The standard typefaces used for highway signs in the US are defined in the "Standard Alphabets for Traffic Control Devices" published by the Federal Highway Administration, also known as the "Federal Series" of typefaces.
In general, the higher the series, the wider the text, and the better legibility at travel speeds and longer distances.
Discontinued. Used on pre-1960 signs for narrow text. | |
Used on parking signs and other signs where narrow text is required to fit the sign panel. | |
Used on street name signs, regulatory and warning signs, and other signs where width is balanced with sign panel size. | |
Used on guide signs for conventional roads, regulatory and warning signs, and other signs. A good general purpose sign typeface. | |
Used on regulatory, warning, and guide signs for higher-speed highways. | |
Standard typeface for guide signs on expressways and freeways. | |
Limited Use. Used for some signs where extra letter width is desirable. |
The official designations for these typefaces are "FHWA Series B", "FHWA Series C", etc. In recent years, a practice has developed of referring to these standard typefaces as "Highway Gothic". This has caught on to the point where even FHWA occasionally refers to their own typefaces in this manner. However, for clarity, it's probably better to refer to these typefaces with the more correct 'series' name.
For many years, the Series B, C, D, E and F typefaces included only all capital letters. In 2004, however, FHWA created and approved lower-case letter designs for all these series of typefaces, and recent changes to the MUTCD have approved the use of lower-case legends for guide sign legends on all classes of roadways. However, nearly all regulatory and warning signs are still required to use text in all capital letters.
The lower case loop height for lower case letters is 75% of the upper case height. For example, a lower case 's' is 75% of the height of an upper case 'S'.
The reason Series E Modified is called 'modified' is because the letter stroke (width of lines making up letter) is modified to be 20% of the letter height. For comparison, standard B though F letters have a stroke width approximately 13-18% of height.
Federal Highway Administration Standard Alphabets for Traffic Control Devices |
1952 Standard Alphabets, including geometric layout info for Series A through F |
Other typefaces are in use for signs in certain locations in the US.
There are companies that sell professional-level software for sign design and layout. While these software packages can be expensive, the cost savings for high-volume production of signs can be considerable. Most state DOTs and many other agencies have standardized on one of the following two software packages:
Updated 30 October 2019 (sign font information revised and folded into this page)
Scripting: Richard C. Moeur
All text and images on this page © Richard C. Moeur. All rights reserved.
Linked sign layout files in PDF format provided courtesy of
FHWA's MUTCD website
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