Service and recreation signs
Telephone sign
A public telephone is available at the next exit, or inside the rest area where the sign is posted.
- Square
- Blue
- MUTCD D9-1
Shape and background first
Federal designation D9-1 in the MUTCD, the national standard every state signs to. Increasingly rare on new signage since many states have quietly pulled public phones from rest stops, though older overhead panels can still carry it.
What the MUTCD specifies
Designation: D9-1
MUTCD Section 2I.02
Conventional road size: 24 x 24 in
Source: Federal Highway Administration, MUTCD 11th Edition (December 2023), Part 2, Table 2I-1, verified 2026-09-26.
What the test wants you to know
The mistake people make
This sign is a leftover from before cell phones, and plenty of state handbooks have never bothered to retire it. What still earns it a place on a test is the color: a driver looking for help after a breakdown is looking for blue, and remembering that the handset sits on the same blue panel as the hospital H is worth more than memorising the symbol itself.
