DVLA to decentralise licence printing to regional offices to end delays

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) is set to decentralise the printing of driver’s licences across its offices nationwide in a move aimed at ending prolonged delays faced by applicants.

Under the new arrangement, individual DVLA offices will be equipped to print licences locally, replacing the current system in which applications from across the country are processed through a centralised printing facility at the Authority’s head office.

The DVLA said the centralised system, which relies on only two machines, has contributed to significant delays, with some applicants waiting as long as seven months and, in certain cases, up to a year to receive their licences.

The announcement was made during the commissioning of a new DVLA office at Amrahia in the Adenta Municipality on Friday, August 21.

DVLA Chief Executive Julius Neequaye Kotey said decentralising the printing process would make licence delivery faster and more efficient.

He explained, however, that instant printing would initially be available only to applicants seeking replacement cards, while first-time applicants would still be required to complete the mandatory three-month licensing process.

“Every station, every office in Ghana, we have one centralised point to print licence forms. And that is the head office. We have only two machines printing for the whole of Ghana. Now we are doing decentralisation so that every office of the DVLA authority can print its own licence,” he said.

Mr Kotey said the new system would ensure that applicants no longer have to wait several months for their cards after completing the necessary procedures.

“Every office will now print, but we are printing instantly, for only replacement of cards. When your six years have expired, we will now print for you instantly. But when you are coming for a new licence, you have to go through the three months before you get your card,” he explained.

He added that the three-month requirement for first-time applicants was based on international standards and was not unique to Ghana.

“That is ISO; it goes beyond Ghana. It is an international standard,” he said.