A vehicle on a Ghanaian road needs three current things: registration, a roadworthy certificate, and insurance. The DVLA handles the first two under the Road Traffic Act 2004 (Act 683).
Registering a vehicle for the first time
For a newly imported vehicle, registration happens after customs clearance, and customs documents are part of the file.
- Customs entry and duty payment receipts — Importing a car
- Bill of lading and the commercial invoice
- Your Ghana Card
- Proof of insurance
- GhanaPostGPS digital address
The vehicle is physically inspected. The chassis and engine numbers on the car are checked against the papers, which is the step that catches vehicles that are not what the paperwork says they are.
Then plates are issued and the registration document is produced.
Roadworthy certificates
Inspection intervals differ by use:
| Vehicle | Inspection interval |
|---|---|
| Private | Every 12 months |
| Commercial | Every 6 months |
The inspection covers brakes, lights, tyres, steering, emissions, and the identifying numbers. Turn up with the vehicle actually roadworthy: an inspection is cheaper than the crash, and considerably cheaper than the argument with an insurer about a vehicle that should not have been on the road.
Insurance
Third-party motor insurance is compulsory. Ghana’s motor insurance database means a policy is verifiable electronically at a checkpoint, so an insurance sticker without a live policy behind it is not the protection some sellers imply it is.
Check the policy exists in the insurer’s system, not just on the windscreen.
Buying a used vehicle: transfer of ownership
This is where money is lost. A car in Ghana can come with debts, an unresolved customs history, or an owner who is not the seller.
- Check the DVLA record matches the vehicle and the seller, and that the chassis number on the car matches the document
- Ask for the customs entry for an imported vehicle. A car cleared improperly can be seized from you, years later
- Confirm there is no outstanding finance on it
- Complete the DVLA change of ownership properly. A signed note from the seller is not a transfer
- Get a mechanic you chose to inspect it, not one the seller recommends
Do not drive away on the seller’s registration
Until the transfer is registered, the vehicle is still legally theirs. Every fine, every accident and every liability attaches to the name on the record — and if that is still the seller, unwinding it is your problem, not theirs.
Plates
Ghanaian plates carry the region code and the year of registration, which is why the year on a plate is a rough guide to when a vehicle entered the country rather than when it was built.
Personalised plates are available at a premium from the DVLA.
When you sell
Notify the DVLA. An unnotified sale leaves your name on a vehicle you no longer control, which is a bad place to be if it is later used in an offence.