What does the No Turns sign mean?
The No Turns sign (MUTCD R3-3) is a regulatory sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Neither left nor right turns are permitted; go straight through.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2B, Table 2B-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the No Turns sign?
| MUTCD code | R3-3 |
|---|---|
| Group | Regulatory signs |
| Shape | Square |
| Color | White background, red circle and slash over a double arrow, 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 No Turns sign often mistaken for?
No U-Turn (R3-4) and the Do Not Enter sign (R5-1), which bans entry rather than turning.
|  |  |
|---|---|---|
| GroupRegulatory signs | GroupRegulatory signs | GroupRegulatory signs |
| ShapeSquare | ShapeSquare | ShapeSquare |
| ColorWhite background, red circle and slash over a double arrow, black legend | ColorWhite background, red circle and slash, black U-shaped arrow | ColorWhite background, red circle containing a white horizontal bar, black legend |
| What it meansNeither left nor right turns are permitted; go straight through. | What it meansTurning back on yourself is prohibited at this opening, so carry on and find a legal place to reverse direction. | What it meansEntry in this direction is banned outright, because the lanes past the sign run at you rather than with you. |
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.