Stencils
MUTCD Letter Stencil Spec: Pavement Word Marking Reference
Cojo
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The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD §3B.20) sets pavement word and symbol marking specs that determine letter height, color, font, and placement. For private parking lots, the practical letter-height range is 24 to 48 inches; for public roadways, 6 to 8 feet at higher posted speeds. Buying stencils that match the federal spec keeps Oregon properties out of code-compliance disputes and in line with what most municipalities reference. This guide walks through MUTCD's pavement-word requirements, the letter-set sizes that map to those requirements, and how to apply them on Oregon parking lots.
MUTCD §3B.20 governs pavement word and symbol markings on public roadways. The section specifies:
For private parking lots, MUTCD is not legally enforceable in most jurisdictions but is the universal industry reference for spec'd-out markings. Private-lot letter heights typically run 24 to 48 inches because vehicle speeds rarely exceed 15 mph and the legibility requirements are different.
| Marking | Typical letter height | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| "STOP" | 24 to 36 in. | Drive-aisle intersections |
| "SLOW" | 24 to 36 in. | Approach to pedestrian zones |
| "CHILDREN" | 24 to 36 in. | School and apartment complex pickup zones |
| "FIRE LANE NO PARKING" | 12 to 18 in. | Fire-apparatus access roads |
| "NO PARKING" (general) | 12 to 18 in. | Tow zones, loading zones |
| "RESERVED" | 12 to 18 in. | Tenant or visitor stalls |
| "VAN ACCESSIBLE" | 8 in. | ADA van-accessible stall pavement marking per ADA Std 502.6.1 |
| Stall numbers (1 to 99) | 8 to 18 in. | Reserved stall numbering |
| Directional arrows | 4 to 8 ft. (length) | Drive-aisle navigation |
| Lane-use arrows (turn) | 4 to 7 ft. (length) | Drive-thru and parking-deck navigation |
MUTCD §3B.20 references the FHWA Standard Highway Signs catalog, which uses a stretched-proportion variant of Highway Gothic for pavement words. The pavement font is intentionally taller and narrower than vertical-sign font because drivers read pavement words at a low angle and at speed -- the proportion compensates for the foreshortening.
For private parking lots that don't strictly require MUTCD compliance, the FHWA proportions are still the right reference because they produce maximum legibility. Off-the-shelf stencil sets from professional suppliers use the FHWA proportions. Branded or custom legends often deviate, which is fine for property branding but unsuitable for spec-driven markings.
Three letter-set configurations cover most private parking work:
Full A through Z plus 0 through 9, in 1/8-inch LDPE. Used for "FIRE LANE NO PARKING," "RESERVED," "TENANT ONLY," "TOW AWAY ZONE," and similar. About 36 stencils total in the set.
Same alphanumeric coverage at 24-inch letter height. Larger and stiffer, requires more pavement workspace per letter. Used for "STOP," "SLOW," "CHILDREN," and high-visibility markings.
Single-piece stencils for the most common parking-lot words: "STOP" (one stencil), "FIRE LANE NO PARKING" (one stencil with all letters cut on a single sheet), "RESERVED," "TOW AWAY ZONE." More expensive per word than buying letter sets, but faster to apply because the spacing is pre-fixed.
MUTCD §3B.20 and the FHWA Standard Highway Signs catalog set the spacing and stroke rules:
A stencil set that ships with the FHWA proportions has stroke width and letter geometry baked in. The crew controls only the inter-letter spacing during application, using a chalk-line layout to keep the word straight.
For a Beaverton retail center Cojo applied "FIRE LANE NO PARKING" on in February 2026, we used a single-piece pre-built stencil with all 17 letters cut on one LDPE sheet. The stencil pre-set the inter-letter spacing, which dropped the application time from 90 minutes (alphanumeric set with manual spacing) to 25 minutes per word.
MUTCD §3A.05 sets the color rules:
Color matters for compliance. Painting "FIRE LANE NO PARKING" in white instead of red is a citation-worthy violation in most Oregon jurisdictions, even though the letters themselves are correctly sized.
Industry Baseline Range
| Stencil set | Industry Baseline Range |
|---|---|
| 12-in alphanumeric set (A-Z, 0-9) 1/8-in LDPE | $385 to $725 |
| 24-in alphanumeric set (A-Z, 0-9) 1/8-in LDPE | $785 to $1,485 |
| Pre-built "STOP" word stencil | $145 to $285 |
| Pre-built "FIRE LANE NO PARKING" word stencil | $245 to $475 |
| Pre-built "TOW AWAY ZONE" word stencil | $185 to $385 |
| Pre-built "RESERVED" word stencil | $115 to $235 |
LDPE alphanumeric sets saw 15 to 22 percent price increases in 2025 because the per-letter LDPE consumption multiplied across the full 36-piece set. Pre-built single-word stencils saw smaller increases at 10 to 15 percent because the LDPE is on a single sheet rather than 36 separate pieces. Cojo recommends pre-built stencils for any word repeated across multiple stalls and alphanumeric sets only for properties needing flexible word capability.
Cojo stocks 12-inch and 24-inch alphanumeric letter sets plus pre-built single-word stencils for the most common Oregon parking-lot markings. We can sell the stencils for in-house application or apply them as part of a full-service restripe. Get a custom quote, or compare across the parking lot stencils buyer's guide before you order.
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