What does the Do Not Enter sign mean?
The Do Not Enter sign (MUTCD R5-1) is a regulatory sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Entry in this direction is banned outright, because the lanes past the sign run at you rather than with you.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2B, Table 2B-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Do Not Enter sign?
| MUTCD code | R5-1 |
|---|---|
| Group | Regulatory signs |
| Shape | Square |
| Color | White background, red circle containing a white horizontal bar, black legend |
What white means. Regulatory. A black legend on a white background is a law, not advice.
What red means. Stop, yield, or a prohibition. Red never advises, it always forbids or commands.
Regulatory signs. Every sign in this group has a statute behind it, so disobeying one is a citable offense on its own. Permit tests tend to word them as a duty you owe rather than show you the face.
What is the Do Not Enter sign often mistaken for?
Wrong Way (R5-1a), which is the second-chance sign you meet further in if you ignored this one. Do Not Enter faces you at the entrance; Wrong Way faces you once you are already headed down the roadway against traffic.
|  |
|---|---|
| GroupRegulatory signs | GroupRegulatory signs |
| ShapeSquare | ShapeHorizontal rectangle |
| ColorWhite background, red circle containing a white horizontal bar, black legend | ColorRed background, white legend and border |
| What it meansEntry in this direction is banned outright, because the lanes past the sign run at you rather than with you. | What it meansEvery lane around you faces the other way. |
Which signs get mistaken for the Do Not Enter sign?
No TurnsR3-3No U-Turn (R3-4) and the Do Not Enter sign (R5-1), which bans entry rather than turning.
What does the permit test ask about the Do Not Enter sign?
These 2 questions are from the practice bank, with the answer marked.
Seeing this sign facing you means:
- A.The road ahead is closed for construction
- B.You are about to drive the wrong way into oncoming traffic(correct answer)
- C.Only local traffic may continue
- D.The road ahead is private property
Source: MUTCD R5-1
A sign reading DO NOT ENTER means:
- A.The road is closed for road work
- B.You are facing traffic coming toward you and must not proceed(correct answer)
- C.The road is private
- D.You must yield before entering
Why: DO NOT ENTER marks the wrong-way end of a one-way road or an exit ramp. Seeing one means you are about to drive into oncoming traffic.
Source: Federal MUTCD, 11th Edition (FHWA)
What are the other regulatory signs?
All 39 regulatory signs on one page, or every US road sign by shape and color.
Test yourself on this sign and the rest of the set with a road signs practice test for Florida, Texas or California.
The artwork is the federal design itself, which the manual dedicates to the public domain in MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 1, Section 1D.06, checked 2026-09-09. The Interstate Shield, the 511 pictograph and the National Scenic Byway graphic are named exceptions and are not reproduced anywhere on this site.
Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 11th Edition. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration or any state agency.