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OSHA Standards for Safety Lettering

Safety lettering, or safety signs, are required in and around work areas in specific situations. The signs warn persons of potential hazards, safety equipment they must wear and precautions they must take.

Two agencies, OSHA, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and ANSI, the American National Safety Institute, have set standards concerning safety signs.

  1. Safety Alert Symbol

    • A triangle with exclamation mark indicates a safety alert.

      Safety alerts are required when potential hazards are present. The safety alert symbol is the triangle with an exclamation mark, to indicate that a potential injury exists. This triangle symbol is then followed with a signal word, with specific colors of signage and lettering, to indicate the purpose of the sign.

      Safety alert signal words indicate the degree or seriousness of a hazard. These words include DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION, and NOTICE.

    Danger Signs

    • Danger signs are red, white and black.

      Danger signs indicate immediate danger. The signs must be used in situations where persons who do not adhere to the sign can be injured or even killed.

      Danger signs are rectangular in shape. The colors must be predominantly red, with black outlining the red, and white as the background for further lettering, such as HARD HAT AREA, DO NOT ENTER, HIGH VOLTAGE and other serious hazards warnings.

    Caution Signs

    • Caution signs give warning about potentially minor to moderate injuries.

      Caution signs are used when moderate or minor injuries can occur. Potential hazards or unsafe practices are examples of reasons for caution signs. Yellow is the background and predominating color of a caution sign, with black lettering and border.

      The word CAUTION should be on the sign, with additional lettering in black as needed.

    Warning Signs and Accident Prevention Tags

    • A warning sign indicates a hazardous situation which could, if not avoided, result in death or serious injury. The word "could" determines that a warning sign be used rather than danger or caution signs. Warning signs are an orange background with black lettering.

      Accident prevention tags are used to warn workers of hazards such as defective equipment or tools that are not safe to use temporarily. These tags are not to be used in place of the larger warning signs that mark other hazards or areas.

    Notice Signs

    • Notice signs are used to warn persons about hazards that could result in only equipment damage or practices not related to personal injury. A blue background with white letters should be used with these signs. "Turn off machine after use" is an example of a notice sign.

    Other Signs

    • Exit signs can help employees leave an area quickly in case of emergency.

      Directional signs are black print on a white background, and are used for purposes other than automotive traffic.

      Exit signs must be red lettering on a white background. The size of letters should be at least 6 inches high and 3/4 of an inch wide.

    Determining Placement and Sizes of Signs

    • The size of lettering on signs is set forth by ANSI. The rules for reading scale is 1-inch-high text for every 25 feet of reading distance. Signage downloads from the Internet, or companies selling signs, will help determine the size of sign and lettering needed.

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