Anyone hoping to correct their birth date on the national ID, including Ghanaians abroad planning a trip home to fix records, will have to wait until new rules are issued.
If you were planning to correct the date of birth on your Ghana Card, you will have to hold on.
The National Identification Authority (NIA), the state body that registers Ghanaians and issues the national identity card, has suspended all date of birth changes on the card across the country. The suspension took effect on Monday, November 9, 2026, and runs until further notice.
The Authority announced the decision in a statement issued on Monday, as reported by Ghanaian Times.
Why the freeze
The NIA said it reviewed how date of birth update requests are handled and concluded that the process needs stronger safeguards. In other words, the current checks were judged not tight enough to protect the integrity of the records.
To fix that, the Authority says it is in talks with other institutions that hold birth-related records. These include the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), which runs the BECE and WASSCE and whose certificates carry a candidate's recorded date of birth, and the Births and Deaths Registry, the agency that issues birth certificates.
The aim, according to the NIA, is a system for handling date of birth changes that is transparent, credible and the same for everyone.
What it means in practice
The suspension is total. No NIA office anywhere in the country will accept or process a new application for a date of birth change while the freeze lasts.
It also catches people who are already in the queue. Requests that were being processed before Monday will not be approved either. Applicants in that position effectively have to wait for the new guidelines.
The NIA apologised for the inconvenience and asked the public to be patient and cooperate.
Why this matters beyond Ghana
The Ghana Card has become the main identity document for a long list of everyday transactions, from banking to accessing public services. For Ghanaians living in the United States and elsewhere, the card is also increasingly tied to identity and documentation matters back home.
Many in the diaspora plan their paperwork around short visits to Ghana. If a correction to a date of birth was on that to-do list, that part of the trip cannot be completed for now, no matter how brief the window at home.
It is also worth noting what has not been suspended. The NIA's statement deals specifically with date of birth changes. It does not say that registration or other card services have stopped.
What happens next
The Authority says it will inform the public once its consultations are finished and the revised guidelines are ready.
No timeline was given, and the NIA did not say how long the review is expected to take. Applicants affected by the freeze should watch for an official NIA announcement rather than rely on second-hand information.
