Sign colors — Missouri Permit Test

On Missouri's traffic signs, red means stop, yield, or prohibited.

One color carries the three strongest instructions on the road, which is why nothing else uses it.

Red = Stop, Yield, or Prohibited

Orange traffic signs indicate construction.

Orange appears only where the road has been changed since the map was drawn.

Orange = Construction

Yellow traffic signs are warning signs.

Yellow tells you something about the road is about to change. It never tells you what to do about it.

Yellow = Warning

Green traffic signs show direction and distance.

Green is the color of navigation. It tells you where you are going and how far it is.

Green = Direction & Distance

Blue traffic signs show motorist services.

Fuel, food, lodging and hospitals. Blue is the color of the things you stop for, not the things you obey.

Blue = Motorist Services

Brown traffic signs mark public recreation and cultural interests.

Parks, historic sites and museums. Brown is the one color that is never about the road itself.

Brown = Public Recreation

Yellow green traffic signs mark school zones.

The color was introduced because plain yellow was doing too many jobs at once.

Yellow Green = School

Black and white are both used on regulatory signs.

The pair carries rules rather than warnings, which is why they look plain rather than loud.

Black = Regulatory

What do red traffic signs indicate?

Stop, yield, or prohibited. One color carries the three strongest instructions on the road, which is why nothing else uses it. Missouri Driver Guide, p.45: “Red = Stop, Yield, or Prohibited”