What two key pieces of information must be included in an inquiry into the Article File?

Inquiries into the Article File require specific information to effectively retrieve the relevant data. The two key pieces of information needed are the type of article and the manufacturer’s serial number. The type of article is critical as it categorizes what is being inquired about—whether it’s a bicycle, firearm, or other items. The manufacturer's serial number serves to uniquely identify that specific item, allowing for precise matching within the database. This specificity helps to minimize confusion and ensure that the correct information is accessed, which is vital for law enforcement and data management purposes.

Other potential combinations of information do not provide the same level of specificity or utility when it comes to identifying and retrieving articles in the system. For example, knowing the owner's address or description without the corresponding article type and serial number would not yield useful results in this context.