RVV 1990 · complete list

All Dutch traffic signs and their meaning

From A1 to G14: all 171 official Dutch traffic signs with code, category and explanation. Search by name or sign code, or filter by category.

Practice traffic signs for free

Dutch traffic signs are grouped into categories. Prohibitory signs are round with a red border and forbid something, mandatory signs are round and blue and require something, and warning signs are triangular with a red border and warn of a hazard. Below are all 171 RVV 1990 signs by category, with their meaning.

How to read any Dutch traffic sign

Shape and colour give away the meaning

You do not have to memorise all 171 signs one by one. The shape and the colour almost always tell you which group a sign belongs to. A round sign with a red border prohibits something. A round blue sign instead requires something, such as a compulsory direction of travel. A triangle pointing up with a red border warns of a hazard ahead. If that triangle is upside down, you have to give way. The octagonal stop sign is the only sign with that shape, so you still recognise it when it is covered in snow or dirt. Rectangular blue signs give information, and yellow signs belong to a temporary situation such as a diversion or roadworks.

The sign code reveals the category

Every RVV sign has a code starting with a letter, and that letter is the category. A is speed, B is priority, C is closed to traffic, D is direction of travel, E is parking and stopping, F covers the remaining orders and prohibitions, G relates to the type of road such as the motorway, H marks the built-up area, J is warning, K is direction signage and L is information. So if sign J8 comes up in your exam, you know straight away that it is a warning sign, even if the pictogram does not immediately ring a bell. That saves valuable seconds in the theory exam.

Supplementary plates change what applies

A white rectangular supplementary plate is often mounted below a traffic sign, and it helps determine what the sign actually means. Such a plate can state the times during which the sign applies, restrict it to certain vehicles, or indicate over what distance or in which direction it applies. A parking ban with a plate reading “ma t/m vr 8-18 h” therefore does not apply outside those hours. In the CBR theory exam the difference between right and wrong often sits precisely in that plate, so always read it first.

Signs that are often mixed up

A number of signs look very much alike. C1 closes a road in both directions, while C2 only prohibits entering a one-way street: from the other end you may still drive in. Watch out for two-wheelers as well. On traffic signs the same bicycle symbol stands for both bicycles and light mopeds, while the moped has a symbol of its own. A prohibition for mopeds therefore does not automatically apply to light mopeds. Click a sign below for the full explanation, the rule that goes with it and the signs it gets confused with.