The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has completed the concept and design of new Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-enabled number plates, with a nationwide rollout scheduled for 2027, the Chief Executive Officer, Julius Neequaye Kotey, has announced.
The new number plates, currently being piloted in selected areas, are expected to revolutionise vehicle registration and security in the country through enhanced real-time data access, integration with electronic road tolling and improved law enforcement capabilities.
Addressing the media at the Government Accountability Series at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, Mr Kotey said the design of the new plates was completed in-house by DVLA staff, with no consultancy fees incurred.
"The new number plate responds to the need to modernise vehicle registration with technology. It allows access to instant and real-time information, and enables integration for electronic road tolling as well.
“The RFID technology provides the opportunity for vehicle number plates to carry information that will be useful for law enforcement in the event of crime," he said.
Onboarding
Under the new system, the DVLA has decentralised the issuance of the new license plates to all its regional offices.
The onboarding process entails capturing vehicle data onto an electronic database, a prerequisite for acquiring the new RFID-enabled plates, which has many benefits, including real-time verification of ownership, and allowing law enforcement and authorised personnel to verify vehicle details instantly.
The technology is also designed to integrate seamlessly with electronic road tolling systems, paving the way for smoother traffic management on major highways.
The new regime would also clearly distinguish private from commercial vehicles, as well as commercial motorcycles (Okada) from private ones, through a license plate identification system.
Vehicle owners would be able to access the new plates at any DVLA regional office, once it is rolled out fully, eliminating the previous bottleneck at the head office.
The acting CEO said a nationwide sensitisation exercise had begun to educate the public on the new system ahead of the full rollout in 2027.
Revenue recovery
Mr Kotey said the authority had sealed a major revenue leakage in the sale and distribution of DP plates at the ports by replacing aluminium plates with paper-proof digital stickers.
This had led to monthly DP sticker issuance at the ports rise from an average of 1,800 to over 15,000 by October, 2025.
As a result, revenue from DP stickers jumped from GH¢15 million for the entire 2024 to over GH¢27 million between January and September, 2026.
In a related development, the authority renegotiated costly Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for roadworthy certificates.
Agreements that would have cost $155.4 million over three years, were reduced to GH¢2 million for the same period, translating to an annual saving of approximately $50 million.
"The authority posted GH¢25 million as surplus after closing its accounts for the 2025 financial year, as compared to GH¢5 million in 2024," the CEO added.
For the first time since becoming semi-autonomous in 2016, the DVLA contributed GH¢17.7 million into the Consolidated Fund in 2025, in addition to a record GH¢80.4 million contribution into the Road Fund as statutorily required under the Road Fund Act 1997, Act 536.
This puts the authority's total contribution to the Mandatory Fund at GH¢98.1 million.
Expansion
The DVLA had also expanded its nationwide network from 33 to 63 offices within two years, comprising 12 new DVLA-owned offices and 18 Ultra Centers opened in partnership with the private sector.
The authority also pioneered 24-hour service at some of its offices where over 444,000 licences were printed by the end of 2025.
Other digital innovations include the introduction of six local languages on a Computer-Based Test (CBT) platform, an SMS notification system for licence renewals, an electronic library system for driver refresher videos and an upcoming queue management system.
In addition, a demerit points system for licence holders was also being introduced, where drivers who breach the threshold of traffic infractions would have their licences revoked and be required to undergo retraining and recertification.
The authority had also commenced the registration of excavators at the ports, in collaboration with the Minerals Commission, where over 7,700 excavators have so far been registered.
Also, 357 vehicles had been impounded and handed over to the Ghana Revenue Authority for non-payment of appropriate customs duties following the deployment of an On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) devices to detect cloned and uncustomed vehicles.
