What are the FHWA / MUTCD Compliance Dates?

 FHWA / MUTCD Implementation Deadline Dates

The MUTCD provides specific guidelines for new regulations, as well as  implementation dates.  The dates for implementing the new 2009 MUTCD regulations extend through 2019.  The following table provides a basic calendar of dates for the new requirements.  Pay careful attention to the items and dates listed below.  The information includes:  the 2009 MUTCD Section Numbers, the 2009 MUTCD Section Title, the Specific Provision, and the Compliance Date.  You should refer to the MUTCD manual for further information, explanations, or pictures for clear instructions about each regulation.   Click Here to visit the MUTCD 2009 Edition web site.

   TABLE I-2

 2009 MUTCD
Section
Number(s)
 2009 MUTCD
Section Title
       Specific  Provision Compliance   Date
 2A.08 Minimum Retroreflectivity Levels Implementation and continued use of an assessment or management method that is designed to maintain traffic sign retro-reflectivity at or above the established minimum levels January 22, 2012 (c)
 2A.08 Minimum Retroreflectivity Levels Replacement of regulatory, warning, and post-mounted guide (except street name) signs that are identified using the assessment or management method as failing to meet the established minimum levels January 22, 2015 (c)
 2A.08 Minimum Retroreflectivity Levels Replacement of street name signs and overhead guide signs that are identified using the assessment or management
method as failing to meet the established minimum levels.
January 22, 2018 (c)
 2A.19  Lateral Offset Crashworthiness of sign supports on roads with posted speed limit of 50 mph or higher January 17, 2013 (a)
 2B.03 Size of Regulatory Signs Increased sign sizes and other 2003 MUTCD revisions to Table 2B-1(*) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2B.09 YIELD Sign Applications Changes in YIELD sign application criteria from the 1988 MUTCD to the 2003 MUTCD (*) January 17, 2011 (a)
 2B.10 STOP Sign or YIELD Sign Placement Signs mounted on the back of STOP or YIELD signs should not obscure shape of STOP sign, with exception for DO NOT ENTER signs (2003 MUTCD Sections 2B.06 and 2B.10 (*) December 22, 2013 (b)
2B.11 Yield Here To
Pedestrians Signs and Stop Here For Pedestrians Signs (R1-5 Series)
New Section 2B.11 in the 2003 MUTCD (*) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2B.13 Speed Limit Sign (R2-1) Color of changeable message legend of YOUR SPEED Legend  December 22, 2013 (b)
2B.26 Reversible Lane Control Signs (R3-9e through R3-9I) Removal of the R3-9c and R3-9e signs that had been included in the 2000 MUTCD (2003 MUTCD Section 2B.25)  December 22, 2013 (b)
2B.40 ONE WAY Signs (46-1, R6-2) New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD for the number and locations of ONE WAY signs December 31, 2019
2B.55 Photo Enforced Signs and Plaques (R10-18, R10-19P, R10-19aP) New Signs (2003 MUTCD Section 2B.46) (*) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2C.04 Size of Warning Signs New sizes in the 2003 MUTCD for the W1 Series arrow signs,
the W12-2a low clearance signs, the W7 Series runaway truck
signs, and the W10-1 advance grade crossing sign (*)
December 22, 2013 (b)
2C.06 through 2C.14 Horizontal Alignment Warning Signs Revised requirements in the 2009 MUTCD regarding
the use of various horizontal alignment signs
December 31, 2019
 2C.13 Truck Rollover Warning Sign (W1-13) New W1-13 sign (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.11) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2C.20 NARROW BRIDGE Sign (W5-2) Elimination of symbol sign (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.16) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2C.30 PAVEMENT ENDS Sign (W8-3) Removal of symbol sign (2000 MUTCD Section 2C.23)  January 17, 2011 (a)
2C.38 Reduced Speed Limit Ahead Signs (W3-5, W3-5a) Removal of R2-5 Series Reduced Speed Ahead signs and use of W3-5
or W3-5a warning signs instead (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.30)
December 22, 2018 (b)
 2C.40 Merge Signs (W4-1, W4-5) New Entering Roadway Merge sign (W4-5) (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.31) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2C.41 Added Lane Signs (W4-3, W4-6) New Entering Roadway Added Lane sign (W4-6)
(2003 MUTCD Section 2C.32)
December 22, 2013 (b)
 2C.42 Lane Ends Signs (W4-2, W9-1, W9-2) New design of W4-2 sign (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.33) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2C.46 Intersection Warning Sings (W2-1 through W2-8) New design of Circular Intersection (W2-6)
sign (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.37)
December 22, 2013 (b)
 2C.49 Vehicular Traffic Warning Signs New symbol signs W11-1, W11-5, W11-5a, W11-6, W11-11,
and W11-14 (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.40)
December 22, 2013 (b)
 2C.50 Non-Vehicular Warning Signs Elimination of crosswalk lines from crossing signs and use of
diagonal downward pointing arrow (W16-7P) supplemental
plaque if at the crossing (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.41)
January 17, 2011 (a)(b)
 2C.61 PHOTO ENFORCED Plaque (W16-10) New plaque (2003 MUTCD Section 2C.53) (*) December 22, 2013 (b)
2C.63 Object Marker Design and Placement Height Width of stripes on Type 3 striped marker (2003 MUTCD Section 3C.01) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2D.43 Street Name Signs (D3-1 or D3-1a) 6-inch letter height for lettering on post-mounted Street
Name signs (except on multi-lane streets with speed limits
greater than 40 mph) (2000 MUTCD Section 2D.38)
January 9, 2012 (a)
 2D.43 Street Name Signs (D3-1 or D3-1a) 8-inch letter height on post-mounted signs on multi-lane streets with speed limits greater than 40 mph and 12-inch letter height on overhead signs (2003 MUTCD Section 2D.38) December 22, 2018 (b)
 2D.44 Advance Street Name Signs (D3-2) Requirements of new Section 2D.39 in the 2003 MUTCD December 22, 2018 (b)
 2D.45 Signing on Conventional Roads on Approaches to Interchanges New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD for multi-lane approaches to
interchanges to have guide signs to identify which direction of turn is to be made for access to each direction of the freeway or expressway
December 31, 2019
2E.31, 2E.33, and 2E.36 Plaques for Left-Hand Exits New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD to use E1-5aP
and E1-5bP plaques for left-hand exits
December 31, 2014
2G.01 through 2G.07 Regulatory Signs for Preferential Lanes Requirements for regulatory signs for preferential lanes
(2003 MUTCD Sections 2B.26 through 2B.28) (*)
December 22, 2013 (b)
2G.11 through 2G.15 Preferential Lanes Guide Signs New Section 2E.59 in the 2003 MUTCD (*) December 22, 2013 (b)
2H.02, 2H.03 Reference Location Signs, Intermediate Reference Location Signs, and Enhanced Reference Location Signs Location and spacing of Reference Location signs and design of Intermediate
Reference Location signs (2003 MUTCD Sections 2D.46 and 2E.54)
December 22, 2013 (b)
2I.07 Radio Information Signing New Channel 9 Monitored (D12-3) sign (2003 MUTCD Section 2D.45) December 22, 2013 (b)
 2I.08 TRAVEL INFO CALL 511 Signs (D12-5 and D12-5a) New TRAVEL INFO CALL 511 Sign (D12-5) (2003 MUTCD Section 2D.45 December 22, 2013 (b)
2J.05  Size of Lettering Minimum height of letters and numerals on Specific Service signs (2000 MUTCD Section 2F.05) January 17, 2011 (a)
2N.03 Evacuation Route signs (EM-1 and EM-1a) New design and size of EM-1 sign (2003 MUTCD Section 2I.03) December 22, 2018 (b)
3B.04, 3B.05 White Longitudinal Pavement Markings New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD for dotted lane lines for dropped
lanes and for acceleration, deceleration, and auxiliary lanes
December 31, 2016 or resurfacing, whichever occurs first
 3B.18 Crosswalk Markings Gap between transverse lines of a crosswalk (2003 MUTCD Section 3B.17) December 22, 2013 (b)
4D.01 General Location of signalized midblock crosswalks December 22, 2013 (b)
 4D.26 Yellow Change and
Red Clearance
Intervals
New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD that durations of yellow change and red clearance intervals shall be determined using engineering practices December 31, 2014, or
when timing adjustments
are made to the individual intersection
and/or corridor,
whichever occurs first
4D.31 Flashing Operation – Transition Out of Flashing Mode Duration of steady red clearance interval in change from red-red flashing
mode to steady (stop-and-go) mode (2003 MUTCD Section 4D.12)
December 22, 2013 (b)
 4E.06 Pedestrian Intervals
and Signal Phases
New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD that the pedestrian change
interval shall not extend into the red clearance interval and
shall be followed by a buffer interval of at least 3 seconds
December 31, 2014, or
when timing adjustments
are made to the
individual intersection
and/or corridor,
whichever occurs first
4E.07 Countdown Pedestrian Signals Pedestrian countdown hardware requirements December 22, 2013 (b)
 5C.05 NARROW BRIDGE Sign (W5-2) Elimination of symbol sign December 22, 2013 (b)
6D.03 Worker Safety Considerations New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD that all workers within
the right-of-way shall wear high-visibility apparel
December 31, 2011
6E.02 High-Visibility Safety Apparel New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD that all flaggers within
the right-of-way shall wear high-visibility apparel
December 31, 2011
7B.12 School Crossing Assembly Use of AHEAD (W16-9P) plaque or distance plaque
(W16-2P or W16-2aP) (2000 MUTCD Section 7B.08)
January 17, 2011 (a)
 7B.12 School Crossing Assembly Elimination of crosswalk lines from crossing signs and use of
diagonal downward pointing arrow (W16-7P) supplemental
plaque (2000 MUTCD Sections 7B.08 and 7B.09)
January 17, 2011 (a)
7B.16 Reduced School Speed Limit Ahead Sign (S4-5, S4-5a) Removal of R2-5 Series Reduced Speed Ahead signs and use of S4-5 or S4-5a warning signs instead (2003 MUTCD Section 7B.12) December 22, 2018 (b)
7D.04 Uniform of Adult Crossing Guards New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD for high-visibility
apparel for adult crossing guards
December 31, 2011
8B.03 Grade Crossing
(Crossbuck)
Sign (R15-1) and Number of Tracks Plaque (R15-2P) at
Active and Passive Grade Crossings
Retroreflective strip on crossbuck support (2000 MUTCD Section 8B.02) (*) January 17, 2011 (a)
 8B.04 Crossbuck
Assemblies with YIELD or STOP Signs at Passive Grade Crossings
New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD for the use of STOP or
YIELD signs with Crossbuck signs at passive grade crossings
December 31, 2019
8B.19 and 8C.02 through 8C.05 LRT Approaching-
Activated Blank-Out
Warning Sign,
Flashing Light
Signals, and
Automatic Gates
Automatic gates, flashing-light signals, and blank-out signs at
highway-LRT crossings per Part 10 of the 2000 MUTCD (*)
January 17, 2011 (a)
 8C.09 Traffic Control
Signals at or Near Highway-Rail
Grade Crossings
Pre-signals (2003 MUTCD Section 8D.07) December 22, 2013 (b)
 8C.12 Grade Crossings
Within or In Close Proximity to Circular
Intersections
New requirement in the 2009 MUTCD for study
of grade crossings near roundabouts
December 31, 2014
 9B.18 Bicycle Warning and Combined Bicycle/Pedestrian Signs (W11-1 and W11-15) Elimination of crosswalk lines from crossing signs and use of
diagonal downward pointing arrow (W16-7P) supplemental
plaque if at the crossing (2000 MUTCD Section 9B.15)
January 17, 2011 (a)

Notes: Unless otherwise noted, dates are as established in the Final Rule for the 2009 MUTCD.
(a) Date established in the Final Rule for the 2000 MUTCD
(b) Date established in the Final Rule for the 2003 MUTCD
(c) Date established in the Final Rule for Revision 2 of the 2003 MUTCD
(*) Provisions may have been revised in the 2009 MUTCD