DVLA to Introduce New Vehicle Number Plates from January 2026

The Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Julius Neequaye Kotey, has announced that new vehicle registration plates will be issued starting January 1, 2026.

Mr Kotey indicated that the new design plates would have a regional identifier at the top of the plate, and an area code at the end of the plate making it easier to trace a vehicle to a specific place.

“For instance, a plate will read GR 222 AD, with AD representing Adenta. We have completed all the legal groundwork and intend to roll this out on the first of January,” he explained.

He noted that the change forms part of a general reform to strengthen the tracing system and to modernise the vehicle registration system.

On the Channel One Face to Face programme on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, Kotey reiterated that the new design, removes the old practice of placing the registration year at the end of number plates.

In relation to the new Drive from Port (DP) stickers, Kotey explained that this is to improve accountability and improve monitoring of vehicles that enter the transport system from the ports.

“The new DP sticker allows us to track who is driving the car, when it arrived in Ghana, its destination, and the date the sticker expires. Once scanned, the code reveals all these details. It was wrong to have cars in the system without knowing their owners, but now, right from the port, we know who owns the vehicle,” he explained.

He indicated that these measures are a significant improvement to higher standards in the country’s vehicle registration and tracking system and will provide transparency, security, and efficiency in managing traffic.