The road signs chart
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Road signs are federal. 23 CFR 655.603 adopts the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as the national standard for every road open to public travel, which is why a stop sign in Vermont is the same octagon as a stop sign in Nevada. This chart is the MUTCD's own vocabulary — shape, colour, meaning — in one printable page.
Seven shapes are reserved. Table 2A-1 of the Manual limits the octagon, the downward equilateral triangle, the circle, the pennant, the upward pentagon, the crossbuck and the trapezoid to one sign or series each, which is what lets a driver obey them before the legend is readable. The diamond and the rectangle are not reserved — a fact most published sign charts get wrong.
Thirteen colours are defined and eleven carry a meaning. Coral and light blue are held back for uses the FHWA has not assigned yet. The eleven that are assigned are listed below in the Manual's own words, not paraphrased, because the difference between "warning" and "temporary traffic control" is the difference between a yellow diamond and an orange one.
Shape and color, before you can read the words
A sign carries two messages that arrive before its legend does. Shape is the first: seven of the ten shapes below are reserved by Table 2A-1 for one sign or one series, so an octagon at the end of a street is a stop sign even when snow has covered the word. Colour is the second, and it is assigned rather than chosen — Section 1D.05 gives each colour a general meaning, and the Manual forbids gradients so the colour reads the same at any distance.
The two that are NOT reserved are worth knowing precisely, because charts elsewhere claim they are. The diamond is assigned to the warning series and nothing else uses it, but the Manual does not reserve it; what it does say is that cutting off the left and right points of a diamond to fit a space shall not be allowed. The rectangle, including the square, is assigned to the regulatory, guide and warning series alike — the tall-means-regulatory, wide-means-guide convention you were taught is a teaching device, not a rule.
Shape, before you can read the words
Octagon
Stop.
Only ever STOP (R1-1)
Equilateral triangle, point down
Yield.
Only ever YIELD (R1-2)
Circle
A railroad crosses the road ahead.
Only ever Grade Crossing Advance Warning (W10-1)
Pennant
The passing zone ends. It is the one warning sign posted on the LEFT of the road.
Only ever NO PASSING ZONE (W14-3)
Pentagon, point up
School warning, with squared bottom corners — or, with tapered lower sides, a county route marker.
Only ever School (S1-1) and County Route (M1-6)
Crossbuck
You are at the railroad crossing itself. Two rectangles in a perpendicular X.
Only ever Grade Crossing (R15-1)
Trapezoid
Recreational and cultural interest area guidance.
Only ever Recreational and Cultural Interest Area Guide series, National Forest Route (M1-1)
Diamond
Warning. NOT a reserved shape, but nothing else uses it — and the Manual forbids cutting off its points to fit a space.
Rectangle, taller than wide
Regulatory, by the convention state handbooks teach. The Manual reserves no orientation — it assigns the rectangle to the regulatory, guide and warning series alike.
Rectangle, wider than tall
Guide, by the same convention: where you are, what is ahead, how far.
Colour, which is assigned and not decorative
- Red — Stop or prohibition.
- Yellow — Warning.
- Fluorescent yellow-green — Pedestrian, bicycle, playground, school bus and school warning.
- Orange — Temporary traffic control.
- Green — Indicated movements or actions permitted, and direction guidance.
- Blue — Road-user services guidance, tourist information, and evacuation route.
- Brown — Recreational and cultural interest area guidance.
- White — Regulation.
- Black — Regulation.
- Fluorescent pink — Incident management.
- Purple — Restricted to vehicles with registered electronic toll collection accounts.
- Coral — Reserved for future designation by the FHWA.
- Light blue — Reserved for future designation by the FHWA.
The signs whose face is words or straight geometry
These are drawn to their MUTCD shape and colour. The colours are sRGB approximations: the Manual specifies its colours as tolerance boxes in 23 CFR Part 655, Appendix to Subpart F, not as hex values, so no hex code is the standard colour. They are close enough to learn the vocabulary and are labelled here as approximations rather than presented as the specification.
Regulatory
Stop
Come to a complete stop at the stop line, before the crosswalk, or at the edge of the intersection — whichever you reach first.
MUTCD R1-1
Yield
Slow down, and give way to traffic and pedestrians already in the intersection or close enough to be a hazard. Stop if you must.
MUTCD R1-2
All way
Mounted under a stop sign: every approach stops. First to arrive goes first; if two arrive together, the driver on the left yields.
MUTCD R1-3P
Speed limit
The maximum legal speed in ideal conditions. It is a ceiling, not a target — conditions can make a lower speed the legal one.
MUTCD R2-1
Wrong way
You are already travelling against traffic. Stop, and back out or turn around when it is safe.
MUTCD R5-1a
One way
Traffic moves only in the direction of the arrow.
MUTCD R6-1
No turn on red
The turn on red that state law would otherwise allow is prohibited at this intersection.
MUTCD R10-11
Warning
Dead end
The road ahead has no outlet and does not connect to another road.
MUTCD W14-1
No passing zone
The passing zone ends here. This is the only warning sign posted on the LEFT-hand side of the road, and the only pennant.
MUTCD W14-3
Work zone
Road work ahead
A work zone starts ahead. Fines for speeding are commonly doubled from this sign onward.
MUTCD W20-1
Railroad
Railroad advance warning
A railroad crosses the road ahead. Slow, look and listen — many crossings have no gates.
MUTCD W10-1
Crossbuck
You are at the crossing. Where there is no gate or signal, the crossbuck has the force of a yield sign.
MUTCD R15-1
Guide
Destination guide
Where you are, what is ahead, and how far. Green is the colour of permitted movement and direction.
MUTCD D-series
Motorist services
Fuel, food, lodging, hospital and rest areas.
MUTCD D9-series
Recreational and cultural interest
Parks, forests, historic sites and scenic areas.
MUTCD Recreational
The symbol signs, and what each face shows
The rest of the warning series is pictorial — a leaping deer, a walking figure, a car with skid marks behind it. Those faces are not reproduced here. A symbol redrawn from memory is nearly right, and a sign chart that is nearly right teaches the wrong sign, so each one is described instead: the shape, the colour, what is actually printed on the face, and what it obliges you to do.
| Sign | MUTCD code | Shape and color | What the face shows | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Do not enter | R5-1 | Rectangle, taller than wide, white | a red disc filling the sign with a white horizontal bar across it, and DO NOT ENTER in white below the bar | The roadway ahead is closed to you. Posted at the exit end of a ramp and at one-way streets you would enter against traffic. |
| No right turn | R3-1 | Rectangle, taller than wide, white | black right-turn arrow inside a red circle with a red slash | No right turn from this lane at this intersection. |
| No U-turn | R3-4 | Rectangle, taller than wide, white | black U-turn arrow inside a red circle with a red slash | No U-turn at this intersection. Where the sign is absent, state law still decides where a U-turn is legal. |
| Keep right | R4-7 | Rectangle, taller than wide, white | black downward-angled arrow beside a vertical divider | Pass to the right of the obstruction or island ahead. |
| No parking any time | R7-1 | Rectangle, taller than wide, white | NO PARKING ANY TIME in red on white, with a red directional arrow showing the length it covers | Parking is prohibited at all times over the length the sign covers. |
| Turn | W1-1 | Diamond, yellow | a black arrow bending sharply left or right | A sharp change of direction ahead — sharper than a curve. Slow before you enter it. |
| Curve | W1-2 | Diamond, yellow | a black arrow bending gently left or right | The road curves ahead. An advisory speed plaque below it is the speed the curve was designed for. |
| Chevron alignment | W1-8 | Rectangle, taller than wide, yellow | a single black chevron pointing the way the road turns | Posted in a series through a curve. Each one points the way the road goes. |
| Cross road | W2-1 | Diamond, yellow | a black cross | A four-way intersection ahead. Traffic may enter from either side. |
| Stop ahead | W3-1 | Diamond, yellow | a small red octagon above a black arrow | A stop sign is coming, often where you cannot see it in time. Begin slowing. |
| Signal ahead | W3-3 | Diamond, yellow | a traffic signal head, red over yellow over green, above a black arrow | A traffic signal is coming. Be ready to stop. |
| Merge | W4-1 | Diamond, yellow | two black lines joining into one | Two streams of traffic become one. Neither has the automatic right of way; adjust speed and take turns. |
| Lane ends | W4-2 | Diamond, yellow | a black lane line tapering into the other | Your lane ends ahead. Move over before it does. |
| Divided highway begins | W6-1 | Diamond, yellow | two black arrows separating around a median | The road ahead splits around a median. Keep right of it. |
| Slippery when wet | W8-5 | Diamond, yellow | a car with curved skid marks behind the wheels | The surface loses grip in rain. Slow down and avoid sudden steering or braking. |
| Pedestrian crossing | W11-2 | Diamond, fluorescent yellow-green | a walking figure | People cross here. The fluorescent yellow-green background is the MUTCD's people-warning colour. |
| Deer crossing | W11-3 | Diamond, yellow | a leaping deer | Large animals cross this stretch, most often at dawn and dusk. |
| Flagger ahead | W20-7 | Diamond, orange | a figure holding a sign paddle | A flagger is directing traffic ahead. Their instruction overrides the signs and signals around it. |
| School advance | S1-1 | Pentagon, point up, fluorescent yellow-green | two children walking | A school zone begins ahead. A speed plaque below applies during the hours it states. |
| School crossing | S2-1 | Pentagon, point up, fluorescent yellow-green | two children walking, above a downward arrow at the crossing | This is the marked school crossing itself. Stop for pedestrians in it. |
Every row in this table and every sign drawn above comes from the MUTCD 11th Edition (FHWA, December 2023). Codes are the Manual's own sign numbers, so any row can be looked up directly in it.
What actually differs by state
Not the signs. The knowledge test is where the states diverge: how many questions it has, what score passes, how long you wait to retake it, and which points of that state's traffic law it examines — right-of-way at a four-way stop, the rule for a flashing yellow arrow, what happens when you refuse a chemical test. Those answers are state law and they are genuinely different.
Our companion report on state permit tests ranks all fifty on the two figures the licensing agencies publish themselves, with the source for every row. It is the right page for "how hard is my state's test"; this one is the right page for "what does that sign mean".
Method
- — Every shape and colour claim on this page was read out of the MUTCD 11th Edition PDFs published by the FHWA on 2026-09-16 — Table 2A-1 for the shapes, Section 1D.05 for the colour code — rather than from a state handbook or another sign chart. Where the Manual's wording is short enough to quote, it is quoted.
- — The signs are drawn only where the face is words or straight geometry. Pictorial symbols are described in the table rather than redrawn, because an approximate symbol on a reference chart is a wrong answer presented as a right one.
- — Colours are sRGB approximations of the Manual's colours, which are specified as CIE tolerance boxes in 23 CFR Part 655, Appendix to Subpart F. They are labelled as approximations everywhere they appear. Fluorescent versions of red, yellow, green and orange are permitted alternatives under Section 2A.06 and are not drawn separately.
- — These designs may be reproduced because MUTCD Section 1D.06 places traffic control device design provisions in the public domain, excepting the Interstate Shield, the 511 pictograph, the National Scenic Byway graphic and items under FHWA stewardship. None of those appears on this page.
Sources
The documents this page was checked against, with the date each was read. Every number above traces to one of them.
- 1MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 2, Chapter 2A — Table 2A-1 Use of Sign Shapes — Federal Highway Administration, read September 16, 2026.Which shapes are reserved, and to which signs.
- 2MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 1, Sections 1D.05 and 1D.06 — Federal Highway Administration, read September 16, 2026.The 13-colour code in the Manual's own words, and the public-domain provision.
- 323 CFR 655.603 — Standards — Office of the Federal Register, read September 16, 2026.That the MUTCD is the national standard for all roads open to public travel.
Questions
- What do the road sign shapes mean?
- Seven shapes are reserved by the MUTCD for one sign or series each: the octagon is STOP, the downward equilateral triangle is YIELD, the circle is a railroad crossing ahead, the pennant is NO PASSING ZONE, the upward pentagon is a school warning or a county route marker, the crossbuck is the railroad crossing itself, and the trapezoid is recreational and cultural area guidance. The diamond means warning and the rectangle covers regulatory, guide and warning signs, but neither shape is reserved.
- What do the road sign colors mean?
- Red is stop or prohibition, yellow is warning, orange is temporary traffic control, fluorescent yellow-green is pedestrian, bicycle, playground, school bus and school warning, green is permitted movements and direction guidance, blue is road-user services and evacuation routes, brown is recreational and cultural interest, fluorescent pink is incident management, purple is electronic-toll-only lanes, and white and black are both regulation. Coral and light blue are defined but reserved for future use.
- Which road sign is the only one posted on the left side of the road?
- The NO PASSING ZONE pennant, W14-3. It is an isosceles triangle with its long axis horizontal and its point to the right, it is the only sign that uses that shape, and it is mounted on the left so it faces the driver who would be pulling out into oncoming traffic.
- Are road signs the same in every state?
- The signs are. 23 CFR 655.603 adopts the MUTCD as the national standard for all roads open to public travel, so shapes, colours and symbols are uniform across the fifty states. What differs is the knowledge test: question count, passing score, retake rule and which points of state traffic law it examines.
- Can I print or reuse this chart?
- Yes. The sign designs are public domain under MUTCD Section 1D.06, and the page is laid out to print. If you republish it, please cite the MUTCD 11th Edition as the source of the shapes and colours and link back here so a reader can check the version date.
Citing this page? Link to https://www.everyexamprep.com/reports/road-signs-chart and include the verification date — the formulas do not change, but the exam that tests them does.