Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, Minister for the Interior, says biometric verification of the Ghana Card has become the mandatory standard for identity verification in Ghana. He said the new requirement was introduced under the National Identity Register (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2523), replacing the previous practice of relying on visual inspection and photocopying of the card for identity authentication.
At a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, the Minister said the move was aimed at safeguarding citizens’ personal data, strengthening the integrity of the national identification system and curbing identity theft and identity-related crimes, including mobile money fraud. He said the Legislative Instrument (L.I. 2523) was signed on March 2, 2026, under powers conferred by the National Identification Register Act, 2008 (Act 750), as amended, on the advice of the Governing Board of the National Identification Authority (NIA).
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak said the regulation was gazetted on March 27, 2026, and came into force on June 9, 2026, after completing the required parliamentary processes. The Minister explained that the amendment revised the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2111), replacing the long-standing practice of relying on visual inspection, photocopies or scanned images of the Ghana Card with biometric authentication.
“For too long, identity checks in this country have relied on officers glancing at the card or businesses photocopying and filing it away. That practice has real consequences. A photocopy can be altered, a scanned image can be misused or reused without the owner’s knowledge or consent, and a Ghana Card can be presented by someone who is not the rightful owner,” he said.
He explained that biometric verification authenticates the identity of a person at the point of transaction by matching the individual’s fingerprint or other approved biometric information with records in the National Identity Register or through match-on-card verification using NIA-approved devices. Under the new regulations, organisations conducting transactions specified under Regulation Seven of L.I. 2111 are required to verify identities biometrically and are prohibited from requesting, retaining, reproducing or relying on photocopies, scanned copies or images of the Ghana Card for verification.
They are also prohibited from using biometric…
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