North Carolina DMV sign test: what you need to know

How the signs test is scored

NCDMV’s licensing rule says applicants for a regular Class C license must correctly identify 9 of 12 road signs. That means you can miss 3. The handbook says each driver license test must be passed separately.

You’ll also take the signs test again later in life. NC drivers renewing in person, and people moving here with a license from another state, take the signs and vision tests too.

Regulatory signs: orders you must follow

Red and white signs give orders, like stop and yield. Black and white rectangles set rules, like speed limits and ONE WAY. The stop sign is the only eight-sided sign, and the point-down triangle is used only for yield, so you can name both from their shape alone.

• Stop at the line, or before the crossing street if there's no line
• Slow down and give the right-of-way; stop if you have to
• Do not enter this road from here
• Wrong way: you're facing traffic, turn around safely
• Top legal speed in good conditions
• No U-turn here
• Do not pass other vehicles here
• Slower traffic keeps to the right lane
• One way: traffic moves only the way of the arrow
• Railroad crossbuck: the tracks are here

Warning signs: what's ahead

Warning signs are mostly black on yellow diamonds and tell you about the road ahead. Two have their own shapes: the round yellow RR sign comes before a railroad crossing, and the yellow pennant on the left side of the road marks where a no-passing zone starts.

• Curve ahead: slow down before it
• Crossroad ahead: watch for cars from both sides
• Stop sign ahead: get ready to stop
• Merging traffic: let it in smoothly
• Divided highway ends: traffic will come toward you
• Slippery when wet: slow down in rain
• Deer crossing: slow down and watch the roadside
• No passing zone starts here, on the left side of the road
• Railroad crossing ahead: slow down and be ready to stop

School and work zone signs

The five-sided sign means a school zone or school crossing, and many school zones have a lower speed limit at school times. Orange signs mean a construction or maintenance work zone. Work zones are taken seriously in North Carolina: speeding fines can be higher there when a sign at the start of the zone says so.

• School zone: watch for children
• School crossing: be ready to stop for kids
• School bus stop ahead
• Road work ahead: slow down and stay alert
• Flagger ahead: be ready to stop
• Workers on or near the road
• Detour: follow these signs around the closed road

Traffic signals

If the lights are dark after a storm and no officer is directing traffic, treat the intersection as if there's a stop sign on every approach.

• Red: stop and wait
• Yellow: the light is about to turn red
• Green: go if the way is clear
• Flashing red: stop, then go when it's safe
• Flashing yellow: slow down and go with care
• Green arrow: protected turn
• Flashing yellow arrow: turn after yielding to traffic and people

Route markers, guide signs and the blue railroad sign

Green, brown and blue rectangles give directions, distances and services. North Carolina route markers are diamond-shaped. U.S. highways use a shield, interstates use a red, white and blue shield, and NC secondary road signs are rectangles. Odd-numbered highways generally run north and south, and even-numbered ones run east and west.

Every railroad crossing in the state has a blue Emergency Notification System sign with a phone number and crossing ID. If your car stalls on the tracks, get out right away, move away from the tracks, then call the number on the blue sign.

• Interstate route marker
• Milepost: your place on the highway
• Rest area ahead
• Hospital nearby
• Gas nearby
• Emergency Notification sign: call this number about a problem at the crossing

See the official sign sheets

NCDMV has two short PDFs with pictures of the regulatory and warning signs. Go through them once before the test, since they show the signs exactly the way NCDMV prints them.