The government will introduce mandatory biometric verification into Ghana’s SIM card registration regime before the close of 2026, Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has announced.
The Minister disclosed that Parliament has approved the new Legislative Instrument (LI) governing SIM registration, clearing the legal path for the next phase of the country’s subscriber identification programme. Under the new framework, SIM registration will incorporate biometric verification to enhance the accuracy of subscriber records and reduce identity-related fraud.
Addressing the Government Accountability Series at Jubilee House in Accra on Monday, September 7, 2026, Mr George said the initiative forms part of the government’s wider digital transformation agenda aimed at strengthening the integrity of Ghana’s telecommunications and digital identity systems.
He said the Ministry remains committed to ensuring that the country’s regulatory framework evolves alongside rapid technological developments.
“The work is far from finished, and I will not pretend otherwise. But the direction is unmistakable, the results are measurable, and the resolve of this Ministry is unshaken,” he stated.
The introduction of biometric verification follows the government’s earlier SIM registration exercise, which commenced on October 1, 2021. The exercise required subscribers to first link their SIM cards to their Ghana Cards before completing a biometric registration process at designated customer service centres or accredited agents.
Although the programme recorded significant participation, millions of subscribers failed to complete the final stage. By October 2022, about 28.96 million SIM cards—representing 67.28 per cent of all issued SIMs—had been linked to Ghana Cards. However, only 18.93 million, equivalent to 44.28 per cent, completed the entire registration process, leaving nearly 10 million subscribers with incomplete registrations.
Despite several deadline extensions, the nationwide exercise officially ended on May 31, 2023. More than 10 million SIM cards still had incomplete registration records at the time, exposing their owners to possible service restrictions. MTN Ghana alone subsequently blocked approximately 5.4 million SIM cards that had not fulfilled the registration requirements.
The Ministry and the National Communications Authority (NCA) have since acknowledged that the previous registration campaign fell short of fully achieving its intended objectives, particularly in curbing SIM-related fraud and enhancing trust in the country’s communications ecosystem.
Government officials believe the addition of biometric verification will address those shortcomings by ensuring every registered SIM card is tied to a uniquely verified individual through biometric data such as fingerprints. The measure is expected to make it significantly more difficult to obtain SIM cards using false or stolen identities while improving the traceability of mobile subscribers.
Ahead of the implementation, the NCA organised stakeholder consultations on March 13, 2026, to review the draft SIM registration regulations. Discussions focused on issues including registration procedures for Ghanaian residents and foreign nationals, operational and financial implications for industry players, limits on the number of SIM cards linked to a single identification document, as well as registration requirements for minors and members of the diplomatic community.
The newly approved Legislative Instrument establishes the legal basis for collecting, storing and using biometric information during SIM registration. It also defines the responsibilities of telecommunications operators and subscribers under the new regime.
With Parliament’s approval now secured, the Ministry is expected to work closely with the NCA and mobile network operators to deploy the biometric verification system before the end of the year. Subscribers are expected to be given a specified period to complete the verification process, with penalties likely to apply to those who fail to comply.