The Driver and car Licensing Authority (DVLA) has issued a final warning to car owners who are still using 2025 DV plates, forged 2026 DV plates, or expired and fake DP stickers, stating that violators will be arrested and prosecuted beginning Monday, May 4, 2026.
The Director of Vehicle Inspection and Registration, Kwasi Bona Otuo-Serebour, revealed at a news conference yesterday at the authority’s headquarters in Accra that non-compliance is still frighteningly common despite multiple extensions and public reminders.
Mr. Otuo-Serebour stated, “Enforcement measures will be escalated effective May 4, 2026. Our compliance team, in collaboration with the MTTD, will proceed to arrest and prosecute individuals found operating vehicles with 2025 DV plates, forged 2026 DV plates, or expired and fake DP stickers.”
Due to practical difficulties, the Authority first temporarily extended the use of 2025 plates into January 2026 in December 2025.
February 2026 saw the official issue of the 2026 DV plates, and on March 19, 2026, a second public notice indicating a statewide combined enforcement exercise with the Ghana Police Service was sent out.
Forty vehicles were seized as a result of targeted operations at Spintex, GIMPA, UPSA, and a special exercise at Tema Harbour on April 17, 2026.
Only over 31.7% of the 707 cars tested at Head Office—Adentan, Tema, and Nsawam—were compliant, according to data from March 24 to April 16, 2026.
338 checks with 148 expired 2025 plates were reported by the Head Office–Adentan zone. With 34 cases, Nsawam had the most expired DP stickers.
165 cars with fake 2026 DV plates were discovered.
Mr. Otuo-Serebour emphasised that using a car with a fake trade licence is specifically forbidden by sub-regulation 11 of Regulation 23 of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (LI 2180).
Regularising documentation is “not only a legal obligation but also essential to maintaining order, safety, and integrity within our road transport system,” he said, urging all car owners to do so right once.
Source: newsthemegh.com