With the opportunity to place custom text and the ability to choose between different colors, your needs are covered by our custom traffic sign options.
Product Details
.080 Heavy Duty Traffic-Grade Aluminum
Type IV High Intensity Prismatic Reflective Sheeting
3M Reflective provides day and nighttime visibility
We are not able to put emojis on these signs. If you're looking for a sign with a custom image please contact us at 517-543-4000.
Orders with inappropriate, offensive, or explicit language/messaging will be cancelled and refunded. We reserve the right to refuse production of any signs that violates these terms of service.
Some traffic problems don't have a standard, common sign to choose from. A blind driveway on a private road, a delivery entrance drivers keep missing, a parking stall you actually need to reserve, a speed nobody respects on a street the county won't post.
That's why you landed on this page: the same .080 traffic-grade aluminum and Type IV high-intensity prismatic 3M reflective sheeting we normally put on municipal work, but with your text on it. Pick a size, pick your colors, type what it should say. Made in the USA in Charlotte, Michigan, shipping in 2–10 business days, from a family-owned shop that's been doing this for 60 years.
What Can You Legally Put on a Custom Sign?
One of the most common questions we get, and it can stop an order. The short version depends entirely on where the sign is installed.
Where the Sign Goes
What You Can Post
Private property you own or manage
Wide latitude. Parking restrictions, speed requests, no trespassing, private drive, rules of use - essentially any non-obscene message.
Public right-of-way (street, shoulder, public sidewalk)
Generally not your own sign. Regulatory and warning signs on public roads are the jurisdiction's call and must conform to the MUTCD.
HOAs and private communities
In between. You typically control privately owned streets, but many states restrict what an HOA can require or prohibit on an owner's lot.
On Private Property
On private property you own or manage, you have wide latitude. Parking restrictions, speed requests, no trespassing, private drive, rules of use - you can post essentially any non-obscene message. Whether it's enforceable is a separate question from whether you can post it, and that usually depends on your state's private-property parking and trespass statutes. Many states require specific wording or posting intervals before a property owner can tow or cite.
In the Public Right-of-Way
In the public right-of-way - the street, the shoulder, the public sidewalk - you generally cannot post your own sign. Regulatory and warning signs on public roads are the jurisdiction's call, must conform to the MUTCD, and an unauthorized sign can be removed and can create liability if a crash is attributed to it. If you want a sign on a public street, the path is a request to your road commission, township, or city, not an order form.
HOAs and Private Communities
HOAs and private communities sit in between. You typically control your own streets if they're privately owned, but many states restrict what an HOA can require or prohibit on an individual owner's lot. Check your covenants and your state's HOA statute.
Practical Rule
If the sign is for a place the public drives through but you own - a lot, a campus, a private road, a park - you're in good shape. If it's for a public street, call your jurisdiction first. We'd rather tell you that up front than sell you a sign that gets pulled.
One hard limit on our end: no emojis, and we cancel orders with offensive or harassing language.
The Custom Signs People Order Most
A snapshot of what actually comes through the custom configurator, in case yours is on the list.
Neighborhood and Speed
"Drive Like Your Kids Live Here" is far and away the most-requested custom legend in the country, and for a reason - it lands differently than a number on a white rectangle. Variations like "Slow Down, We Love Our Kids" and "Children at Play" run close behind.
Worth knowing: these are advisory, not enforceable, even on a private road. They change behavior through guilt, not law. If you need an enforceable number, you want a speed limit sign and, on a public street, the jurisdiction's sign-off.
Parking You Need to Hold
Reserved stalls, tenant-only, customer parking with tow warnings, loading zones, contractor and delivery spaces. See parking signs for the standard legends before you customize - if a stock sign covers it, it's cheaper and ships faster.
EV Charging Stalls
A fast-growing custom order, driven by property managers dealing with gas vehicles parked in charging spots and by jurisdictions that now require signage at charging stations to enforce against it. Wording matters here: enforceability against a non-charging vehicle usually depends on the sign matching your state's statutory language. Check the statute, then send us the exact wording.
City limits, welcome signs, ward and district markers, park entrances.
Choosing Size, Color, and Sheeting
Size
Size follows viewing distance, not preference. A rough working rule: about one inch of letter height per 25–30 feet of reading distance.
Where It's Read From
Recommended Size
Parking stall or walkway, read from a few feet away
12" x 18"
Read from a moving car
18" x 24" or larger
Road where traffic moves at 35 mph or more
24" x 30" or up
Pro Tip
When in doubt, order the next size up - the most common complaint about custom signs is that they're too small to read in time to matter.
Color
Color carries meaning drivers already know, so use it rather than fight it.
Color
What Drivers Read It As
Red
Prohibition and stop
White with black text
Regulatory and parking
Yellow with black
Warnings
Green
Permitted movements and guidance
Blue
Services and accessibility
Brown
Parks and recreation
Orange
Temporary and construction
A red-on-white "no parking" reads instantly; a purple one makes people slow down to decode it.
Sheeting
Sheeting is where cheap signs cut corners. Ours use Type IV high-intensity prismatic 3M, which returns headlight light to the driver and keeps the sign legible at night. A sign that's invisible after dark is doing half a job. Someone hit something because they didn't see your warning - "we bought the non-reflective one" is not where you want to be.
Why Our Custom Signs Are Better Quality
Fair question, asked constantly, and the answer is in the materials.
Quick Specs
Component
Details
Sign blank
.080 aluminum, the thickness used on municipal and DOT work - not .040 or .063, and not styrene or plastic. It won't rust, won't flex in wind, won't crack in cold.
Sheeting
Type IV high-intensity prismatic 3M reflective sheeting, not a printed or matte face. This is the single biggest cost difference and the one you'll notice at night.
Mounting
3/8" mounting holes pre-drilled to standard spacing, so it fits standard hardware without you drilling aluminum in a parking lot.
Origin
Made in the USA, by a shop that's been making traffic signs for 60 years and will still be here when you need a matching one.
A cheaper sign is genuinely fine for a message that needs to last one season indoors. For anything outdoors, at night, or attached to a rule you intend to enforce, the cheap one gets replaced twice before this one needs looking at. Hardware isn't included - see sign posts, bases, and hardware.
When to Customize - and When Not To
We'll say it plainly: if a standard sign says what you need, buy the standard sign. It's cheaper, it ships faster, and drivers recognize it without reading it, which is the entire point of standardized signage.
Ordering more than a handful, or need something the configurator won't do - odd size, logo, reflective legend, full corridor package? Call 1-517-543-4000 and we'll quote it.
Frequently Asked Questions
On a private road or private property, yes. On a public street, no - speed limits are set by the jurisdiction and posted on MUTCD-conforming signs, and posting your own is generally prohibited. Even on private property, whether the posted speed is legally enforceable depends on your state; many treat private-road speed signs as advisory unless the road has been formally designated.
No. They're advisory messages, not regulatory signs, and no one can be cited for exceeding an implied speed on one. They're popular because they work on conscience rather than law - a driver who ignores a number sometimes slows for a sentence. If you need enforceability, you need a posted regulatory limit and the jurisdiction's authorization.
On common property the HOA controls, generally yes. On your own lot, it depends on your covenants and on state law - many states limit what HOAs can restrict on an owner's property. Read your covenants first, and if the sign is for a shared street, bring it to the board rather than installing it and finding out.
Work backward from reading distance: roughly one inch of letter height per 25–30 feet. Parking stalls and walkways do fine at 12" x 18". Anything read from a moving vehicle should be 18" x 24" or larger, and 24" x 30" or up where traffic is moving at 35 mph or more. Undersized is the most common regret.
Yes. Every custom sign we make uses Type IV high-intensity prismatic 3M reflective sheeting, the same material that's on our municipal work. Both the background and the legend return headlight light, so the sign reads in the dark.
Logos and custom artwork are available - use the notes field or call us, since artwork needs a proof before production. Emojis aren't available, and we don't produce offensive or harassing content.
2–10 business days' shipping for standard configurations. Custom artwork, logos, or nonstandard sizes add proof and production time - call 1-517-543-4000 for a date on yours.
No, hardware is sold separately. Signs come with 3/8" mounting holes drilled to standard spacing, so they fit standard posts and brackets.
Still Have Questions?
Call 1-517-543-4000 and our team will help you get the wording, size, and colors right.
Orders take 2-10 business days to ship. Specialty items such as LED Flashing Signs and Roll-Up Signs have extended lead times listed on the product page. Learn more about our shipping and return policy.
