The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has revealed that it inherited a backlog of more than 440,000 pending driver’s licence applications, a situation officials said created serious operational and security concerns.
To contain the problem, the Authority rolled out a 24-hour operational centre to centralise licence processing, a move intended to fast-track issuance while safeguarding the system against unauthorised access and the circulation of fake licences.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Friday, February 13, Director of Corporate Affairs, Stephen Attuh, said the intervention resulted in the clearance of about 400,000 applications.
Despite this progress, he acknowledged ongoing complaints from applicants who claim they have been waiting for their licences since 2023.
As part of efforts to further reduce the backlog, the DVLA has expanded its 24-hour operations with the opening of an additional centre at Adenta. Similar round-the-clock services, Mr Attuh noted, are also in operation at the ports in Takoradi and Tema to ease pressure on the system.
“Upon assumption of office by the current CEO, we noticed that there were over 440,000 backlog licence applications. So what he did was to commission a 24-hour centre because we wanted to centralise the system due to its security nature, so that we do not have people gaining access to it and issuing fake licences.
“What we are looking at currently is to operate our regional offices on a 24-hour basis. However, not all offices can function the same way.
“For those areas that cannot run a 24-hour service, we operate an extended service running two shifts until we see high demand, then we roll it out fully.”