What does the No Trucks sign mean?
The No Trucks sign (MUTCD R5-2) is a regulatory sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Trucks are prohibited on this road or at this movement.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2B, Table 2B-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the No Trucks sign?
| MUTCD code | R5-2 |
|---|---|
| Group | Regulatory signs |
| Shape | Square |
| Color | White background, red circle and slash over a black truck symbol |
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.
Is the symbol the law, or notice that a law exists?
Section 2B.45 is an Option, then a Standard. Selective exclusion signs may give notice that a state or local statute or ordinance excludes designated types of traffic from a road or facility. The sign shall clearly indicate the type of traffic excluded. No Trucks (R5-2) is the first example on that list. The manual does not, in this section, define a truck, a pickup, or a gross weight. That definition is in the statute or ordinance the sign is giving notice of.
If the exclusion is based on weight, paragraph 5 says a Weight Limit sign should be used instead of a selective exclusion sign. A slashed truck with no tons on it is not a tonnage cap. No Thru Trucks (R5-2b) is a different message: through trucks, not every truck. An Except Local Delivery plaque (R5-2aP) may be mounted under R5-2 or R5-2b. Without that plaque, the section does not create a delivery exception.
Placement Guidance in paragraph 7: put the sign on the right-hand side of the road that has the exclusion, at an appropriate distance from the intersection, so it is clearly visible to drivers turning into that road. The section does not give that distance in feet.
You are driving a truck and the sign is on the side street. What do you do?
- 1Decide from the legend, not from the yellow diamond you passed earlier
A yellow Truck warning sign warns that trucks may enter the road. It is not permission and it is not this ban. The red circle and slash is the exclusion.
- 2Read any plaque before you claim an exception
Except Local Delivery is optional and has to be posted. A plaque that limits the extent, like the South of Court Street plaque in the photo, tells you where the ban applies. No plaque means you do not invent a limit.
- 3If your vehicle matches the excluded class, do not turn in
Stay on the road that is not signed, or use a route the local rules allow. The MUTCD section does not publish a detour.
- 4If you are not sure a pickup counts, do not guess a number
This section never defines the class beyond the symbol and any supplementary legend. The ordinance does. A weight limit sign is the one that carries tons.
Andre Blake at a signed side street
- 1On September 2, 2026, Andre is driving a box truck east on Court Street. At the next corner, an R5-2 stands on the right side of the cross street, with a South of Court Street plaque under it, the same pairing as the photo above.
- 2He planned to turn right, which would take him south of Court Street. Section 2B.45 says the sign gives notice of an exclusion and should be visible to drivers turning into that road. The plaque sets the extent. No Except Local Delivery plaque is posted.
- 3He does not turn. He stays on Court Street and uses a route that has no R5-2 facing him. If he needs to know whether a vehicle his size is covered, the answer is in the local ordinance, not on the sign.
Outcome. The symbol and the plaque told him which stretch of road was closed to trucks. They did not give a tonnage, and they did not give his delivery an exception the sign does not show.
| Sign | Section | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| No Trucks, R5-2 | 2B.45 | Notice that a statute or ordinance excludes trucks |
| No Thru Trucks, R5-2b | 2B.45 | Prohibits through trucks, not every truck |
| Weight Limit | 2B.64, by cross-reference | Use this, not R5-2, when the rule is weight |
| Truck warning, W11-10 | 2C.54 | Warns of unexpected truck entries. Not a ban |
Except Local Delivery (R5-2aP) is 24 by 12 inches on a conventional road in Table 2B-1. R5-2 itself is 24 by 24 on both conventional columns, 30 by 30 on an expressway, and 36 by 36 on a freeway or as the oversized size. No minimum is listed.
The yellow truck diamond warns. Weight Limit is the sign Section 2B.45 points to when weight is the rule. No Bicycles is another selective exclusion sign with a different symbol.
Who actually has power to ban trucks from one street?
California Vehicle Code section 21101 lets local authorities, on highways under their jurisdiction, adopt rules by ordinance or resolution. Subdivision (c) is the one that matters here: they may prohibit the use of particular highways by certain vehicles, except as the Public Utilities Commission provides under the article of the Public Utilities Code that the section names. The sign is how that ordinance is shown. The vehicle code section does not list streets, tons, or hours.
The MUTCD and section 21101 do not list which streets are closed to trucks, and neither defines the vehicle class. Section 2B.45 is written so the sign points at whatever statute or ordinance applies at that spot. If there is no plaque and you need the vehicle definition, the city or county ordinance is the document to read.
What is the No Trucks sign often mistaken for?
The Truck warning sign (W11-10), a yellow diamond that simply warns trucks are entering or crossing. Also the Truck Crossing sign (W8-6).
| |
|---|---|
| GroupRegulatory signs | GroupWarning signs |
| ShapeSquare | ShapeDiamond |
| ColorWhite background, red circle and slash over a black truck symbol | ColorYellow background, black truck symbol and border |
| What it meansTrucks are prohibited on this road or at this movement. | What it meansTrucks enter or cross the roadway here, often slowly. |
What does the permit test ask about the No Trucks sign?
This question is from the practice bank, with the answer marked.
A red circle with a diagonal slash over a symbol means:
- A.A warning about the symbol
- B.The action shown is prohibited(correct answer)
- C.The action shown is required
- D.Services related to the symbol
Why: Red with a slash always prohibits. The symbol tells you what is banned, such as a U-turn, a right turn or trucks.
Source: Federal MUTCD, 11th Edition (FHWA)
Questions drivers ask about the No Trucks sign
Does the symbol include a pickup, or only a tractor-trailer?
Section 2B.45 does not define pickup, straight truck, or tractor-trailer. It requires the sign to show the excluded type, and it leaves the legal class to the state statute or local ordinance the sign gives notice of. A supplementary legend can narrow the class. With only the symbol, you cannot get a pickup rule out of the manual.
Is this the same as a bridge weight limit?
No. Paragraph 5 of Section 2B.45 says a weight exclusion should be a Weight Limit sign, not a selective exclusion sign. R5-2 has no tons on it. If you need the posted tonnage, look for the weight limit sign. Do not convert the truck symbol into a number the sign does not print.
I am making a delivery. May I ignore it?
Only if the exception is posted. Section 2B.45 allows an Except Local Delivery plaque under R5-2 or under No Thru Trucks. No Thru Trucks is itself a narrower ban than No Trucks. A plain R5-2 with no plaque does not contain a delivery exception in that section.
I passed a yellow diamond with a truck on it. Is the street closed to me?
No. Section 2C.54 uses that diamond to warn of trucks entering the road where drivers would not expect them. The ban is the white square with the red circle and slash. Section 2B.45 says to place the ban on the right, where drivers turning onto the restricted road can see it, at an appropriate distance the manual does not state in feet.
Sources
- MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2B, Table 2B-1
- MUTCD 11th Edition (December 2023), Chapter 2B, Section 2B.45 and Table 2B-1
- MUTCD 11th Edition (December 2023), Chapter 2C, Section 2C.54
- California Vehicle Code section 21101
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, California or New York.
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.