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C1+E2 / 5· ~8 min

Traffic signs

Prefer to practise the DGT theory test in English? Our English hub covers every topic and permit in one place.

Step 1. The big picture

A lorry towing a trailer is stopped before a stop line, facing a traffic officer with one arm raised vertically beside a green traffic light.
The traffic officer’s signals take priority

In one sentence…

Master the hierarchy between officers, circumstantial signalling, traffic lights, vertical signs and road markings, and study the official catalogue in force, paying attention to recent updates. In C1+E, every sign must be read together with the combination's size, length, mass and manoeuvre.

Step 2. The syllabus

2.1Signalling hierarchy

The priority between signs isn't arbitrary: first you obey officers, then circumstantial signalling, traffic lights, vertical signs, and lastly road markings.

  • If two signs seem to contradict each other, the higher-ranking one prevails; many questions are solved by applying this hierarchy before looking at details.
  • Signs are binding from the place where they are positioned, unless they indicate a distance, the length of a stretch of road or the end of a prohibition.
  • In combinations, the hierarchy matters even more because a temporary order can change lanes, diversions or passages allowed for long vehicles.

2.2Families of signs

Danger warning signs warn of a risk; regulatory signs impose prohibitions or obligations; information signs guide or inform.

  • Traffic lights regulate right of way with priority over an incompatible vertical sign, and can apply to all users or to a specific lane.
  • Road markings delimit lanes, excluded zones, pedestrian crossings, continuous or broken lines, and rules for stopping, parking and priority.
  • Learn the function of each family, not just the picture, because the exam asks what behaviour you must adopt in front of the sign.

2.3Signs for combinations

For heavy combinations pay special attention to restrictions on length, mass, height, gradients, slow-vehicle lanes and overtaking bans.

  • The same sign can have more demanding consequences for a combination than for a car, because the turning and braking space is different.
  • When a question shows a long vehicle facing a restriction, check whether the wording includes a trailer, semi-trailer, goods or a constrained road.
  • Don't answer out of car-driving habit: in C1+E, the key is usually applying the sign to the whole combination and its manoeuvre.

2.4Temporary signage and roadworks

Circumstantial signalling for roadworks or incidents can change the usual regime and prevail over incompatible permanent signs during the affected stretch.

  • On a provisional diversion, read road delineation devices, panels, arrows, enabled lanes and possible restrictions before deciding the combination's trajectory.
  • A narrow roadworks section requires anticipation, because the towed unit can encroach on lateral space even if the towing vehicle has already passed through correctly.
  • The exam trap is applying the permanent sign without recognising that the temporary one has changed priority, lane or prohibition.

2.5Road markings and lanes

Continuous lines, broken lines, excluded zones and lane arrows are interpreted together with the rest of the signalling, not as isolated pictures.

  • When a reversible, extra or reserved lane appears, pay attention to lane traffic lights, panels and markings indicating permitted use.
  • A combination needs more anticipation to change lane, so reading arrows and markings early reduces abrupt manoeuvres.
  • In the exam, a road marking can confirm where to stop, where to drive or which manoeuvre is prohibited, even without a nearby vertical sign.

2.6Updated official catalogue

The official sign catalogue was updated in 2025, with new representations and pictograms and panels adapted to current mobility.

  • Use up-to-date material and be wary of old diagrams that keep decommissioned signs, incomplete meanings or pictures that no longer match.
  • If a question puts a new sign against a classic one, first identify whether it signals danger, prohibition, obligation or information so you can act.
  • The update doesn't change the study method: sign, hierarchy, affected user, affected stretch of road and the correct behaviour in each situation.

2.7Exam practice

Don't study signs as loose pictures: link each one to the required behaviour, the vehicle's position and the anticipation needed.

  • At a junction, a priority sign outweighs the general right-hand rule; at roadworks, the temporary sign can override the permanent one.
  • When the question includes a reversible lane, an extra lane or a provisional diversion, look for road delineation devices, arrows and variable message panels before answering.
  • In C1+E, remember the specific test has 20 questions, a maximum of 2 errors and 20 minutes; answer by hierarchy and behaviour.

Step 3. Key points

If you only have a minute before the exam, revise this.

  1. 1.Recite the full hierarchy before solving questions with incompatible signs.
  2. 2.Distinguish danger, regulatory, information, traffic lights, markings and road delineation devices.
  3. 3.Link every sign to the required behaviour and the affected stretch of road.
  4. 4.Apply restrictions thinking about the whole combination, not just the towing vehicle.
  5. 5.Check temporary roadworks signage before applying the permanent one.
  6. 6.Study the updated catalogue and avoid materials with decommissioned signs.
  7. 7.Look for arrows, panels and markings when the question mentions special lanes.

Step 4. Exam traps

Mistakes the DGT uses again and again on this topic.

  • Confusing the general priority rule with a vertical sign or an operating traffic light.
  • Forgetting that temporary roadworks signage can change the usual regime.
  • Reading a single road marking without linking it to the rest of the signalling.
  • Applying a sign as if you were driving a car and not a combination with a trailer.
  • Using old catalogues without checking updated signs or pictograms in force.
  • Not telling whether a light or panel affects all road users or just one lane.

Step 5. Quick check

Four real exam questions on what you have just read.

Question 1/4

A trailer’s load projects to the rear within permitted limits and spans the full width of the vehicle’s rear. It has only one central V-20 panel. Is that marking of the projection sufficient?

Practise more traffic signs questions

Step 6. Frequently asked questions about traffic signs

At a yield sign with a C1+E or C+E combination, you must:
Yield to whoever has priority. At a yield sign, you must let traffic with priority pass and stop only when necessary.See full question
You drive an articulated goods vehicle consisting of a tractor unit and semi-trailer, without performing an authorised emergency service. As a general rule, may it use an HOV lane merely because it carries two or three occupants?
No. No. Occupancy alone does not authorise a tractor unit with semi-trailer to use an HOV lane. Article 35.2 restricts use to authorised vehicles and cases. Do not confuse this goods combination with articulated buses, which may use it under the conditions provided for them.See full question
If you are driving a heavy combination and you encounter a STOP sign, you must:
Come to a complete stop and yield if needed. At a STOP sign you must bring the vehicle to a complete stop and yield when required.See full question
An area is marked with a yellow zigzag, with no sign limiting its application to specified hours. May you leave a vehicle combination parked there overnight?
No, the marking prohibits parking in that area. No. Marking M-7.9 prohibits parking by vehicles in general because the area is reserved for a short-stay special use, such as a bus stop or loading area. The marking alone does not express a universal ban on every vehicle stopping: also obey the reservation rules and other signs. If it applies only during specified periods, a vertical sign must state them; the question excludes such a time restriction.See full question
See all traffic signs questions

Official sources

Signs catalogue

All Spanish traffic signs and their meanings

The full DGT catalogue — warning (P-), regulatory (R-) and information (S-) — with the official image and meaning of every sign.