Catalogue section 3.13

Road identification signs (S-400–S-450)

They identify the road by its number or name.

How to recognise them: A shield or box carrying the road's number or name.

How this group is laid out

These signs do not tell you where to go but which road you are on. The regulation describes them as a number, written in figures, letters or both, or a name, framed in a rectangle or a shield, and each sign belongs to one network and one road type. S-400 identifies a route on the international "E" network. S-410 is the one for motorways and autovías, and its definition sets a rule: no road without the features of a motorway or autovía may be identified with the letter A. If the road belongs to a regional government, its initials may be added; if it is a ring road or bypass, the A may be replaced by letters for the city, following the code set by the Ministry of Public Works. S-410a identifies a toll motorway, with the same naming rules.

The others identify roads that are neither motorways nor autovías: S-420 those on the state network, and S-430, S-440 and S-450 those of the first, second and third level on a network other than the state's.

How to tell them apart

Signs in this group that look alike, and what separates them according to their definitions.

S-410 S-410a
S-410 identifies a motorway or autovía; S-410a a toll motorway. Toll motorways belonging to a regional government follow the same naming rules as S-410.
S-420 S-430
Neither S-420 nor S-430 identifies a motorway or autovía. What changes is the network the road belongs to: the state's on S-420, another one on S-430, which is also a first-level road.
S-430 S-440 S-450
All three identify roads on a network other than the state's that are neither motorways nor autovías, and only the level changes: first on S-430, second on S-440 and third on S-450.