What does the EXIT ONLY panel mean?

The EXIT ONLY panel (MUTCD E11-1d, E11-1e, E11-1f) is a guide sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. The lane beneath this panel leaves the highway; staying in it forces you off.

Source: MUTCD 11th Edition (FHWA), checked 2026-09-09.

What shape and color is the EXIT ONLY panel?

What a horizontal rectangle means. Usually guidance: direction, distance and destination. Also used for some regulatory plaques mounted under another sign.

What yellow means. General warning of a permanent condition ahead.

Guide and service signs. Direction, services, recreation: three colors doing three jobs, and not one of them carrying a duty. Work out which job the color does and most questions in this group answer themselves.

What is the EXIT ONLY panel often mistaken for?

An ordinary green exit sign. The yellow panel is the whole warning: it marks a lane drop, not an optional exit.

What are the other guide and service signs?

US Route MarkerM1-4

Destination signD1-1, D1-2, D1-3

Distance signD2-1, D2-2, D2-3

Street Name signD3-1

Exit Gore signE5-1, E5-1a

Exit Number plaqueE1-5P, E1-5bP

Rest AreaD5-1, D5-1a, D5-2

HospitalD9-2

General Service signs (Gas, Food, Lodging, Telephone)D9-7, D9-8, D9-9, D9-1

Reference Location sign (mile marker)D10-1, D10-2, D10-3

All 11 guide and service 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.