Spanish traffic signs and their meanings

Spain's new traffic signs: what the 2025 catalogue changed

Spain's "new traffic signs" are the ones in the catalogue approved by Royal Decree 465/2025 of 10 June (published in the Official State Gazette on 17 June 2025), which amends the General Traffic Regulations on road signage and consolidates the official catalogue of signs and road markings. It came into force on 1 July 2025, adding new signs — among them signs for personal mobility vehicles — and redesigning 59 pictograms, according to the DGT.

• On the road the change is gradual: the DGT's press note of 10 June 2025 says the physical replacement of the signs will be carried out progressively.
• Signs removed from the catalogue must be taken down within one year of entry into force, counting from 1 July 2025.
• They did not go straight into the theory exam: the DGT announced that the new signs would not be included in theory exams immediately, so that the manuals could be updated — a minimum of three months after entry into force.

Sources: BOE — Real Decreto 465/2025, de 10 de junio (BOE-A-2025-12199) · DGT — Nota de prensa: el Gobierno aprueba la actualización del catálogo oficial de señales de tráfico (10/06/2025) · DGT — Revista Tráfico y Seguridad Vial: «¿Qué significan las nuevas señales?»

Frequently asked questions

How many Spanish traffic signs are there, and how are they classified?

This page gathers 315 vertical signs from the official catalogue, grouped into the three families of Spain's General Traffic Regulations: 50 warning signs (code P-, triangular with a red border), 73 regulatory signs (code R-, circular — red to prohibit or restrict, blue to compel) and 192 information signs (code S-, rectangular or square and usually blue). Every sign has its own page with the meaning, category and shape.

Which are the Spanish warning signs?

The 50 signs coded P-: triangular, red border on a white background, warning of a hazard ahead — a bend, a level crossing, schoolchildren or loose animals. Examples from the catalogue: P-1 (intersection with priority), P-13A (dangerous right-hand curve), P-20 (peatones). They neither prohibit nor compel anything by themselves: they ask you to anticipate and ease off.

Which are the Spanish prohibition signs?

The circular regulatory signs with a red border, inside the R- code group. They prohibit or restrict a manoeuvre or an access, and ignoring one is a punishable offence: R-101 (no entry), R-305 (adelantamiento prohibited), R-301 (maximum speed). The blue circular signs in the same R- group do not prohibit — they compel.

Which are the Spanish compulsory-action signs?

The circular regulatory signs with a blue background, also inside the R- code group. They impose a specific behaviour — a direction, a lane or a minimum speed — rather than forbidding one: R-401A (paso compulsory), R-400A (sentido compulsory). Colour tells them apart at a glance: blue compels, red prohibits.

Which sign overrides another when they contradict?

The general precedence order is: traffic officers' signs and orders > traffic lights > temporary vertical signs (roadworks, incidents) > permanent vertical signs > horizontal road markings. Memorise the chain officer > light > vertical > horizontal — it is a classic exam question.

What do the P, R and S codes mean?

P = peligro / warning (triangles), R = reglamentación / regulatory (circles), S = indicación / information (rectangles). These are the official codes used by Spain's General Traffic Regulations, and we use them as the URL slug so you can find any sign by its reference.

What are Spain's new traffic signs?

The ones added or redesigned by the catalogue approved in Royal Decree 465/2025 of 10 June. The DGT lists these codes: P-1e, P-20c, P-24a, P-33, P-35, R-2, R-118, R-120, S-1c, S-14 (a–f), S-47, S-51b, S-63b, S-70, S-105 (a–f), S-892, S-940, S-991g, S-992. They include R-118 (no entry for personal mobility vehicles), R-120 (no entry depending on the vehicle's environmental badge) and S-47 (coexistence zone, 20 km/h limit).

Since when are the new Spanish traffic signs in force?

Since 1 July 2025. Royal Decree 465/2025 of 10 June was published in the Official State Gazette on 17 June 2025 and came into force that day. Seeing them on the road is another matter: the DGT said the physical replacement of the signs would be carried out gradually, and that signs removed from the catalogue must be taken down within one year of entry into force.

Do the new signs appear in the DGT theory test?

In its press note of 10 June 2025 the DGT announced that the new signs would not be included in theory exams immediately, to allow time for the manuals to be updated — a minimum of three months after entry into force. We do not state which specific signs are on the exam today; the DGT is the reference for that.