Quote:

Out of curiosity, is it different in different areas there in the UK like it is here in the US from state to state?



No.
Flat rate for road fund license for the whole of the UK.
The only difference is the bike cc.

Engine size (cc)

Not over 150
12 months = £15.00
6 months = Not applicable

151-400
12 months = £33.00
6 months = Not applicable

401-600
12 months = £48.00
6 months = Not applicable

Over 600
12 months = £66.00
6 months = £36.30

Cars are different alltogether - as you can see in this easy to remember nifty little chart ....

All things motoring tie into each other ... every year, a car or bike (over 3 years old) needs an MOT (Ministry of Transport) roadworthyness test.
In order to get the visible road fund license, we need to go to the post office with a valid insurance document and (where applicable) a valid MOT certificate.

Each year the road fund license is a different colour making older invalid ones more noticable at a glance.

It's all computerised these days too so a police car equiped with a camera can read the car plates and within 0.5 seconds it says whether the car is stolen, has valid MOT / insurance / road fund license etc.

It's not foolproof though - I bought another car about a month ago but got pulled over by the police last week because their computer said I had no insurance.
Oh how we laughed when the police called my insurance company only to find I WAS covered after all and the police computer hadn't been updated

"You can't believe everything you read on the internet" : William Shakespeare