The place names, route numbers and distances shown are the examples used in the federal reference drawing. On the road, this sign carries the local ones.
MUTCD M6-1PL · Route markers and plaques
Left directional arrow plaque for route guidance
What it means
Left directional arrow plaque for route guidance.
What to do about it
It is a route marker: it identifies the highway you are on or heading toward, so you can confirm you are on the right road. (MUTCD M6-1PL.)
Practice this on the real test format
Signs are the part of the DMV written test people fail on, because reading them is a skill rather than a fact to memorize. Aprobify drills all 1034 of them, and tells you why each answer is what it is.
Get the appSign designations follow the MUTCD and the California MUTCD published by Caltrans; meanings are checked against the California Driver's Handbook (DL 600, rev. 6/2025). Edited by Fernando Aguilera. Aprobify is not affiliated with the California DMV.
Signs in the same family
These sit next to it in the route markers and plaques series — the ones most easily mixed up with it.
- M5-3PR Advance right turn arrow plaque for circular intersections
- M5-4P Lane designation plaque for left lane
- M5-5P Lane designation plaque for center lane
- M5-6P Lane designation plaque for right lane
- M6-1PR Right directional arrow plaque for route guidance
- M6-2aPL Downward diagonal left directional arrow plaque
