NHAI Issues Guidelines on Trilingual Formats for Advance Direction Signs

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued Policy Circular No. 12.40/2025, dated September 20, 2025 (the “Circular”), introducing uniform formats for advance direction signs on national highways and expressways. This significant policy initiative aims to improve road safety, accessibility, and consistency in signage across the country.

The Circular covers a comprehensive range of signages, including gantry-mounted advance direction boards, shoulder-mounted signs, toll plaza signages, kilometer stones, and crash-prone area warnings. By harmonizing design and language usage, this step aligns India’s highway network with Indian Roads Congress (IRC) codes and the official language policy framework.

The move towards standardization of road signages stems from directives issued by the Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs vide OM bearing Reference no. 1/1401307/2010-O.B. (Policy-1) dated April 7, 2011 and DO bearing Reference no. 14013/01/2024-OL (Policy) dated June 3, 2024, which emphasized the need for multilingual signages to ensure inclusivity and accessibility for all road users. These directives mandate compulsory trilingual signages in certain regions, in line with the official language policy of the Government of India.

The Circular clearly categorizes signage language requirements based on the region:

• ‘A’ Regions: Signages must be bilingual – Hindi and English.
• ‘B’ and ‘C’ Regions: Signages must be trilingual, consisting of:
  • Regional language (first)
  • Hindi (second)
  • English (third)

This order of languages will apply uniformly in both vertical and horizontal layouts, ensuring consistency across the highway network.

Illustrative Examples:

States in ‘B’ region:

1. Punjab: Punjabi – Hindi – English
2. Maharashtra: Marathi – Hindi – English
3. States in ‘C’ region:
4. Tamil Nadu: Tamil – Hindi – English
5. West Bengal: Bangla – Hindi – English
6. Kerala: Malayalam – Hindi – English
7. Jammu & Kashmir: Kashmiri/Dogri/Urdu – Hindi – English

This approach ensures that signage is inclusive, serving both local communities and interstate travelers, while maintaining national uniformity.

The Circular lays down several technical and design requirements to standardize highway signages: Key provisions include:

1. Destination details: Each gantry sign must display at least three destinations; in case of space constraints, a minimum of two destinations is acceptable without reducing alphabet size.
2. Reflective sheet fascia: To provide signs with independent reflective fascia to reduce wind impact and allow economical replacement in case of damage.
3. Location-specific customization: While model formats have been issued, project-specific adjustments are permitted to accommodate local requirements.

Additionally, signage at toll plazas, administrative and medical blocks, toilets, and crash-prone areas will follow the same bilingual or trilingual mandate, depending on the region.

The Circular has been developed in accordance with:

• IRC Code 67 (2022)
• IRC Code 99 (2023)
• MoRTH Guidelines on Traffic Signs Installation, July 2023 and subsequent amendments of December 2024

The Circular introduces a three-tier strategy for implementation, based on the stage of the project:

• Projects Under Bidding: The updated signage provisions must be incorporated into bid documents.
• Projects Under Construction: Signage must be upgraded in compliance with the revised IRC codes. Additional costs for such upgrades will be borne by NHAI.
• Projects Under Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Existing road signages must be supplemented with trilingual formats in ‘B’ and ‘C’ Regions, upgrading earlier bilingual formats.

All signboards, including kilometer stones, must conform to NHAI Policy Circular bearing Reference no. 12.38/2025 dated March 19, 2025, which standardized budgetary rates and specifications for traffic signs, pavement markings, and road safety measures. Crash-prone area signages must also comply with the bilingual/trilingual requirement.

The introduction of trilingual standardized highway signages marks a progressive shift in India’s road infrastructure management. By harmonizing signage formats with IRC codes and official language directives, NHAI has reinforced its commitment to safety, accessibility and uniformity. This initiative reflects India’s vision of a modern, user-friendly, and globally benchmarked highway network, providing road users with a seamless and inclusive experience across regions and states.