Photocopying or visually inspecting a Ghana Card for the purpose of conducting transactions is now an offence following the coming into force of the Legislative Instrument (LI) 2111.
Under the new regulations, biometric verification is now mandatory for identity verification in transactions, replacing the previous practice of relying on photocopies or visual inspection of the Ghana Card.
The amended law, which was laid before Parliament three months ago and gazetted on Wednesday, July 15 imposes sanctions on individuals and organisations that fail to comply.
According to the new provisions, an organisation that contravenes the regulations commits an offence and, upon summary conviction, is liable to a fine of not less than 500 penalty units and not more than 2,000 penalty units.
Individuals found in breach also face penalties ranging from 50 to 500 penalty units.
The Minister responsible for the National Identification Authority (NIA) is expected to address the public in the coming days on the implementation and enforcement of the amended law.
Meanwhile, organisations wishing to integrate with the NIA’s Identity Verification Platform have been advised to apply for onboarding by contacting the Authority through its designated verification channel.
Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2111, also known as the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012, governs the usage of the Ghana Card.
It legally enforces the mandatory presentation and authentication of the Ghana Card for personal and public transactions across Ghana.
Under this law, the Ghana Card is required for various critical activities, including voting registration, opening and accessing bank accounts, purchasing and registering mobile SIM cards and accessing services at public institutions.
L.I. 2111 ensures that the Ghana Card remains the primary and sole official form of national identification. With recent amendments, the law also strictly penalizes institutions or individuals who visually inspect or make photocopies of the card instead of using mandatory biometric verification.
