The National Identification Authority (NIA) has begun offering same-day issuance of Ghana Cards at all 292 registration centres nationwide.

The authority has also cleared the two-year backlog of unissued Ghana Cards.

In an interview with Daily Graphic on September 11, 2025, Williams Ampomah E. Darlas, Head of Corporate Affairs at the NIA, confirmed that supply chain issues that stalled operations between March 2023 and January 2025 have now been resolved.

“During that period, we faced a serious shortage of blank cards. But under the new administration, we’ve cleared all pending registrations. If you signed up and never received your card, you can now return to your registration centre and pick it up,” he said.

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He added that new applicants can now walk into a centre, register, and receive their Ghana Card the very same day.

“If you register today, you should be able to get your card today,” Darlas assured.

Providing updated statistics on the national identification system, Darlas revealed that a total of 18,950,942 Ghanaians have been registered onto the NIA’s database.

Of this number, 18,848,635 cards have been printed, and 17,747,459 have already been issued to applicants.

This leaves a remaining stock of “a little less than a million cards” yet to be distributed.

Darlas also issued a strong warning against the common practice of requesting photocopies of the Ghana Card for verification.

He stressed that biometric authentication, using thumbprints and digital systems, is the only legal and secure method.

“Photocopying Ghana Cards can expose people to identity theft and other crimes,” he cautioned.

SA/MA

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