By Mavis Paintsil, Accra
Ghanaians will soon be able to register for and pick up their Ghana Cards at any hour, as the National Identification Authority moves to open more than 10 new “Prestige Registration Centres” that will operate 24 hours a day.
Announcing the plan on Monday, May 11, 2026, NIA Executive Secretary Wisdom Yayra Koku said the expansion is meant to cut down long queues, ease pressure on existing offices, and give citizens the option to access services outside regular working hours.
“The NIA will soon be launching over 10 NIA 24-Hour Prestige Registration Centres across the country,” Koku said. “These centres will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including Saturdays and Sundays so every Ghanaian can register at their convenience, anytime that works for them.”
Pilot Centre Set for Labone
The first of the new facilities at Labone in Accra is fully furnished and ready to open. The Authority says similar centres in other regions are also prepared to begin operations.
Each Prestige Centre is expected to employ about eight staff, a step the NIA says will both improve service delivery and create jobs. The rollout is part of wider reforms that also include international registration missions and tighter integration of the Ghana Card with government systems.
Backlog Cleared, Cards Issued Instantly
The 24-hour push follows the resolution of a backlog that built up between March 2023 and January 2025 due to a shortage of blank cards.
Head of Corporate Affairs Williams Ampomah E. Darlas told journalists that instant issuance is now possible at all 292 NIA centres nationwide.
“If you register today, you should be able to get your card today,” he said.
To date, 18,950,942 Ghanaians have been registered. The Authority has printed 18,848,635 cards and issued 17,747,459, with just under a million still awaiting collection.
New Focus on Biometrics and Children
The NIA is also seeking parliamentary approval to make biometric verification mandatory for all transactions involving the Ghana Card, ending the use of photocopies and visual checks.
“All transactions should go through biometric verification,” Koku stated, noting that failure to comply would be treated as an offence.
Registration for children aged 6 to 14 has resumed nationwide, with more than 60,000 already captured in the Volta and Oti regions. Technical problems that delayed registration for children aged 0-5 have also been fixed, allowing for Ghana Card PINs to be issued at birth.
Koku said the reforms are in line with Ghana’s development goals and UN SDG 16.9, which calls for legal identity for all by 2030.
“This means that a child born in Ghana can now begin life with a legal identity,” he said.
With extended hours, faster issuance, and broader integration, the NIA says the Ghana Card is being positioned as the single most important tool for identity verification in the country.
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