NIA begins nationwide crackdown on illegal Ghana Card photocopying, warns of GH¢24,000 fines

The National Identification Authority (NIA) has announced a nationwide enforcement exercise targeting institutions that unlawfully photocopy Ghana Cards or use visual inspection instead of approved biometric systems to verify the identities of customers.

The Authority has warned that institutions found violating the National Identity Register (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, L.I. 2523, risk prosecution and fines of up to GH¢24,000.

The enforcement exercise follows the expiration of the grace period granted to institutions to comply with the new regulations, which require the use of approved biometric verification methods for transactions where identity checks are required by law.

Speaking to the media on Monday, November 2, 2026, the Head of Corporate Affairs at the NIA, Williams Ampomah Darlas, said the Authority would begin deploying its Biometric Verification Taskforce from Tuesday, November 3, to monitor compliance across the country.

He said the move followed a period of public education and engagement with relevant stakeholders to prepare institutions for the new requirements.

“Today is 2nd November 2026, which marks the deadline for the grace period given by the minister. And having undertaken these public education and stakeholder engagement activities during the grace period, the authority is now moving into the implementation and compliance monitoring phase,” he said.

Mr Darlas explained that the task force would visit institutions to ensure they had adopted the required biometric verification systems and were complying with the law.

“Beginning with the commencement of the biometric verification implementation task force tomorrow, we are putting our men and women on the field to make sure all the institutions are doing the right thing,” he said.

“Tomorrow, the 3rd of November 2026, you will see our task force on the streets. We will visit institutions and make sure they are complying with L.I. 2523.”

The NIA said L.I. 2523 is intended to strengthen identity verification in Ghana by requiring institutions to use approved biometric methods for transactions where identity verification is legally required.

Mr Darlas explained that several services in the country require service providers to establish the identity of customers before offering assistance or completing transactions.

Under the new regulations, such institutions are expected to connect to the NIA's biometric verification platform to authenticate the identities of individuals presenting their Ghana Cards.

He said the requirement would help ensure that identity checks were conducted through approved systems rather than relying on photocopies of the Ghana Card or simply examining the physical card.

The nationwide exercise is expected to cover institutions and service providers whose transactions require identity verification under the law.

The NIA has urged affected institutions to comply with the regulations as the Authority moves from public education to active enforcement.

Institutions found engaging in prohibited practices could face sanctions, including prosecution and fines of up to GH¢24,000.