- CUTS Challenges DVLA ‘Delinquency’ Charges, Demands Legal Basis and Refunds for Motorists
CUTS International, Accra has challenged the legality of escalating “delinquency” charges imposed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority on motorists renewing expired driving licences, arguing that the regulator cannot automatically assume that every licence holder continued to drive after expiry.
The public policy think tank is calling on the DVLA to suspend the charges until it publicly discloses the precise statutory basis, approval process and formula supporting each amount. It also wants refunds for motorists who have already paid the charges if the Authority cannot establish a clear legal basis for collecting them.
Under the DVLA’s 2026 licensing rates, a standard licence renewal before expiry costs GH¢127.00, but the charge increases to GH¢204.25 where renewal occurs between one day and six months after expiry. It rises to GH¢279.25 for seven to 12 months, GH¢315.25 for delays of up to two years, GH¢352.25 for up to four years and GH¢404.25 where the licence has been expired for more than four years.
CUTS argues that the escalating structure requires stronger legal justification because expiry of a licence and driving without a valid licence are not necessarily the same act. A person may allow a licence to expire while living abroad, studying, ill or simply not driving, meaning the passage of time alone does not establish that an offence occurred.
“The DVLA must show Ghanaians the law, the approved fee schedule and the formula behind every cedi it collects as a delinquency charge,” said Appiah Kusi Adomako, Director of the West Africa Regional Centre of CUTS International. “Public power must rest on law. If the Authority cannot point to a clear legal basis for each charge, it must stop collecting the money and refund affected licence holders.”
At the centre of the dispute is CUTS’ interpretation of Regulation 46 of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2026, L.I. 2519. The organisation notes that Regulation 46(1) provides that a driving licence “may” be renewed within one month before expiry, while Regulation 46(2) expressly contemplates renewal after a licence has expired.
CUTS also points to Regulation 46(8), which creates an offence for failure to renew a licence as prescribed and provides for sanctions following summary conviction, including fines of between five and 25 penalty units, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both. Its argument is that where the law creates an offence requiring enforcement and conviction, the DVLA must explain how a separate automatic administrative charge is lawfully imposed at the renewal counter.
The think tank therefore wants the Authority to clarify whether the escalating amounts are approved renewal fees, administrative penalties or another form of charge. That distinction is important because, if the amounts effectively operate as punishment, CUTS argues that questions arise over how they can be imposed without evidence that the individual drove during the period of expiry, without a hearing and without a court finding.
“CUTS is not encouraging anyone to drive with an expired licence. Driving without a valid licence must attract lawful enforcement,” Mr Adomako said. “Our concern is different: the DVLA should not presume that every person with an expired licence continued to drive, then impose an automatic escalating charge without first establishing the legal and factual basis.”
The organisation uses the example of a Ghanaian who spends five years abroad for a PhD programme or work assignment while their Ghanaian driving licence expires. On returning home, that person could fall into the highest delinquency bracket even though they may not have driven on Ghanaian roads during the entire period.
CUTS argues that the regulatory system should distinguish between an expired document and the separate offence of actually driving without a valid licence. It compares the situation with passports, where expiration does not lead the state to assume that the holder travelled unlawfully during the period when the document was invalid.
The think tank is also objecting to the description of late renewal as “delinquency”, saying the terminology implies wrongdoing before the circumstances of the licence holder have been considered. It wants the DVLA to use neutral descriptions such as “renewal after expiry” and to develop clear waiver or exemption criteria where non-use can be established.
Another concern is the possibility of what CUTS views as repeated punishment. It says a motorist prosecuted and fined by a court for driving with an expired licence could still face the escalating DVLA charge when later attempting to renew the document, with the system reportedly treating the charge as automatically generated.
The organisation is consequently calling on both the DVLA and Ghana Police Service to clarify where their respective enforcement powers begin and end. It wants the public to understand which institution investigates the offence of driving without a valid licence, who initiates prosecution and under what circumstances the DVLA itself may impose an administrative fee.
CUTS has also questioned a separate GH¢181.00 charge for amending a licence holder’s electronic records, arguing that charging motorists to update telephone numbers or addresses could discourage them from keeping DVLA databases accurate. It says basic changes should either be free or attract only a modest cost-based fee where production of a new physical card is required.
The wider issue is how far a public regulator can go in using administrative charges to encourage compliance. The DVLA requires internally generated funds to provide licensing services, but CUTS argues that revenue needs cannot override the requirement that charges must be clearly authorised, transparent and proportionate.
The organisation is now asking Parliament to conduct an urgent inquiry into the legality, approval and administration of the DVLA’s escalating charges. Such an inquiry could force greater clarity over whether the current structure is principally a fee for providing a service or a penalty for conduct that ordinarily requires proof and legal enforcement.
The debate ultimately turns on a simple but consequential question: does an expired driving licence prove that the holder continued driving unlawfully? CUTS says it does not, and argues that until the DVLA can demonstrate otherwise and identify the legal authority for every additional charge motorists should not automatically be treated as offenders merely because they returned late to renew a document.
