What does the Yield sign mean?
The Yield sign (MUTCD R1-2) is a regulatory sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. Priority belongs to whatever is already using the road you want, vehicles and pedestrians alike. Slow enough to hand it over, stop if that is what handing it over takes, and move in only on a gap you have actually seen.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2B, Table 2B-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Yield sign?
| MUTCD code | R1-2 |
|---|---|
| Group | Regulatory signs |
| Shape | Equilateral triangle, point down |
| Color | White background, wide red border, red legend |
What a triangle, point down means. Yield. The only downward-pointing triangle in the system, and like the octagon it is reserved so that shape alone carries the instruction.
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 Yield sign often mistaken for?
Stop (R1-1). Also Yield Ahead (W3-2), which is a yellow diamond containing the same triangle and only warns of a yield sign further on.
|  |  |
|---|---|---|
| GroupRegulatory signs | GroupRegulatory signs | GroupWarning signs |
| ShapeEquilateral triangle, point down | ShapeOctagon | ShapeDiamond |
| ColorWhite background, wide red border, red legend | ColorRed background, white legend and border | ColorYellow background, black border, red-bordered triangle symbol |
| What it meansPriority belongs to whatever is already using the road you want, vehicles and pedestrians alike. | What it meansThe duty is a complete stop, wheels no longer turning, at whichever of these you reach first: a painted stop line, the near edge of the crosswalk, or the point where you can finally see along the cross street. | What it meansA yield sign is coming; be ready to slow and yield. |
What does the permit test ask about the Yield sign?
These 2 questions are from the practice bank, with the answer marked.
This sign requires you to:
- A.Stop completely every time
- B.Slow down, be ready to stop, and let traffic already there go first(correct answer)
- C.Maintain speed because you have the right of way
- D.Stop only when a pedestrian is present
Source: MUTCD R1-2
A downward-pointing triangle means:
- A.Stop
- B.Yield(correct answer)
- C.Merge ahead
- D.School zone
Why: The inverted triangle is used only for YIELD. Slow down, yield to traffic and pedestrians already there, and stop if you need to.
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.