Organisations that photocopy Ghana Cards or rely solely on visual inspection to verify a person’s identity now risk prosecution under newly amended regulations governing Ghana’s national identification system.
The amendment to the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2111), has been gazetted, making biometric verification the only legally recognised method of confirming the identity of Ghana Card holders during transactions.
Announcing the development on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Wisdom Kwaku Deku, said the new law is aimed at strengthening identity verification and reducing fraud.
Under the amended regulations, institutions convicted of violating the law could be fined between GH¢6,000 and GH¢24,000, while individuals face fines ranging from GH¢600 to GH¢6,000, based on the current penalty unit value of GH¢12.
The law prohibits organisations from photocopying Ghana Cards or accepting visual inspection of the card as proof of identity. Instead, institutions are required to verify customers through the NIA’s biometric verification platform.
The amendment follows months of discussions between the NIA, the Bank of Ghana and the banking sector over concerns that photocopying Ghana Cards exposes individuals to identity theft and the misuse of personal information. In 2025, the central bank clarified that it had never authorised the practice and later directed regulated financial institutions to rely on biometric verification and the Ghana Card for customer identification.
The new requirements now extend beyond banks to all organisations that use the Ghana Card for identity verification. Mr Deku urged institutions that are yet to connect to the NIA’s verification platform to begin the onboarding process to ensure compliance with the law.
