.
He announced this at the Government Accountability Series press conference at the Presidency in Accra, where he outlined the Authority’s ongoing digitalisation reforms.
Mr Kotey said the number plates were designed by the DVLA’s in-house team without consultancy fees or external influence, describing the initiative as an internally developed reform.
The RFID technology is expected to enable real-time access to vehicle information and support integration with electronic road tolling systems and traffic monitoring technology being deployed by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.
He said the technology could also provide information to support investigations when vehicles are linked to criminal activities.
“At the heart of this reform is to improve security, reduce crime, and ensure that there is safety on our roads,” he said.
Mr Kotey added that the DVLA would decentralise licence plate enforcement to its regional offices to reduce turnaround times for vehicle registration.
The Authority is also introducing measures to distinguish commercial motorcycles, commonly known as okada, from privately used motorcycles, alongside efforts to separate commercial and private vehicle registration categories.
The reforms form part of a broader effort to improve vehicle identification and strengthen oversight of road transport activities.
Mr Kotey said the DVLA had also completed work towards converting international driving permits and vehicle permits into biometric documents.
He said the current handwritten international driving permits did not conform to international practices and standards, creating verification challenges for Ghanaian drivers travelling abroad.
“The irony is that we verify foreign licences, yet the international driving permit we issue to our citizens travelling outside the country remains unverifiable,” he said.
The Authority is also advancing plans to digitalise road accident reports by requiring reports to be filed from the actual locations where accidents occur.
Mr Kotey explained that the proposed system would capture the geographical coordinates of accident scenes before allowing reports to be prepared, helping to improve the accuracy and reliability of accident records.
He said the DVLA was also working to complete a vehicle lay-off system that would allow owners to temporarily deactivate their vehicles when they were off the road for an extended period.
The system is expected to provide vehicle owners with a formal process for recording periods when their vehicles are not in use.
The planned reforms are part of the DVLA’s efforts to use digital technology to improve registration services, strengthen vehicle tracking and enhance road transport administration in Ghana.
