27/09/2026
About six weeks ago, CUTS International Accra raised concerns about the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority’s (DVLA) delinquency charges for late renewal and replacement of a driver’s licence. Our position is that merely holding an expired licence does not, in itself, constitute a crime. It only becomes an offence when one drives with an expired licence, as per Regulation 46(8) of the Road Traffic Regulations 2026 LI 2519.
Last week, the DVLA issued a release titled “Clarification on Delinquency Charges on Failed Renewal of Driver’s Licence.” The 3rd paragraph of the release read: For the avoidance of doubt, the responsibility for holding a driver’s licence is to ensure that the licence is active at all times. At no point should a driver’s licence be allowed to expire.”
That statement overlooks circumstances in which a person cannot renew on time or has no reason to drive. An expired licence does not, by itself, establish that its holder drove while the licence was invalid. There are many in the country ( , , , , , ) whose professional practice licences might have expired, and they have not renewed them because they do not intend to practice. It is only when one intends to practice that one decides to renew the licence. This explains why professional bodies also publish “members in good standing.”
Take a read on our position on Why Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, Ghana must stop treating every expired licence holder as delinquent
Appiah Adomako Bernard Avle Ghana Standards Authority Consumers International Global Road Safety Partnership Franklin Cudjoe
https://www.citinewsroom.com/2026/09/why-dvla-must-stop-treating-every-expired-licence-holder-as-delinquent-appiah-adomako-writes/?shem=aimgspe
About six weeks ago, CUTS raised concerns about the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority’s (DVLA) delinquency charges for late renewal and replacement of a
