diff --git a/src/openalpr/postprocess.cpp b/src/openalpr/postprocess.cpp
index e4375b0..70bcbe6 100644
--- a/src/openalpr/postprocess.cpp
+++ b/src/openalpr/postprocess.cpp
@@ -298,6 +298,11 @@ namespace alpr
       cout << "PostProcess Analysis Complete: " << bestChars << " -- MATCH: " << matchesTemplate << endl;
   }
 
+  bool PostProcess::regionIsValid(std::string templateregion)
+  {
+    return rules.find(templateregion) != rules.end();
+  }
+  
   float PostProcess::calculateMaxConfidenceScore()
   {
     // Take the best score for each char position and average it.
diff --git a/src/openalpr/postprocess.h b/src/openalpr/postprocess.h
index 4a22418..1b36231 100644
--- a/src/openalpr/postprocess.h
+++ b/src/openalpr/postprocess.h
@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ namespace alpr
 
       const std::vector<PPResult> getResults();
 
+      bool regionIsValid(std::string templateregion);
+      
     private:
       Config* config;
       //void getTopN();