Pattern · India 🇮🇳

Regex for Indian state/UT 2-letter code

Official 2-letter codes for all Indian states and union territories.

The Indian state/UT 2-letter code regex is ^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$ — copy it below, or open it in the explainer for a token-by-token breakdown.

The pattern

^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$

Try in explainer → Download cheat sheet ↓

What it matches

MH
DL
KA
TN
UP
AP
TS
LA

What it doesn't match

XX
India
IN
M
MHN

Notes & gotchas

Official 2-letter state/UT codes used in vehicle plates, GSTIN prefixes (numeric equivalent), and ISO 3166-2:IN. Note OD/OR for Odisha (OD is current), TS for Telangana, LA for Ladakh (post-2019).

Code in your language

Use the explainer's Code tab to generate ready-to-paste snippets in JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, and PHP for this pattern.

Open in explainer →

Token-by-token breakdown

Every part of the pattern, left to right:

Token	Meaning
`^`	start of string (or line in multiline mode)
`(`	start of a capturing group
`AN`	literal text “AN”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`AP`	literal text “AP”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`AR`	literal text “AR”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`AS`	literal text “AS”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`BR`	literal text “BR”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`CG`	literal text “CG”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`CH`	literal text “CH”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`DH`	literal text “DH”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`DL`	literal text “DL”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`DN`	literal text “DN”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`GA`	literal text “GA”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`GJ`	literal text “GJ”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`HP`	literal text “HP”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`HR`	literal text “HR”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`JH`	literal text “JH”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`JK`	literal text “JK”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`KA`	literal text “KA”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`KL`	literal text “KL”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`LA`	literal text “LA”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`LD`	literal text “LD”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`MH`	literal text “MH”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`ML`	literal text “ML”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`MN`	literal text “MN”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`MP`	literal text “MP”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`MZ`	literal text “MZ”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`NL`	literal text “NL”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`OD`	literal text “OD”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`OR`	literal text “OR”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`PB`	literal text “PB”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`PY`	literal text “PY”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`RJ`	literal text “RJ”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`SK`	literal text “SK”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`TN`	literal text “TN”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`TR`	literal text “TR”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`TS`	literal text “TS”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`UK`	literal text “UK”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`UP`	literal text “UP”
`\|`	OR — try the alternative
`WB`	literal text “WB”
`)`	end of group
`$`	end of string (or line in multiline mode)

About this pattern

India-specific identifiers are governed by various authorities (UIDAI for Aadhaar, Income Tax Dept for PAN, RBI for IFSC, GSTN for GSTIN, etc.). Regex confirms format; for definitive validation, integrate with the issuing authority's verification API.

Quick usage in different languages

This exact pattern — with the correct escaping and idioms for each language:

JavaScript: /^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$/.test(value)
Python: re.match(r"^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$", value)
Java: Pattern.compile("^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$").matcher(value).matches()
C# / .NET: Regex.IsMatch(value, @"^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$")
Go: regexp.MustCompile(`^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$`).MatchString(value)
Ruby: /^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$/.match?(value)
PHP: preg_match('~^(AN|AP|AR|AS|BR|CG|CH|DH|DL|DN|GA|GJ|HP|HR|JH|JK|KA|KL|LA|LD|MH|ML|MN|MP|MZ|NL|OD|OR|PB|PY|RJ|SK|TN|TR|TS|UK|UP|WB)$~', $value)

The explainer’s Code tab regenerates these for any pattern you paste, and the downloadable cheat sheet bundles the breakdown, all seven snippets, and the pitfalls below onto one printable page.

Common pitfalls

Anchored to the whole string. This pattern uses ^ and $, so it requires the entire input to match. To find it inside a longer text, drop the anchors and use the global (g) flag.
Validate beyond format. Matching the format doesn't guarantee the value is real. Confirm the indian state/ut 2-letter code against a source of truth (database, API, or checksum) where it matters.

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