Federal Sign Colors
This version is organized by material, not just by hue. Standard sign sheeting, fluorescent sign sheeting, pavement markings, and colored pavements all read differently in the field, so the page now shows those finishes as different surfaces instead of flattening everything into the same card.
Open federal source
Standard Retroreflective Signs
Prismatic or bead-based sign sheeting with a harder reflective face, metal-edge feel, and actual sign examples where the FHWA set provides them.
Daytime color, daytime luminance, and nighttime color limits for standard retroreflective sign materials.
White
Base field for regulatory panels, legends, and high-contrast message space.
Shown here as sign sheeting, not pavement paint.
Yellow
Warning sign background for hazards, conditions, and advance caution.
Uses the FHWA yellow actually present in the current SVG set.
Orange
Temporary traffic control and work-zone sign background.
Uses the orange fill present in the FHWA work-zone SVG artwork.
Red
Prohibition, stop, wrong-way, and urgent restriction emphasis.
Rendered as a red sheeting specimen because the local SVG set does not include a clean full-red face example.
Brown
Recreation, cultural-interest, and public-land wayfinding.
Rendered as a specimen plate because the current local SVG set does not include a clean brown-face example.
Green
Destination, route, and general wayfinding sign background.
Uses the FHWA guide-sign green in the current SVG artwork.
Blue
Services, traveler information, and amenities.
Uses the blue present in the current FHWA service-sign SVGs.
Purple
Electronic toll collection, managed lanes, and specialty guidance.
Uses the ETC / toll purple present in the current sign set.
Fluorescent Retroreflective Signs
Hotter sheeting with stronger edge glow and more aggressive punch than standard retroreflective sign faces.
Federal fluorescent color and luminance limits for high-conspicuity retroreflective sign materials.
Fluorescent Orange
High-visibility fluorescent work-zone and temporary traffic control sign faces.
Shown as a fluorescent specimen so it reads hotter than the standard orange plate above.
Fluorescent Yellow
High-conspicuity fluorescent warning and alert applications.
Shown as a pentagon specimen to keep the fluorescent material read primary.
Fluorescent Yellow-Green
Pedestrian, bicycle, school, and high-awareness sign applications.
Uses the yellow-green fill present in the current FHWA school-area SVG set.
Fluorescent Green
Special fluorescent high-visibility applications.
Rendered as fluorescent sheeting because the local SVG set does not include a clean fluorescent-green sign-face example.
Fluorescent Red
Special fluorescent high-visibility applications.
Rendered as fluorescent sheeting because the local SVG set does not include a clean fluorescent-red sign-face example.
Retroreflective Pavement Markings
Stripe material shown on asphalt instead of sign metal so the finish reads like roadway marking paint or thermoplastic.
Federal daytime and nighttime color limits for retroreflective pavement marking materials.
White
Lane lines, shoulders, and standard longitudinal pavement markings.
Rendered as a roadway stripe instead of a sign face.
Yellow
Centerline and opposing-direction separation markings.
Rendered as roadway marking material, not sign sheeting.
Red
Wrong-way, opposing-movement, and entry-control pavement emphasis.
Deliberately shown on asphalt so it stops reading like a sign panel.
Blue
Special-purpose pavement marking applications.
Rendered as marking material, separate from blue service-sign sheeting.
Purple
Special-purpose pavement marking applications.
Rendered with a darker roadway finish, not a smooth sign plate.
Colored Pavements
Aggregate surfacing shown as the pavement field itself instead of a stripe or a sign face.
Federal daytime color limits for non-retroreflective colored pavement materials.
Red
Colored pavement applications where red surfacing is the visual field itself.
Rendered as aggregate pavement, not paint and not sign sheeting.
Green
Colored pavement applications such as bicycle and active-transportation surfacing.
Rendered as aggregate pavement, not a guide-sign face.
Technical Standards
The eCFR source defines chromaticity and luminance ranges, not a single perfect screen hex. The material sections above are there to make the finishes legible visually, while these notes keep the federal references attached underneath.
Standard Retroreflective Signs: Table 1, Table 1a, Table 2
Daytime color, daytime luminance, and nighttime color limits for standard retroreflective sign materials.
Colors represented here: White, Yellow, Orange, Red, Green, Blue, Brown, Purple
Fluorescent Retroreflective Signs: Table 3, Table 3a, Table 4
Federal fluorescent color and luminance limits for high-conspicuity retroreflective sign materials.
Colors represented here: Fluorescent Yellow-Green, Fluorescent Orange, Fluorescent Yellow, Fluorescent Green, Fluorescent Red
Retroreflective Pavement Markings: Table 5, Table 5a, Table 6
Federal daytime and nighttime color limits for retroreflective pavement marking materials.
Colors represented here: White, Yellow, Red, Blue, Purple
Colored Pavements: Table 7
Federal daytime color limits for non-retroreflective colored pavement materials.
Colors represented here: Red, Green