Identifying the location and purpose of vehicles in India is simple. Much like the games we played growing up looking for license plates from different states, tourists can do the same thing once you understand the plating system.

Each plate, both private and commercial, begins with the two-letter state or union territory abbreviation code. Next to the two-letter code is a two-digit number code which represents the district within the state or territory the car is registered. The numbers and letters beyond this point are purely for registration purposes. In some areas of the country, tourist vehicles are required to be white making them easily identifiable.

Refer to the list below for the abbreviation codes. The next time out and about on the roads of India you’ll know exactly where each vehicle is from.