1. What is a signpost?
Signs to indicate directions or necessary things to help traffic participants control vehicles and guide traffic on the road smoothly and ensure safety.
2. Meaning of using signposts
Directional signs on motorways other than highways have code “I” with the following names:
– License plate I.401: Start of priority road;
– License plate I.402: End of priority road section;
– License plate I.405 (a,b,c): Dead end road;
– License plate I.406: Priority on narrow roads;
– License plate number I.407 (a,b,c): One-way street;
– License plate number I.408: Parking place;
– License plate number I.408a: Partial parking on the street;
– License plate I.409: Turnaround area;
– License plate I.410: Turning area;
– License plate I.413a: The road ahead has a lane for passenger cars;
– License plate I.413 (b,c): Turn onto a road with a lane for passenger cars;
– License plate I.414 (a,b,c,d): Road direction only;
– License plate I.415: Arrow indicating direction;
– License plate number I.416: Detour road;
– License plate I.417 (a, b, c): Indicates the right direction for each type of vehicle;
– License plate number I.418: Walkways in locations where turning is prohibited;
– License plate number I.419a: Boundary indication;
– License plate number I.419b: Indicating boundaries on foreign routes;
– Plate number I.422a: Historical relic;
– Plate number I.422b: Historical relic on foreign routes;
– License plate number I.423 (a,b): Position of pedestrians crossing;
– License plate I.423c: Starting point of the walking path;
– License plate number I.424 (a,b): Pedestrian overpass;
– License plate number I.424 (c,d): Underpass for pedestrians;
– License plate number I.425: Hospital;
– License plate number I.426: Emergency station;
– License plate number I.427a: Repair station;
– License plate number I.427b: Vehicle load inspection station;
– License plate number I.428: Petrol station;
– License plate number I.429: Car wash place;
– License plate number I.430: Telephone;
– License plate number I.431: Rest stop;
– License plate number I.432: Hotel;
– License plate number I.433a: Resort;
– License plate number I.433 (b,c,d): Signaling camping sites and mobile motels;
– License plate number I.433e: Boarding house sign;
– License plate number I.434a: Bus station;
– License plate number I.434b: Truck station;
– License plate number I.435: Tram station;
– License plate number I.436: Traffic police station;
– Plate number I.439: Bridge name;
– License plate number I.440: Construction road section;
– License plate number I.441 (a,b,c): Signaling that there is a construction site ahead;
– License plate number I.442: Market;
– License plate I.443: Vehicle pulling a trailer;
– Plate number I.444 (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m): Location indication sign;
– License plate number I.445 (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h): Sign type describing road condition;
– License plate I.446: Parking space for disabled people;
– License plate number I.447 (a, b, c, d): connecting overpass;
– License plate number I.448: Rescue lane or emergency exit lane;
– Plate number I.449: Road name plate.
The meaning of use of each sign is explained in detail in Appendix E of the National Technical Regulation QCVN 41:2019/BGTVT on Road Signs

3. Notes on the writing on the sign
Signs written in text are placed in cities, towns and highways with many vehicles driven by foreigners, with English subtitles below the Vietnamese text. English letters use lowercase letters.
4. Size, shape and color of signage
– Directional signs are shaped like squares or rectangles.
– Signs have a blue background and white drawings and writing. If the background is white, the drawings and writing are black except for some signs that differ from this regulation as specified in Appendix E of this Regulation.
– Detailed sizes of drawings, letters, numbers and colors of signs in Article 16, Article 17 and Appendix E of this Regulation.
5. Location of direction signs on motorways other than highways
Depending on the nature, each type of sign is placed in a specified position as follows:
– License plate I.401 and license plate I.402 are located at the starting and ending positions of the priority road and road for cars, respectively.
– License plates I.407 (a,b,c), I.413 (a,b,c) and I.418 are located at the intersection of roads:
+ License plates I.407a and I.413a are placed behind the intersection;
+ License plates I.407 (b,c), I.413 (b,c) are placed in front of road intersections;
+ Sign number I.418 is placed in front of the no-turn sign and at least 30 m from the road intersection indicated on the sign.
– License plates I.405 (a,b,c), I.414 (a, b, c, d), I.416, I.417 (a,b) are for the purpose of indicating motor vehicles Mainly, the sign must be placed 20 m to 50 m away from the intersection. In case danger and warning signs are not placed, the above signboards can be placed at a distance from the intended intersection as prescribed by warning signs in Article 34 of this Regulation.
– License plates I.406, I.408, I.409, I.410, I.417c and the plates from license plate I.422 to license plate I.436 are placed right in front of and close to the required road section. Instructions, if placed further away, must include license plate S.502.
6. Regulations on direction signs on motorways other than highways
– Road direction signs (number plate I.414 (a,b,c,d)) are placed at the intersection. In residential areas, signs can only be placed on main directions
mainly connecting that residential area with the next neighboring historical place, urban area, residential area, tourist area, or industrial park.
– License plate I.414 (a, b) is used in cases where there is only one residential area location on the road direction that needs guidance. Plate number I.414 (c,d) is used in cases where there are two or more residential areas that need guidance.
– On each road direction, write at most three places that need directions. Place names that are further away are written below. In turn, the place names recorded on the sign are retained on the next road signs until the location of the nearest place name written on the sign.
– Place names and distances recorded on the sign are specified as follows:
+ The indicated landmarks must be landmarks that the route passes through. The selection of place names for guidance is in the following order of priority and is used on all types of road systems (CT, QL, DT, DH, DX, DT) except for specialized road systems:
- Name of centrally run city;
- Name of city under the province;
- Provincial capital name (provincial administrative center): do not report the province name unless the province name is the same as the provincial capital name;
- Name of town;
- Name of district capital (district-level administrative center): do not report the name of the district unless the district name is the same as the name of the district capital;
- Town name;
- Historical sites or scenic spots;
- Name of important intersection, starting point or ending point of the route;
+ On specialized roads, only write the place name at the intersection, the starting point or the ending point of the route.
+ The distance recorded on the sign is the distance from the location of the sign to the center of the landmark (in accordance with the information on the kilometer column) and write even numbers up to kilometers if the distance is ≥ 1.0 km and write even numbers up to 100 m if distance < 1.0 km. The distance of each section is consistent with the overall distance and is consistent in both directions.